Biafra war to save my life —
Alphonsus, 81
Published September 24, 2017
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Alphonsus
A retired business man and farmer ,
Ikeme Alphonsus, 81, talks about his life
and career with MOTUNRAYO JOEL
Tell us about yourself.
I was born on April 5 , 1936 in Onitsha
in the old eastern Nigeria . I am the
second of 11 children and the first son
of my parents.
How are you able to recollect your year of
birth vividly?
It is because at the time of my birth in
1936, Adolf Hitler was getting ready to
invade Poland and other countries in
continental Europe and the events
leading to World War II were well on
course. I was only three years old when
the war eventually began in 1939. My
father left soon after to fight in the war,
a journey that took him around the
world , with the bulk of his time spent
in Myanmar (Burma ) in Asia and India .
The stories he told me about his trips
helped to shape my childhood and
youth .
Tell us the schools you attended.
I attended St . Thomas Primary School,
Oraukwu in Anambra State . I lived with
my parents in Oraukwu throughout my
schooling days. But like the close family
we were , holidays were spent in my
uncle ’s house at Onitsha . My admission
to Washington Memorial Grammar
School, Onitsha, was never honoured
because as the first son , the
responsibility of taking care of my
younger siblings required that I get a
job . I took up employment first as a
hotel manager , then a carpenter ,
transporter, and eventually an
agricultural officer and a cloth
merchant. My entrepreneurial spirit
was such that I was restless and was
always seeking to improve my
circumstance hence the need to move
from one profession to another until I
settled on dealing in clothing .
In your days , the desire to travel abroad
to better one’ s life was common. Was that
the same for you ?
I felt no desire to travel abroad. I was
one of those that saw the opportunities
in agriculture very early and so rather
than travel abroad, I went to secure a
slot in the eastern Nigerian farm
settlement scheme where I acquired a
large portion of land for raising both
cash and food crops .
Did you establish a company from the
proceeds you made ?
Yes, in fact , I have set up multiple
businesses in my life time. The first was
a carpentry workshop I started soon
after I left school . Then my interest in
agriculture led me to apply and obtain
a piece of farmland through the Eastern
Nigeria Farm Settlement Scheme with
which I planted and sold food and cash
crops . Finally, I set up AlphPat Fancy
Goods Store , which sold items of
clothing in 1970. It was the business I
ran for 45 years till I retired from active
service in 2015.
How did you meet your wife ?
I met her during the civil war in 1969.
Our meeting was the handiwork of my
late sister , Mrs. Lucy Okeke . Like all
sisters, my sisters were very protective
of me and worked to have a say in who
would become my wife. They felt that
being the first son , I would need a
good, God- fearing wife that would help
hold the family, set good example for
the younger wives of my brothers as
well as serve as a mentor to them .
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