BIOGRAPHY OF LATE CHIEF OGBADU IBE EKPEGHERE

Chief Ogbadu Ibe Ekpeghere was born in 1936 into a polygamous family of the Late Ibe Ekpeghere
of Ndi-Nsi Compound Agbaja Autonomous Community Nkporo, His mother was the Late Madam Ude Obuji of Ndi-Uba Compound Agbo-Oha Autonomous Community. His Father was a
farmer. Chief O.C Ibe was the only surviving child of his mother. His mother died while he was
still a young boy. Inadequate care from his stepmothers caused the father to send him to live
with his Aunt Madam Ori Obuji. Not long after he began living with his Aunty, the father also
passed on leaving the young boy's entire upbringing to the mercy of chance. This predicament
made him develop a big heart. He was determined to survive. When in 1952 his uncle Mr. Brown
Ama took him to Ikot Ekpene to live with him, he was faced with the challenges of life in the township then.
 
Though Chief O.C did not have basic education, he got his limited education through
apprenticeship while learning the art of trading through his uncle. Among the host of the
apprentices, he was chosen to manage the Itu arm of their yam business. In 1956, his
master/Uncle Mr. Ama withdrew him from buying and selling, making him a conductor of his
truck, a new business he jointly owned. While a conductor, Chief Ogbadu, being so passionate
about buying and selling, was buying chewing sticks and foot mats along the road and selling
them in Lagos. In 1957, he parted ways with his boss and began his own business. In 1958, he
married his first wife, Mrs Mercy Ogbadu Ibe. Chief O. C. made so much wealth that he was
among the rich men in Nkporo at that time.
 
During the Nigerian Civil War, Chief O.C was a driver of the officers of the Biafran Army. When
the war became sour on the Biafran side, he resigned from driving the officers and gave the
Biafran Army one of his cars as a bargain to retain his ID in the army. On coming back to
Nkporo, saw a need and quickly began trading on salts, sugar, medicine, and other essential
commodities. His business prospered so much that he became rich again in the Biafran standard.
On the 15th of January 1970, he married his second wife Mrs Sunday Ogbadu Ibe. A few years later,
he married his last wife Mrs Patience Ogbadu Ibe.
 
After the war, he continued his trade of medicine and provisions. He quickly blended with the
transport business. He also moved part of his business to Aba. In the late 70s, he made his first
trip to America and began importation of goods from the U. S. A. Though his importation
business was going well, he depended so much on others to make it successful. His inability to
read and write was his greatest weakness for international business. He considered going back to
the classroom to study but thought it was too late. He rather settled for the business of financing
local businesses. He did awesomely well as the genius he was. Everyone in town knows he is a
private bank. This was the business he did till he took his last breath on 30th August, 2006.
 
Chief O.C was a symbol of hard work, an epitome of liberty and success. For many years,
Nkporo used him as a reference to the fact that one can be rich without formal education. He was
a dependable courageous optimist who was popular for his unique ideologies. He was one of the
pillars of Agbaja and Ndi Agbo Ato whose efforts and donations led to Ndi Agbo having
electricity till this day. He was a worthy patriot of Nkporo. Nwoke no far, Ogbeyi kara obi, Ibe
ukwu, Abuja 1, was a sagacious and dogged entrepreneur who served Nkopro with all his might.