Tension in Ojukwu's family over property...

Members of the late Dim
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu
family may be setting for a
showdown over the sharing
formula of the ex-Biafran warlord’s
property. A prominent member of
the Ojukwu family, who did not
want his name in print, said,
“About two weeks after the burial
of Ezeigbo Gburugburu, family
members are already forming
groups against one another on
how they can benefit from the
property he (Ojukwu) left behind.
“This is very disturbing because it
has led to accusations and
counter-accusations and then the
hatred that was already in the
family is even getting worse by the
day.
“Some of them felt that they were
left out of the burial plans while
the others ran the show with the
aim of being close to the President
and ensure that they benefit from
the seat of power after the burial.”
Debe, the eldest son of the
deceased, had a fortnight ago told
our correspondent that the
problem in the family before the
death of his father had to do with
the large estate his grandfather left
behind.
He had alleged, “There have been
litigation over the estate my
grandfather left behind and other
members of my family felt they
were going to use the litigation to
blackmail me.
“That is why when they (family
members) wanted to see President
Goodluck Jonathan over the burial
plans, they decided to be hostile
towards me and ensured that I
was not part of the team that
visited the President.
“Due to my nature, I decided not
to allow the hostility impede the
burial activities of my father, a man
I still respect so much even in
death.”
Debe, however, promised on
Tuesday to speak “soon”, where
he would “unveil the true details
surrounding the crisis in the
family”.
Meanwhile, the GRA, Enugu
residence of the Igbo leader
looked abandoned as no family
member was around when our
correspondent visited.
Some of the domestic servants,
who were seen at the gate, said
they suspected trouble might be
brewing having observed the
consistent visits by friends and
associates of Ojukwu, Prof. Okwu
Okwu, who have been coming to
settle differences among family
members.
Culled from Punch