Cardinal Okogie prevented me from committing suicide — 81-year-old businessman

In this interview, 81-year-old Andrew Chegwe tells ARUKAINO UMUKORO about his adventurous life and how he survived a nine-day journey through the Sahara Desert

Where did you grow up and how was growing up like?

I was born in Umutu in Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State, on September 7, 1931. My father, Joseph Chegwe, was a famous farmer and my mother, Mariam Chegwe, was a big fish trader. She never bought on retail but traded in bulk. We were brought up in a farming family. At a point, my parents wrote down commandments for me to follow. For example, they told me not to pick money on the ground. My childhood days were a very happy one. It was spent among friends and we were always on the farm. To please my father, you must be a very hardworking person. For my first 10 years, I was always on the farm, daily, except on market days. This was the reason why he objected to my going to school earlier. It was my elder brother who persuaded him to allow me to start schooling. And my father gave him a condition that I must come to the farm to take my lunch. My elder brother accepted. I started primary school in 1941 at the age of 10.

Tell us about your education.

My school uniforms were wrappers. I spent three years in infant one A and B. It was after infant two that I graduated to Standard One. For these three years, we were versed in vernacular and learnt the Igbo alphabets. We were taught in Igbo for the first two years, and then with English, from Standard One. In 1947, I went to Sapele where I stayed with one of my father’s close childhood friends. There I went to Zik’s School owned by Okotie-Eboh, and then St. Patrick Catholic School where I got my Standard Six and also learnt Catechism in 1949.

Afterwards, I started working as an apprentice mechanic and was employed by Northern Woods Company owned by the Greek. But one fateful day, I got doused by fire from fuel ignited by a lantern. It burnt all parts of my body, except my manhood. I spent three months at Eko Hospital. When I was discharged, I was at home for another four months. Thereafter, my father asked me to stop working.

What were you doing after that?

I went into the business of selling garri in 1952. That year was when I bought my first shoes. I sold garri into Ibadan, Onitsha and Kano. Back then, there was no bridge across the Niger. But because sales were poor, I only made a profit of £4 in Lagos from 50 bags of garri. In December 1954, I took my garri to Kano where I made £115 profit. That was when I took the first flight to Benin. I spent £13 for the flight. The 20 bundles of zinc used in covering our large family house were purchased from that money.

Later, I decided to join the Seminary to become a priest. My parents were surprised that I took such decision. I was 24-year-old then. I spent the first year in Benin. Then I was transferred from Benin to St. Theresa, Ogunpa, Ibadan, where I spent four years. I was promoted to the senior seminary at SS Peter and Paul, Bodija, in 1961. But Easter Monday of 1961 was my last day at the seminary; I felt very sick and was bedridden for almost two months. So, I was asked to go home to recover fully. In other words, I shouldn’t return to the seminary. Because I couldn’t bear telling my parents that I was asked to leave the seminary. I decided to commit suicide the next day. I wanted to jump from the third floor. It was Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie who rescued me. He was my next bed neighbour then.

After I was refused thrice to return to the seminary, I was privileged to travel to Germany in October 1963, where I studied Political Science at the University of Mainz, after undertaking a German language course. Because of her flourishing trade, it took my mother only two months to repay the loan of £300 I took to go to Germany.

What were some of the most adventurous things you did in your younger days?

During the holiday, I was also working at a factory where they produced alcohol and you were allowed to drink as much as you liked. After three weeks of working there, I fell very sick with stomach ulcer and was in the hospital for two months. I was advised to come back to Nigeria. But then, I learnt how to drive in two days and bought an Opel Caravan. This was in 1965. I decided to travel by road from Germany to Nigeria and my German friends said it was impossible. So, I and my younger brother, Michael, who was asked to leave Germany by the police because there were some irregularities in his passport, embarked on the journey. We moved down South Germany into Geneva, Switzerland, where we crossed border into Southern France, then Spain, where I drove for four days along the coast. During the journey, we survived an attack from a large animal. I had a gun which could be used to kill or loaded with SOS bullets that could be used to notify a plane if I was lost in the desert.

It took me nine days to cross the desert, because there was no direction or road marks. In the desert, you must maintain a certain speed before you can drive or you will be stuck in the sand. But no matter how careful you are, you can’t drive five kilometres without getting stuck. During that journey in the desert, I lost the four tyres of the car and the four spare ones. It was just the rims that were left after sometime. I faced sandstorms daily that could have buried me alive.

What were you eating?

Then, I also realised that certain human emotions were stronger than the others. As a result of fear, I lost every sense of hunger, despite having enough food in the car. An Algerian military outpost somewhere in the desert saw us far away and rescued us during the sixth day. They fed us and advised us how to go from there to the nearest city, from which we could travel all the way to Kano. There were two Nigerians there, a Yoruba and Igbo man, so we stayed in that city for two days before we continued our journey.

I left my car at the border between Niger and Nigeria, which was some distance from Kano, because I was asked to pay duty on it. There, I sent a telegram to my family to come and pick me up from Kano. It took me three weeks to get to Nigeria because it was not a marked out route. I spent four days in Spain, two days in Tamasaret, Algeria, and nine days in the womb of the desert. I travelled on rims for about the last four days in the desert. This was in 1965. From Nigeria, I later sent mails to my friends in Germany, which contained some of the sand I got from the desert, for them to believe I made the journey through. I went back to Germany in September 1965, but this time, I took a plane. I couldn’t have attempted that twice. I returned to Nigeria in 1971.

