I don’t belong to any political party – Obasanjo

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo disclosed during a thanksgiving service, today, at the Methodist Church Nigeria, Cathedral of Unity, Wuse, Zone 3, Abuja, that he is not a member of any political party.

Diaspora Digital Media gathered that he described himself as “a no-party statesman”.

The former president warned that Nigerians were currently dealing with a number of difficulties.

He also advocated positivity and hope.

The service was for the 80th birthday of a journalist, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu.

Chief Ugochukwu was also the former Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The former president praised the celebrant for being a devoted and helpful individual throughout his 1999 election campaigns.

This was despite the fact that Chief Alex Ekwueme competed for the same post in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), according to report.

Olusegun Obasanjo exhorted Ugochukwu to spend the remainder of his life with the Lord and dedicated to serving humanity.

He said: “But remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13.

“Your faith must not diminish.

“You must never lose hope.

“Even when things are as gloomy as they are in Nigeria today, we must remain optimistic and hopeful.

“And finally, you must live and continue to live a life of love.

“Love for your family.

“Love for friends and foes.”

Ex president continued: “Love for your community.

“Love for your state.

Still admonishing on Love, He went on: “Love for your country.

“Love for humanity.

“And love for God.

“When we came together, it was during the campaign.

“I’ve known a little bit about you by your reputation.

“We were two candidates competing in PDP – myself and Alex Ekweme.

“And right from the word go, you decided who you would be with.

“Some Yoruba elements in our campaign saw you as a spy.

“The Igbo elements on the other side saw you as a bastard.

“Why should you be with a Yoruba man when an Igbo man is contesting?

“And you stood your ground.

“You were unshaken and unshakable.

“You remained totally loyal.

“And I appreciate it.

“And you remain with me.

“Not 99.9% loyal, but 100% loyal.

“Throughout my tenure.

“I will be eternally grateful to you.

“When you went in, as the bishop said, to contest the election, and they overturned the election, you didn’t take revenge on anybody.

“You were not bitter.

“You didn’t even move out of the party.”

He went on: “You remained.

“Some people would have moved out of their party.

“And you know some who are in our party, close to us, who did that.

“Over the years, whether I am in or out, whether people are abusing me or oppressing me, I know your stand.

“I know I can count on you.

“Not only as my supporter, but for the party that we all built together.

“Even though now I’m a no-party statesman.

“I want to emphasise what the bishop said.

“At 80, what more do you want?

“Do you need it?

“All I will say is that you need to continue to serve humanity and serve God.

“And there’s no end to that.

“And the bishop said you should enjoy yourself.

“I will concur with that.

“But don’t over-enjoy yourself.

“Because one can overdo it.

“Once again, happy birthday, many happy returns.

“You will celebrate 90.

“And I will be there.

“You will celebrate 100.

“I will not be there.

“But wherever I am.”

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, too

During the reception, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also praised Onyema Ugochukwu for his patriotism.

He claimed that when Atiku and ex President Olusegun Obasanjo disagreed, the celebrant did not pick sides and instead made an effort to mediate the conflict.

Atiku said: “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I will not claim that I know Ogochukwu long enough because we only met during our administration around 1998-99.

“And till now, we have been in contact with each other.

“But I want to say that during our administration, even when the President and I were having problems, Ogochukwu never took sides.

“Rather, he tried to be a conciliator and I want to say that all along I found him to be an extremely dedicated, passionate Nigerian.

“Let me also testify that in all those years that we worked together, I never heard of any unwarranted action by Onyema Ogochukwu.

“He was still a credible and perfect gentleman.

“Mrs. Ogochukwu, I think you are very lucky to have him.

“Honestly, I want to say that this is one of the very rare events I have put on a public face to identify myself, but I feel extremely delighted to have been part of this event.

“I also look forward to getting to your age.

“So, once again congratulations Onyema Ogochukwu and family and the entire people of Abia State and Nigeria in general.”

The celebrant, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu…

However, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu was tearful as he explained that five of his seven siblings had passed away.

He thanked God for his excellent health and remarked that only he and his sister remained.

As he acknowledged God’s faithfulness in his life and vowed to continue serving God and humanity more than ever before, he claimed to be the first of his siblings to reach the age of 70.

He said: “In 2014, I lost my two younger brothers, my father, and then my uncle.

“So there was no urge to celebrate.

“There were seven.

“My eldest brother, let him be known, was the best of us all.

“But he died at 64.

“I grew up in a happy family, and all that.

“But then when the war came.

“I joined the army.

“I had bullet wounds, both in my hand and my leg.

“But God didn’t want to take me away.

“In retrospect, I thought that those bullet wounds were to take me off that front, because I probably would not have been alive if they had remained there subsequently.

“In 2007, I lost the election which I won, actually.

“I then went to court.

“And I was in court for three years.

“But in my own case, my friends stayed with me.

“So much so, that even those who were fighting us said they would like to join our group.

“How do we do it?

“And they have stayed together these many years.

“They are mostly the people helping to organise this.

“I am grateful to former President Olusegun Obasanjo for the impact he made in my life.

“When I met him, it was General Liu that introduced us.”

The Sermon

Earlier in his sermon, the Bishop of Nyanya Diocese, Rt. Rev. J. O. K. Adeyemi, admonished the celebrant to keep serving God and humanity, more than ever before.

He urged Ugochkwu to always seek heavenly race and be dedicated to living a good life, as reported.

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