It Wouldn’t Be Special If Edda Like Other Clans Produce Governor Come 2019 – Amb. Mike Okoro (Vote For Jesus)

Ada eme afu dimkpa afu ogologo imi ya, there’s no better phrase to use on a man like Ambassador Mike okoro. A man whom if you say he has seen it all in life ranging from military to business from business to the preaching of the gospel leaving no stone unturned even in politics and no witness will proof otherwise. Aman that loves his identity to the brim. Whose name rings a bell in the area of business world, a man if offices were Atlantic oceans his name would be Titanic.

EDDA MAGAZINE visited him in his country home in Aba and the world of an accomplished man was opened. Eze Sampson is here to bring you the chat in detail. It’s about Edda, it’s about our identity, it’s about you this is Edda Magazine enjoy.

 Good  morning sir.

Good morning my son.

 How are you doing today?

Great, am doing by the grace of God.

Sir, it’s a pleasure having you.

The pleasure is all mine having you at my place of abode.

This is Edda Magazine and we are here so elated to be chatting with one our own. A father of many and a man Eddans all over respect with all humility. Sir, you are on to Eddans all over the world and we are happy to bring you to speak to Eddans like never before.

Very fantastic that  I am speaking to my people particularly speaking to the EDDA MAGAZINE. It’s a news to me. One that relates to my people I am happy.

Sir can you please tell us more about yourself?

I don’t know exactly what to tell about myself but I know that I was born when my mates were born that’s about some 68 years back, and I grew up at school age I went to school, to different schools. During the war I joined my colleagues in Biafra to fight the Biafra Nigerian war and graciously I went to that war and came back from that war almost unhurt even though I had some bullet wounds I know lots of people lost their lives being soldiers, militias, boys brigade and you what have. I graduated from being militia to the army and gallantly as it were I fought the war and I touched different segment in the Army. I served in the research and production in Umuahia. We were the people that produced Ogbunigwe. I operated Ogbunigwe , I was also an infantry. I rose to the rank of second Leutenant in the Army, not as a cadet but as an infantry any way. So soon after the war I embraced the best in my life and that’s meeting with Christ. Who since then has been my savior exactly since 1970, so if there’s anything you can say about the Mike Okoro or Vote for Jesus, it is as a result of what that great man Jesus did in my life and that’s why I am who I am.

I also picked the preaching of the gospel as an evangelist because all these while I have been a full time businessman and also full time preacher of the gospel. I sojourned from my village to Abakaliki the same 1970. Spent some 5 years in Abakaliki , five and half years same 1975 precisely November 1975 I had an appointment as a distributor in 1975 to Cardbury Nigeria Limited now Cardbury Nigerian plc.

 What date sir? 

Yea, I can’t remember the date exactly but I remember it was in November 1975 and I was the youngest distributor Nigeria ever had then, I was just 20 something years, my early 20s then. That was the grace of God I spent nine whole years in Okigwe, before this time God has giving me the name VOTE FOR JESUS.

The name VOTE FOR JESUS was giving to me precisely on the 29^th May 1975 at Abakaliki as a result of one my morning cries, preaching in the mornings that God told me to tell your listening audience that God is after their life and the Devil is after their life and therefore whoever they give their life to will win with two third majority. By this time there was nothing like politics in Nigeria it was absolutely the era of military so when the Lord put that in my mouth it became a slogan in my ministrations voting your life to Jesus so that Jesus will win by two third majority and rule your life for your good. It went on like that until that same year when I bought my small motor cycle Honda 50, I crept on it VOTE FOR JESUS then on November that same year I left Abakaliki for Okigwe, then In okigwe in 1976 I bought my first pick up and I wrote on it Vote for Jesus that vehicle was more or less a ministerial vehicle and that was why the vehicle lasted more than any other vehicle you can think of.

 It was a missionary vehicle I suppose?

Call it missionary, it was for my business it was more of the Lord’s business. When I got to Okigwe too as a Christian I never hide my identity. Any where I’m I’ve always want people to know who I am and I will never stop professing who I am, I go as far as letting them know where I come from even when I travel abroad I let them know that I’m a member of Assemblies Of God and I’ll never be ashamed just like the scripture said through Apostle Paul “that we are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to the Jews and to the Greek. So I continued until I became the Zonal representative of the scripture Nigeria. As a matter of fact the Okigwe camp of Faith was bought by me when I was the zonal Representative. I started the development of that edifice that has metamorphosed into what it is today, I continued until about 1982 my distributorship appointment has been upgraded that I was asked to come over to Aba, so in 1984 I came over to Aba to the glory of God I had a challenge and comittment to serve God and humanity, therefore these two principles I have neither forgotten nor relent in serving God and humanity in either of them and I hold it very tenaciously. It has to also go down to Edda where I come from. You didn’t ask me where I come from (general laughter).