When the Biafra war broke out in 1967, what happened?

We organised ourselves into the Biafra Union in Germany. Then, the Germans wanted to know what was happening in Nigeria but there were no materials to that effect. We, the Biafra Students Union, now divided ourselves into groups. The technical group were the people who produced Biafra radio that Nigeria couldn’t silence. I headed the propaganda group and wrote a book about the war, and used photographs taken by German journalists who had come back from Nigeria. I went to many towns in Germany to speak about the war and by the time we finished, many Germans were in tears. Afterwards, the book, written in German, is titled ‘Biafra, the tragedy of a people.’ It sold millions in Germany. By the time the war ended, it was Michael Okpara and Dr. Ogbonna who told us that Biafra had lost the war. That was the end of the struggle. We had wanted to form a front there in Germany to come to Nigeria and join the Biafra struggle.

On your return to Nigeria, what did you do?

I started importing used cars from Germany to Nigeria. I was the first person. It was cheap and I refurbished them here a bit and sold them for good profit. I supplied army depots in Lagos, Benin, Delta and Enugu. On one of my last trips, someone used false documents and labels for the cars I had imported and I lost nine cars. That was how I lost that business. Later, I started importing lace materials from London and coral beads from Italy. I also imported and supplied choice woods for furniture making. I did this from 1993 till 1996. After that, I started writing books. I’m working on my third book, which is about faith. I have never worked for anybody.

You studied political science, and were part of the Biafra struggle while in Germany, why didn’t you go into politics?

I had wanted to, but my wife discouraged me. If politics was all about service, maybe I would have joined. If we truly want change in Nigeria, it must start from our voting system. The Independent National Electoral Commission should eliminate all traces of rigging first and ensure a credible election in 2015.

How did you meet your wife and how long have you been married?

People are against marriage by proxy. But that was how I met my wife, through a friend, who understands me so much and also was working with her. She had also been to Europe. She studied medicine in England and started her own business, importing pharmaceutical drugs and supplying them to government agencies. Before then, she had worked with Sleep Comfort Furniture. My friend had also told her about me. He then came to me several times because he wanted to introduce me to her. After much persuasion, I decided to visit her office. She was so beautiful and I was mesmerised by the way she walked. I decided to marry her after the first meeting. We got married in 1982. We are also from the same tribe, Ukwuani.

What is the most important ingredient of your success in marriage?

I’m hot, while she is very cool and calculating. I’m very happy that I met her. To me, she is an antidote to who I am. I am very adventurous and fearless. It’s like the working system of a car battery, the positive and negative wires, they complement each other and makes the car to function very well. That is what she is to me. She cautions me when I want to do something that doesn’t seem good to her. I am like the hot dry season and she is the rainy season. Two of us can produce bumper harvest. That’s how it is. We are so happy together.

How come you married late, was it a personal decision?

Yes, it was. I lived an adventurous life. I was also a dashing young man. Back in Germany, their girls pressurised me to marry them, this happened more than four times, even with ladies who just met me for the first time. Many girls ran after me. But I took time to decide to marry. My parents didn’t put pressure on me to get married, although my father died in 1961.

What is the secret of your longevity and youthful looks?

My wife cooks good food and feeds me with a lot of vegetables. I’ve begged her to open an eatery because if you eat her food, you must come again (laughs). For someone who has had such adventurous life like I had had and the number of accidents I have survived; I’m grateful to God. In 2008, I had this prostate gland operation and they made a mistake with my bladder. I was in a coma for nine days before they were able to remove it. I’m still alive today. Also, I have peace of mind with my wife, this makes me young. You see, happiness and satisfaction contributes to good health, and then add good food to it. My wife has a time table for food. What she gives you today won’t be the same tomorrow or next. She has varieties. It’s a blessing. God also used the seven years I spent at the seminary to prepare me to be a devoted Christian.

What’s your best food?

There is nothing I cannot eat. But my favourite is eba and ogbono soup.

Do you regret not completing your schooling at the seminary?

I wouldn’t say regret, but that I missed it badly. I’m so much deep in Christianity. I was still a virgin until I was 30. I couldn’t have opted out on my own. That is why I am also grateful to Cardinal Okogie, but for him, I could have ended up very badly. And the prayerful life I missed in the seminary, God eventually gave it back to me through my wife. Sometimes, she could pray for hours.

What about your children?

I have many children; some are married, one is based in Spain with his family, another lives in Lagos, one is a lecturer at the Delta State University. Some are working in Lagos and Abuja. I have no regrets that I gave birth to my children at my old age. There are men who can still reproduce at 75 or 80 years of age. The anxiety that one is getting too old might be a stumbling block in itself. I have many grandchildren.

What advice would you give to young people about marriage?

Marriage is a life vocation. Marriage is something that you have to decide and be convinced about. There should be no pressure on you. Again, it should not be hurriedly done, otherwise, you will make terrible mistakes and regret them. It’s good that now churches have made it mandatory for prospective couples to undergo months of counselling to prepare them. Don’t rush into marriage or be enticed by material things or a person’s wealth. If the person loses them tomorrow, what happens?

What is your greatest fulfilment?

It is my faith. Sometimes when I look at the world around me, I just imagine how it would be that one day I would be with God in heaven, because of that I don’t fear death at all. In fact, if people who are getting close to their death would allow me, I would go and console them and teach them how to die. My faith and confidence in God also helps me. God brought me into existence; definitely, I must go back to Him one day.