Chief Nwobu Alor At A Glance From Chief Chekwas Okorie's Mouth Fresh From Oven Unedited

                 

 Chief Sylvester Nwobu Alor at a glance from Chief Chekwas Okorie

 ,Chairman of UPP. First look at the Questionaire that brought out he answers as compiled by Chiedu Obigwe

QUESTIONNAIRE ON CHIEF SYLVESTER NWAOBUALOR PHILANTHROPIC CONTRIBUTION TO ANAMBRARIANS AND NIGERIA AT LARGE

1.     Who is Hon. Sylvester Nwaobualor?

2.     How long have you known Nwaobualor?

3.     Can you throw any light about his antecedent?

4.     Do you see Chief as a Philanthropist?

5.     How many people do you know that have benefited from Nwaobualor’s Philanthropy gestures?

6.     Can you describe Nwaobualor as a rare gem in our society?

7.     What are the difference between Nwaobualor and other known Philanthropist?

8.     Do you see Nwaobualor as a detribalized Nigerian?

9.     Can you briefly discuss Nwaobualor as a role model?

10.    What are his other unique attributes?

11.    Are you a beneficiary of Nwaobualor Philanthropy?

12.    Briefly discuss how you became a beneficiary of his Philanthropy?

13.    What are Chief Nwaobualor political impact in Anambra State and Nigeria at large?

14.    What advice do you have to give other wealthy men in the society?

15.    What is your prayer for Chief Nwaobualor?

 And now look at the answers to these questions below:

INTERVIEW SESSION WITH CHIEF CHEKWAS OKORIE, THE NATIONAL CHAIRMAN OF UNITED PROGRESSIVE PARTY (UPP)

CHINEDU:        Ojeozi ndi Igbo, may I first apologize for coming five minutes late.

CHEKWAS:       Well, five or ten minutes late behind schedule is pardonable. You can sit down, so that we will quickly get down to business because l have so many other things to attend to.

CHINEDU:        Ojeozi ndi Igbo, I’m here to issue you a questionnaire in respect of a book am writing for Hon. Sylvester Nwaobu Alor. (Hands over the questionnaire) here is the questionnaire.

CHEKWAS:       (Collects the questionnaire and perused it) I will answer it generally.

CHINEDU:        Then you have to start with an official introduction of yourself.

CHEKWAS:       Okay, am Chief Chekwas Okorie. The founder of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and now the founder/national chairman of United Progressive Party (UPP), I have many Igbo traditional chieftaincy title, but I prefer the humble title of Ojeozi-ndi-Igbo which reflect more  of my calling, than anything else. So am now more generally known as Ojeozi-ndi-Igbo. Eehm… I   have heard generally about Hon. Sylvester Nwaobu Alor as a member  of Old Anambra State House of Assembly, that then means he had been a politician to the point of wining a election to represent his constituency at that time. He was an active member of the house. But outside of that knowledge of him, his person came up again when Mr. Peter Obi   desired to run election. I later found out that Hon. Sylvester Nwaobu Alor was not just Mr. Peter Obi maternal uncle but the de-facto father of all the Obi siblings for the reason that their father apparently passed on, when they were much younger and peter obi’s mother being his immediate younger sister, he took up that responsibility to ensure that his nieces and nephews were properly brought up. That is a very outstanding characteristic of a man that has purpose , a man that is sincere and transparent.

                          I also heard, which I confirmed that Mr. Peter Obi thriving  Super Market         Business passed on to him in other to manage it for the purpose of looking  after Obi siblings. I mean, his sister apparently requested him to do that (that is the mother of Obi). Many people would have taken advantage of that to enrich themselves, but for the fact that the entire Obi siblings were all properly educated, arising from the man sincerity and dedication through his own sister and in managing his business establishment, marks him out. This happened at the time he was young enough to play with that wealth, but he didn’t. I have also confirmed that he practically persuaded or (let me use the word) drafted Mr. Peter Obi into politics. Mr.  Obi himself told me this, when the going was good. He was reluctant (initially) I mean Mr. Peter Obi, but his uncle seeing the qualities in him and knowing what leadership he could provide, if giving the chance, felt that among his nephews and nieces, he was the one most qualified to be put into politics and when eventually Mr. Peter Obi accepted to accede to his uncle  clarion call as it were. Their attitude then and which was based on Hon.  Nwaobu Alor’s advise as a politician, is that with the number of parties that were available, it will be better for them to canvass Obi’s qualities without getting attached with any political party at that time. But that they could also extend gestures to the political parties that were existing. Such gestures Obi extended to APGA, for instance, our first office in Anambra State headquarter, he rented for one year. When he was not even a member. Infact, he did similar things, maybe in different ways for ANPP and three or four other parties. It was in January 2003, that he now formerly, that is Peter Obi, based on the advise of Hon. Nwaobu Alor, declared for APGA. APGA was founded or rather registered on the 24^th of June 2002. But as I said before that January, he had extended some gestures to APGA such as the office I mentioned and some gestures to me as a person without being a member until about January 2003. He could have declared for either ANPP, UNPP all of those parties he showed interest, but by December 2002 Ikemba himself (OJUKWU) had joined the party. He joined the party six months after it was registered. This is also a statement of fact. So I believe Ikemba joining, may have also added to Hon. Nwaobu Alor making up his mind to persuade his nephew Mr. Peter Obi to now join APGA. Hon. Nwaobu Alor was very active in managing his nephew campaign (administration), their were others out there in the field, but he was the administrative head of that campaign organization and he discharged himself creditably. With his wealth of experience and maturity, he was focused on the success of the campaign effort and therefore, I saw from some distance because I was the national chairman at that time and I wasn’t moving around from point to point with them except at the major point of launching the campaign. I was in a position to receive all manners of petition, complains and report across the country. So I watched him with admiration, the way he managed all the interest, many people come to campaign organization, simply to make money not caring whether the campaign succeeded or not and others come with other motives, others are even sponsored to go and spoil things. So he was able to manage all of this as an experienced politician, so I will say that Hon. Nwaobu Alor was not only a mentor to Mr. Peter Obi, he was also his guardian, de-facto father and adviser. Now, the other aspect that brought out Hon. Nwaobu Alor’s innate qualities was when the election had been won. He worked mostly at the background, he was not known to be throwing his weight around. So that underscores his humility. Still in wanting to ensure that his nephew succeeded rather than throwing his weight around, as to who plays what role. Their were those who were doing that and they didn’t like his presence, but he had more than an ordinary interest because  he practically dragged this young man into politics and it is not in the place of any true Igbo person to watch the goat deliver, while in tethers, wise one (two) to also participate in destroying what he has built. So am sure that this two Igbo guiding principles also guided him. Now the crisis in APGA erupted, he was not part of the eruption of the crisis, he played no role, no direct role in the crisis. But he was shielded (let me put it that way) from engaging me to know the other side of the story, am not saying to know the true story, but the other side of the story. So the crisis had lasted for quite some years before again in his own humility and  as an elder-statesman who is desirous of seeing that the goose that lay the golden egg was not destroyed which is APGA. He came to this very house where we are talking now and l was told he was coming, I waited until he came and after we had interacted.  First, he admitted that this was the first time he was visiting my house, secondly, he blamed himself for not coming to see me and hearing from me earlier than the time he came. He agreed, that he had been much enlightened and he could then know precisely where the problem was coming from and he assured me that he was going to take steps to see that peace returns into APGA. That was the first time he had the opportunity of seeing APGA constitution, am talking about more than three to four year after the crisis had erupted because I gave him  those document. Those who caused the trouble did not actually have the constitution of the party at  the time the trouble started and because they couldn’t come back to have access to it they were only making photocopies from document supplied in the court and so that couldn’t be the kind of document they will give to anybody. So all of those on the other side knew nothing about the provision of the constitution, that is why even up  till as we speak so many things in that constitution are still been turned upside down. So from the moment Hon. Sylvester Nwaobu Alor got equipped with some verifiable information, including the constitution. He went back as a man of principle that he remains, not to go and pass judgment in  my favour, but to call his nephew to say that this way we are going will not be in the interest of the party,  a lot of things have gone wrong, but from the information available to him now, the answer was to go and make peace. So you can also say that I acknowledge Chief Nwaobu Alor as a man of peace and a man of high principles. He is also a man that is prepared to accept that he acted without full information and therefore ready to make amends, when the full information is available to him. It takes a man of courage, a man of  principle,  a sincere man to do that because I have also related with leaders who never step back even when they realized that the step forward was wrong. They believe that stepping back  will reduce who they are, whereas we have seen in somebody like Mandela that forgiveness and reconciliation became his greatest strength for which the entire universe acknowledge him. So there is no virtue in becoming hard-hearted and Hon. Nwaobu Alor can never at any point from what I know be referred to as a hard-hearted man. A person with such a heart could be a philanthropist, so that  is why, if those who know that aspect of him speak about his philanthropy, I will not doubt it because the aspect of him I have seen, I will say that a person with such a heart can stretch out hand of assistances to people in need. Another aspect of Nwaobu Alor that  I can also attest to, is that when he took steps to make peace in APGA and because one or two persons were scared that making peace or reconciling all contending forces in APGA at that time will reduce their strangle-hold on even the governor and the lagans and paquises that fallout from the government of Anambra State, being the only government that APGA had nationwide. So every attention was there for some kind of succor. Unfortunately, those of us who founded the party were been fought with the resources from there we never benefited, but that is not the topic for now. That is to say that Hon. Nwaobu Alor’s attempt to make peace was stoutly resisted and it brought him insult, it brought him verbal attack because I read all of this things. Infact, it became more obvious, when events after the death of Ikemba got to a head and a letter purportedly written and signed by Umeh and Ikemba found spaces in the newspapers by a way of advertisement urging Governor Obi to dismiss his own uncle and mentor from government. So it was when we read those letters that I also further confirmed, the extent Hon. Nwaobu Alor’s attempt to make peace brought him unprovoked attack. But he didn’t make these things public, he absorbed all of these. He didn’t even revert to me to say, the attempt I was making, have been fought vehemently by S.Y.Z because he wouldn’t want to be seen to either peddle rumor or be accused of gossip or worsen the situation that he was trying to remedy. Again that is another good quality of him, some other people will say, well, Ojeozi ndi Igbo, the visit I paid you trying to make peace has brought me this and that and maybe more ears will hear it and so on. He absorbed all of that, showing great maturity. From that moment, his patience was further stretched not by me. I watched as he was been run down on the pages of the newspaper with the worst unexpected acerbic language, very uncouth, very crude, unprintable things were said from one person, not any other. I also believe that there are certain areas that our people also failed. Especially as you are writing a book on him, practically everybody will say all the nice things they have to say to be quoted in the book. But I expected, especially those who know this  ( philanthropic) aspect of Hon. Nwaobu Alor and those who are beneficiary of his philanthropic gestures to rise to his defense at that time because I was involved, anything I said even to call the person running him down to order, will go to confirm the blackmail that he sold out to me. I mean that was simply what they accused him of because he wanted peace. So all of those people that benefited one way or the other, I never read one line were anybody in the age bracket of Umeh and so on, rise to say, no the man you are talking about is not the way you are describing him and what you are doing is wrong. They allowed him to bear all of that alone, it could help, if the man knows that at least some people understand him different from how others do. So when such people are been attacked, they feel consoled by those who portray the other side without him being seen to have sponsored such reply. So I cease this opportunity to say that most of his associates and beneficiaries did not rise to his defense, when it mattered most. But he weathered through all that and here we are, he still in Governor Peter Obi’s Government providing moderating influence. I see him as a moderating influence in that government. The success of Governor Obi cannot be complete without mentioning the contribution, the maturity, the guidance of his uncle, his de-facto father and his mentor, Hon. Sylvester Nwaobu Alor. I therefore finally, wish him well, he has done very well for himself, he has done very well for the Obi family, he has done very well to the memory of his sister (Mr. Peter Obi’s mother) and he has served the people of Anambra State for a long time and by the time he completes his call of duty, I wish him a quiet and enjoyable retirement because nobody works forever and in that regard, I also wish him long life, good health to also sit back and see the foundation he helped to lay, continue to grow. Especially after they have left office because whoever that eventually comes in ought to build on that foundation, instead of destroying it, at least in the interest of the people of Anambra State.

CHINEDU:        Ojeozi ndi Igbo, frankly speaking, I really enjoyed our interview session and by the special grace of God, my book on Hon. Sylvester Nwaobu Alor will be launched before Mr. Peter Obi leaves office on March 17^th 2014 and I look forward to you attending the book launch ceremony. Thanks for this wonderful opportunity and may God bless you.