Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

Patrick Nwokoye Okeke-Ojiudu KSS (1914-1995), also referred to as P.N. or P.N. Okeke, was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

politician, businessman, teacher, philanthropist and the

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

of the Okeke-Ojiudu family. He was Minister of Agriculture from 1959-1966, a period known as the

Nigerian First Republic The First Republic was the republican government of Nigeria between 1963 and 1966 governed by the first republican constitution. The country's government was based on a federal form of the Westminster system. The period between 1 October 1960, ...

Early life

Born into a far from wealthy family from Alor,

Anambra Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi Stat ...

, Okeke-Ojiudu had to work hard in order to pay for his education at all levels. In 1938 he went to St. Charles Teachers Training College

Onitsha Onitsha ( or just ''Ọ̀nị̀chà'') is a city located on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. A metropolitan city, Onitsha is known for its river port and as an economic hub for commerce, industry, and education. ...

Anambra State Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State ...

where he studied from 1938-41. Due to his outstanding distinctions, he was posted direct as Headmaster. He was sent to St. Anthony's school Umudioka. There he served under father Michael Iwene Tansi (beatified by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in 1998), and even at the time struck him as a

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

. Also at St. Anthony's, he was privileged to teach Francis Arinze (now

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

) who entered school at the age of ten. The two would go on to become good friends. In 1947, P.N. passed the Senior Teachers Certificate Examination and was posted to St. Charles T.T.C. as a

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in co ...

. He soon left his job as a tutor at St. Charles College to take up

trading Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exchan ...

Political career

After success trading in

textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

and building materials, Okeke-Ojiudu ventured into politics in 1950 winning the

Local Government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

election in his home town, and in 1951 became a member of the

Northern District Council where he was elected Chairman of the Staff and Education Committee. He would later serve as the Vice-Chairman of Onitsha Urban District Council. In 1953 he was elected into the Eastern

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

under the NCNC banner and in 1957 he was again elected member of the House with a massive vote of 67,000 second only to NCNC leader

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the n ...

who polled 77,000 votes. While in office, Okeke-Ojiudu politically fought alongside Nigerian legend and founder of Africa's freedom movement,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

as a parliamentarian. In 1959 he became the first Minister of Agriculture (Eastern), in the first republic of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, a position which he held till 1966. Okeke-Ojiudu was the first Minister to join the then

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Michael Okpara Michael Iheonukara Okpara (25 December 1920 – 17 December 1984) was a Nigerian politician and Premier of Eastern Nigeria during the First Republic, from 1959 to 1966. At 39, he was the nation's youngest Premier. He was a strong advocate of wh ...

in his cabinet. As minister he turned his attention to establishing Farm settlements throughout the region, which in turn led to an increase in food production. Next he turned to the problems of the African Continental Bank, the establishment of the Universal Insurance Company, re-organisation of the Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation (E.N.D.C.), and Nigerian Construction And Furniture Company (N.C.F.C.). Even NIGERCEM Nkalagu now a major revenue earner for Eastern states was to some extent under his supervision. He also assisted the regional government in securing a loan for the starting and running of the

University of Nigeria The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Eastern part of Nigeria. Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has thr ...

Nsukka.

Business

In the wake of the military takeover of January 1966, he retired into private life and gave full rein to his private enterprise. He is the founder of Peenok Investments, a

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

and

investment company An investment company is a financial institution principally engaged in holding, managing and investing securities. These companies in the United States are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and must be registered under the ...

based in Nigeria. Since then the Okeke-Ojiudu family has spawned a series of companies such as the Zodiac Hotels Group headed by son Chief E.A. Okeke-Ojiudu and P.M.C. (Peenok Medical Center) by son Ambassador Dr F.C. Okeke-Ojiudu (Nigeria's first Ambassador to the Vatican City), to name a few. The family also owns major property interests across

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

and overseas.

Honors

For his outstanding services and achievements, the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

in 1975 bestowed the

Knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of the

Order of St. Sylvester Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr ( la, Ordo Sancti Silvestri Papae, it, Ordine di San Silvestro Papa), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five o ...

(KSS) on him. He was also a Knight of St. Mulumba (KSM) of which he was one of the founding members.

Personal life

P. N. Okeke was married to Grace Nwuduezue Adimorah. The couple had a daughter, Pamela, and five sons: Francis, Anthony, Chijioke, Ikenna and Chike. He died at his home in

Enugu Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...

, in 1995.

References

External links

Chief P.N. Okeke-Ojiudu: The Patriarch

Nigerian Real Estate Entrepreneurs - Patrick N. Okeke-Ojiudu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okeke-Ojiudu, P. N. Igbo politicians 1914 births 1995 deaths Igbo businesspeople Igbo educators Igbo philanthropists Nigerian real estate businesspeople National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons politicians Federal ministers of Nigeria 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople