Ndigbo Hails Buhari for Honouring Okonkwo with OFR  

Uzoma Mba 

For bestowing one of their illustrious sons, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, with the prestigious and coveted Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) award, Ndi Igbo have hailed President Muhammadu Buhari.

Okonkwo, the managing director of United Nigeria Airlines, was one of the few Nigerians to get the award on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.

Leading the plaudits, an enterpreneur, Dr. Okechukwu Okafor, who was elated over the honour done to Okonkwo, described him as a man of multiple competences, an academician and a business mogul who has brought pride to Ndigbo and Nigeria in general.

Mr. Okafor hailed Buhari for remembering Okonkwo, adding that the president did not make a mistake in selecting him for the award.

“Buhari has done Ndigbo a honour, because we have been crying of marginalisation, and, with the honour to some of our children, especially Okonkwo, it shows that we are being remembered. 

“We are glad that he was among the few people on the federal government’s honours list. It’s a welcome development and we believe that the federal government should go a step further to actually engage him and others in the running of this country, because these are the people we need to actually help Nigeria grow.

“He has multiple competences. He was one of the governorship candidates in the last election in Anambra State, and we believe that, one day, he will be in a position to lead Anambra or this country. 

“He’s one of the very few Nigerians that are qualified in all ramifications. We are offering him and other worthy sons and daughters of the South East to the country and the world as good leaders that can make change where it’s needed.”

For instance, he pointed out that Okonkwo was an entrepreneur who has created many jobs in his different companies at home and in the diaspora.

“If you go through his profile, you’ll see that he’s loaded. He has added so much value to individual lives and the country as a whole, and we need leaders like that who are dedicated and qualified,” Okafor said, describing Okonkwo as a round peg in a round hole. 

He also explained that one of the causes of problems in the country was because some people put round pegs in square holes, which was why things were not going right, but individuals like Okonkwo would right the wrongs in this country and Nigeria would be able to amass human and natural resources, to the advantage of all citizens.

“I thank God that he is already into politics, because one of the problems we have in this country is that the right people are shying away from politics and the wrong people are there; so, we need to get the right people in so that we get the desired change.

“I am very happy that the government is recognizing people like Okonkwo, but my advice to the federal government is that it should look for experts, especially from the private sector and the academia.

“We have people that will come and deliver. We have the likes of Dora Akunyili, of blessed memory. So, when we get people like High Chief Obiora Okonkwo, a professor, it will go a long way in solving most of our economic and social problems. He has what it takes to make that change,” he said.

Still expressing happiness over Okonkwo’s national honour, he admonished other people of Igbo extraction to aim for inclusiveness in Nigeria, saying, “We should take it easy. It is always better to come to the negotiation table so that we can talk over things and then get things done the right way. 

“The way we are going about it, where we are, we are marginalized, everybody knows, but it’s something we need to sit down and negotiate. It is better to always dialogue to solve problems, that’s my own personal decision about it. 

“We need to work together, point out where the injustice is and proffer suggestions, then the federal government will come to terms and we will resolve whatever the differences are. So, it is something that has to be taken with ease.”

Okonkwo is a professor of Business at the University of Abuja Business School and a visiting professor of Entrepreneurship at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. He is, among others, chairman, United Nigeria Airlines, one of the leading airlines in the country.

A native of Ogidi, in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Okonkwo was born on December 5, 1965, in Gombe. 

He was educated at the Russian Peoples Friendship University in Moscow, where he graduated with first class in Economics and Management of National Economy. 

He also obtained a master’s degree, also in Economics, from the same university, with distinction, before proceeding to the Russian Academy of Science, Institute of World Economy and International Relations, in Moscow, for his doctorate, which he bagged with distinction. 

He remains the only student in the university’s Department of Economics since inception in 1960 to graduate successfully with first class degree after combining two academic years of the postgraduate courses.

As a student in Moscow, Okonkwo created his first business and started a Nigeria-Russia import and export trade, which employed fellow students.

The collapse of the USSR created the opportunity for him to explore more business openings in other countries of the old eastern bloc. 

He, however, returned and settled in Nigeria to lend his hand to national development through the creation of the first multi-purpose entertainment centre in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, named The Dome Entertainment Limited. 

He sits on the board of several businesses, spanning security, engineering, communications, property/housing and so on.

Okonkwo will be remembered for facilitating the negotiation and signing of bilateral trade promotion and investment protection agreement between Nigeria and Belgium. 

He was involved in the process that led to debt pardon for Nigeria by Belgium up to the tune of $500 million and facilitated the listing of Nigeria in the trade-favoured country chart with Belgium, which made the Belgian government guarantee investment and trade risk of Belgian nationals and companies engaged in business in Nigeria. This attracted a lot of investments from Belgium to Nigeria. 

In recognition of this, among others, the Belgian Foreign Ministry and the King of Belgium decorated Okonkwo with the country’s highest national honour for foreign nationals, Knight of the Order of King Leopold, in November 2005.

For his contributions to economic growth and job creation, with his chains of businesses, Okonkwo was voted Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 by The Sun newspapers. 

He was also winner of the maiden Dr. Michael Okpara Leadership Prize in Business (2021) as well as Rotary International Youth Leadership Icon Award. 

He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria, Institute of Chartered Arbitrators and Mediators of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.