I ‘m from a very tiny village in Edda, Edda is in Ebonyi state. Edda is in Afikpo south other known as Edda local government currently, the tiny village is called Itim Edda where you have the tallest hill in Edda that’s where I come from.  When I said the Lord gave me the burden to serve God and humanity the Lord also gave me the burden to pacify the burden of my people. I took up the affairs of my people Edda I’m like one who do not want to see an Edda man cry without at least doing one or two things to pacify the person both at home, community wise and in the diaspora where I live. I’m not doing it that any man may recognize me, am doing it because it’s a commission, it’s an assignment giving to me those who are jealous may think am doing it that I may be recognize why do I need that again?

Let me tell you a story you must know, in 1982 the lord had woke me up one late night and said to me you have done well in evangelizing Edda that your people also need material emancipation, social emancipation and political emancipation. At that time I was so zealous that I knew nothing else apart from preaching the gospel throughout Edda and beyond that some people thought I was mad. I was so narrow minded I only thought about the gospel and probably about the cry of the people. So When he mentioned political emancipation I did not understand, so I said to myself what is God telling about me about political emancipation? As a Christian I detested it. The time am telling you was about 1982 I was very young.

So I remembered a portion of the bible 3 John precisely that says: “Beloved I wish above all things that thou may prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospers.” Then I understood that life is not a one way traffic and still didn’t understand until one day in that same 1982 I was at Ebunwanna at one councilor Uma’s house when one politician came to visit him. They excused me and went out but from where there were from my sit I was hearing everything they were saying, and one thing I heard was Edda is not a problem to me it’s only money. Remember I told you that I detested the word politics but that thing strucked me and I got up from where I was and moved to the scene and told the man, brother Uma am sorry I can’t stand this and I went straight to Elder Francis Orji I can’t remember if he was still the deputy governor in the then Imo state.

And I said to him sir, I met something that actually provoked me, coincidentally that was exactly this period in the Nigerian political system, Same election period. That guy came and wanted Edda people to support him to go to the House of Representative and I started looking for somebody who will go for us in Edda. I did not get no man. Anybody you meet will tell you either there’s no money, even when you promise to give him all the necessary support yet no body was willing. It’s like we didn’t know it was possible for us Nde Edda, until someone told me about one Udo Okoro. I never have met him before, they said he lived in Lagos. I was fighting like Moses of the old, am not saying indeed I am but I played the role of Moses when the Israelites were being intimidated that was my part then in Edda, I had to go to Lagos. I remember taking two days on the road to Lagos, I was able to meet him in a hotel where he was kept precisely Federal palace hotel. I met him and introduced myself to him and he said oh! are you the vote I hear of ? I said yes and was able to convince him and he asked will our people be able to give him support I said yes he came and I was able to give the necessary support I could give him then, to the glory of God he won the election.

Wow being the first Edda man?

Yes, to go to the house of representatives at least after the war. I don’t know what it was like before the war, it’s just that the tenure did not live due long to another military intervention it was shot lived and from that I became very conscious of what God told me do about emancipating my people politically. Ask any Edda man who was aged as at the time am telling you, he will tell you that I have not relented in making sure that my people Nde Edda play active role politically. Not just in politics also in business there would be times I will kneel down and pray to God and say OH GOD HOW WILL WE REMAIN THE WAY WE ARE IN THE BUSINESS WORLD help my help people business wise but only very few of us but thank God today we are coming up in the business world and I pray that we continue to improve. Am also happy that politically, it is a known fact that if I have not met anybody who is anybody politically I have met up to 85% and if I say all of them passed through me it might be an unnecessary bold claim but up to 85% and so satisfied that Edda people are now politically emancipated am also satisfied that through politics, genuine politics that our place can be developed. Today, go round Edda you’ll see wonderful buildings, roads, I remember when I had to tell the then governor, Sen. Sam Egwu to be precise when he wanted me to come over I said you have to give me a road. I’ve been with him we drove from Owutu to Nguzu was attracted by my humble self. He, Sam Egwu gave it to me, the first contractor I brought messed it up until the current governor came and you saw what he did also substandard job too that did not last, so am happy that Edda has been emancipated politically.

Sir, we know you as a very busy person from the business to evangelism but of recent you have become busier than ever, can you tell us what it is that has been taking your time?

Yea, you mentioned it all except that you were not able to mention the other one but let me help you do that, politics has been carrying me around. As you rightly know I’ve been in principal business for about five decades now.

That is fifty years?

