The Chairman of Dr Michael Okpara Foundation, Uzodinma Okpara has recounted a memorable conversation with his father during a visit to Ireland in 1973. He revealed that his father’s primary goal was not to accumulate wealth but to ensure the people of Eastern Nigeria had access to basic necessities like food.
He highlighted how his father expressed contentment in achieving this objective and being a freeman after service to the people. He emphasized that his father’s priorities were not swayed by economic indicators but rather by a genuine desire to create wealth and employment opportunities for the people. He identified that his legacy serves as a testament to the importance of leadership that prioritizes the greater good over personal gain.
He said in an interview with Arise TV from 4:51, ”When I visited my father in Ireland, this was about 1973 and he said let’s go have a drink. Then he said he was living in a one bedroom apartment and that it was when I wrote to him that he decided to move into a two-bedroom apartment. So we were eating, he said look Uzor, will you say your father was minister of 8 years and Premier for 6 years and we are living in a two bedroom apartment in Dublin in Ireland?
And then he said to me that listen, my ambition was not to be a rich man. If my ambition was to be a rich man, I would have been one of the richest people in Africa. My father said his ambition was to put food on the table for the people of Eastern Nigeria. And he said to that extent, I was successful and I’m happy that I’m a Freeman today. He was not intimidated by the economic indices, all he just wanted to do is putting food on the table of the people of Eastern Nigeria. His main desire was to create wealth and employment.”….Vìêw–Morê