On Peter Obi’s supposed ‘Stinginess’….
Sometime in 2009, ‘Mr’(as he preferred to be addressed) Peter Obi, Governor Of Anambra State at the time, visited Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and myself at Dallas, Texas. He came to deliver a get well message from Dr Goodluck Jonathan and was billed to attend a black tie event at the Dallas Marriot. Curiously, he flew into Dallas airport with one small carry on luggage which he insisted on wheeling around himself, and on getting to our residence requested to freshen up. He opened his carry on, filled with files and paperwork and a few toiletries and an extra shirt, when the Ikemba and I asked if he was expecting another item of luggage, and he said no.
‘Then, what will you be wearing to the event tonight?’, we inquired. It was at that point that it struck him that he couldn’t show up in his casuals at such a ceremony.
I insisted on taking him to the luxury men’s emporium at Nieman Marcus to buy a smart black suit. When we got there, he was busy doing the currency conversions. The suit that was a perfect match for him was a dapper Tom Ford suit with a price tag of 3,985 dollars plus tax. He did the calculations and told me ‘do you know how many students this amount of money can train in Nigeria?’ I reminded him that he was the governor as well as the special guest, and for the caliber of guests expected at that evening’s occasion, including the mayor, senators and captains of conglomerates, he needed to be dressed in top form.
To cut the story short, he refused to pay what he termed ’that outrageous price’ for the Tom Ford suit and that was how we ended up at Steinmart where he agreed to pay a more acceptable price of 220 dollars, tax inclusive, for a basic men’s suit which he was happy to wear to that evening’s event.
What struck me, was that as we were on the way to the airport to see him off for his return flight back to Nigeria, he reached for his pocket where he brought out an envelope of crisp hundred dollar bills. The amount in the envelope was 3,800 dollars.
He said ‘ Anyanwu, this is the balance of the money I would have paid for the ‘Ford’ suit. If the label on the suit was ‘Peter Obi’, I am wondering if anybody in America will pay that amount for it. I have deducted the amount we paid for that suit we eventually bought. Please use this balance for your Charity foundation to help those in actual need. I trust you will do so’. We all laughed heartily. Vintage Peter Obi !
The eventual beneficiaries of that Largese were Madam Theresa Agbo, a yam seller who became penniless and displaced when her Yam shed was gutted by fire, Callistus Egbe who was bedridden due to illness, and needed help with the school fees of his young children, and the Mgbemena family of six who were thrown out of their one room accommodation (which we subsequently doubled to two rooms) because their breadwinner fell upon hard times and could no longer afford the rent.
In Life, You either live by your creed or you desecrate the mould by which the Almighty created you. Any progressive nation measures an individual by his values, not his vaults.
If this way of life is what is derided as ‘stinginess’ on the part of Peter Obi, then we all need to adopt this mould for a more sustainable and more humane environment.
©Iyom Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu
16 June 2022.
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Nne ndi igbo iga ebi ogologo ndu. Father mbaka is taking this too far and it is not good for a respected cleric like him to be making unguided utterances
God bless you ma, no apologies but he should repent from his selfish mischievous attitudes instead he will preach and miss Heaven
Be blessed nwanyi. I.dont know what came over Mbaka but whatever it is he should apologise to PO or hide his face in shame
God bless you Ezigbo Agbala nwanyị. Mbaka ga ahụ ihe ọ na achọ. I wonder if God still speaks to him any longer.
Mbaka the spent horse.
Weldone nwanyi anyone just eme onu` n’ obodo …. Mbaka is just looking for who will talk to him ruthlessly and I believe he will see that…❣️
I dont know who send Mbaka, definitely not God this time, but who ever send him is making a mistake this time.
Mbaka has never seen for the progress of Igbos. He prefers collecting money from Fulanis is other to enrich himself. Is that how a clergyman suppose be talking?
In fact mama you have said it all…
We need voice like your own Ezigbo nwanyi Fr Mbaka put us in our present situation and he is trying to do it again I wonder if our suffering brings him Favour but he should tell his sponsors that their tricks has failed
God bless you, Iyom. Fr Mbaka needs to advise himself. During the time of Chimaroke Nnamani, Mbaka said he saw a vision that Chimaroke will not get re-elected. Recently Mbaka said that Soludo won’t be governor. It’s now Obi who will still prove him wrong. Why all these caricature of himself.
Mummy Binca I doff my cap for you, if not one thing , e Nye the man ura Binca ji eme ogoo,
Steady of our people to encourage him some are somewhere rattling nonsense must we count the bad or unfavorable moments odikwa egwuoooooo
Chúkwú gozíe gí nwanyí Oma ????
Ezigbô Nné na Nwunye anyí✅
Mr. Peter Obi is one noble Nigeria who only spends where value is attached, and not for the sake of spending
I would not like to live in a country where free- speech was stifled. I just wonder why there was no furore when THE SAME FATHER MBAKA commented that Buhari was God-sent while Goodluck Jonathan was bad luck? If there was, did Bishop Onaga shut down Adoration Ministry.
We all know that this is all to do with Father Mbaka’s U-turn over MNK and the agitation.
I refuse to follow the crowd, and this jumping on the bandwagon/the new frenzy is simply beneath contempt.