Yes, close to fifty years. I’ve been doing other little business until precisely 1975 that is why I said close to fifty years, I joined this other business that is not common to my people generally the Ogbos known as distribution. Distribution of finished goods, we have been known with the business of textiles, sewing and what have you, but by the grace of God we are coming up unlike before. I’ve been in this business all these while and I’ve distributed for a good number of companies and am still distributing for some other companies today.

By the grace of God my business did not take the place of the gospel, I’ve remained a preacher of the gospel and that’s what I’ve been doing from 1970 because I understand what the gospel did in my life. So I’ve never on any time trying to play down on any, I carry on my business and that of the Lord trying to join it with politics so I’ve been trying to join the three of them because I know it is very possible. Moreover there’s trinity, so if I can join the three outstanding functions and the grace is there to run it there’s nothing wrong with it.

So like I said earlier that so many people have passed through me politically from councillorship to the Local Government Chairman to the House of Assembly to the House of Representative to the Senate. I’ve also contributed in making some governors particularly my state of residence in Abia state. Today we’re believing by God’s grace come 2019 that Edda will produce the first governor in the person of our Bro. Sen Sonni Ogbuoji. Is not that it is too special so to say because others have produced governors, another people have produced deputy governors, Ambassadors, ministers and what have you. So if today we are meant to produce the governor there’s nothing wrong with it.

Please can you tell us what it takes to be an Edda man?

It all depend an aspect you want me to describe an Edda man. Okay, let me start from the preliminary perhaps you have to be born as a citizen of Edda, and you have to grow up like in those good old days and of course it’s still there peripherally and you have to pass through the traditional process by getting initiated to the Ipu Ogo Umirima and when you grow to a stage, you have to get re-initiated to adult stage- Ipu Ogo Nde isina and all that which I must not fail to tell you that those things played down the progress of an Edda man. Unarguably, it affected us because when I was growing up except that my father was a bit handy, I was supposed to spend eleven years in what we call ino ogo and those who were doing that were not able to go to school because you cannot be ISIJI and be in school and that’s why we lost out.

But I thank God today that he has helped us to know what is good for us and what is bad for us. I know it is still there skeletally and that is why when the church people cry foul I’ll tell them calm down what you see today is not what it used to be some forty years ago that God who started this good work will bring it to a successful end. So these are some of the things that make up as an Edda man, but then you will not be a responsible Edda man if you neglect education. Because if you were initiated either in children or adult IPU OGO without education you’ll not fit in properly in the society even in Edda today. To be a standard Edda man you must balance it especially in this area of academics, that we are anything today in Edda is because we imbibed the culture of education. Look politics, if you’re an illiterate you have no place in politics. The only place you have in politics as an illitrate is when they ask you to go and cast your ballot you go and cast it for others to enjoy, you have no place to contest that is why I tell people especially my people in Edda whatever thing you have up there please accommodate education. This very important, for instance what you are doing today (EDDA MAGAZINE) you wouldn’t have done if you were not educated.

Yes, ofcouse?

To be a balanced Edda man education in important.

Knowledge vast.

Not exactly, you can acquire knowledge from your parents. Education gives you knowledge, Imagine if I didn’t go to school there’s no way I WOULD DO MY BUSINESS SUCCESSFULLY.

There’s no business that grows without education so my people should imbibe the culture of education, infact when I see my people hawk on the roads and streets it bleeds my heat. There was a time I had to cry.

You see education is something we acquire, that is deposited inside of you not just about going to the classroom run out tomorrow to come and hawk in Aba, Lagos or any way, but acquiring education which is what I believe is an asset to your being. Education can take you anywhere in the world make you achieve anything you want to achieve.

We are of the fact that you are a committed member of PDP why APC this time?

I never told you I am an APC MAN O, BUT YOU ARE RIGHT. I can be a PDP man but for interest sake support an Edda man to become the governor except the man here Oti referring to Oti Baba who is who is PDP for life, who no matter what, will continue to be  a PDP man. But me? am a patriotic Edda man, am a builder, anybody coming from anywhere to alleviate the suffering of my people, to bring us to lime light in the society as long he/she is from Edda my brother whether am in DPC, eeh Gongola Party, Abuja Party  during that time I’ll come down and support the person. That’s patriotism as long as Edda is concerned I’m a patriotic Edda man.

You bring us to Edda Okigbo Progressive Union.

Yea, Edda Okigbo Progressive I know we have our branches everywhere, I know our head quarter is in Edda, I know the one here in Aba we are running and Edda Okigbo Progressive Union is very dynamic. I joined them so many years ago when I came from Okigwe..cuts in.

Oh, we actually thought you formed it?

.. eeehm reasonably yes it was not really called Edda Okigbo when I came infact there was nothing like a forum where Edda people meet and I can still remember that I started from the spiritual base calling my people together every part of Edda.

Thanks for your time sir.

THANK YOU MY SON