“Till date, the Ohafia people still celebrate the blessings of those years of raw strength, fearless and intelligence that has made them to stand out in all endeavors especially in the cultural rendition of the popular Ohafia War Dance. This is where the great Evangelist and one of Nigeria’s iconic Pentecostal leader, the Rev. Dr, Uma Ukpai came from”
By Njoku SaintJerry A.
Rev. Dr. Uma Ukpai, the teacher, the evangelist, the Doctor, the mentor and cultural ambassador from Ohafia in Abia State will be celebrated today and more as one of the greatest Pentecostal leaders of his time while he lived.
The people of Ohafia in Igbo land are famed in their war time fearless exploits in the ancient Southern Nigeria, History had it that other regions in the South East are known to have hired the Ohafia warriors when battles became overwhelming. Till date, the Ohafia people still celebrate the blessings of those years of raw strength, fearless and intelligence that has made them to stand out in all endeavors especially in the cultural rendition of the popular Ohafia War Dance. This is where the great Evangelist and one of Nigeria’s iconic Pentecostal leader, the Rev. Dr, Uma Ukpai came from.
In his trail from his homeland in Asaga Ohafia, a legacy will certainly outlive his days on earth, from his outstanding religious projects, the Greater Ohafia for Christ Crusade, a solemn annual evangelical gathering of his people at the end of every year, where ‘Papa Ukwu’ will lead that nostalgic “Chineke m kaa” worship and praise session, then preach and pray for the Ohafia 26 clans in undiluted dialect to communicate deeply to that old granny, the young people in the village who perhaps by happenstance never, ever attended any formal schooling.
Every year in the month of December, every Ohafia indigene across Nigeria looked forward to this great gathering where the Rev. Dr. Uma Ukpai relates with his own, praying and teaching godliness with contentment in clear cultural values. I was privileged to have served as Usher in one of those miracle crusades, right in my own domain.
The Great Evangelist had gone ahead to set up an institution of higher learning, The Uma Ukpai Polytechnic, to have every indigene in the Ohafia 26 educated, beyond that, the school served entire people of South East region down to nearby Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Calabar and student across Nigeria as a center of technical and moral education for a generation the great teacher Dr. Uma Ukpai was grooming to take over leadership when he is gone.
In 2014, I had cause to visit the Rev Uma Ukpai General Hospital, I was terribly sick and needed all the best medical care money could afford at the time, at least within the Ohafia region. It was my first visit and I was amazed, there were young Doctors from the South West and Middle belt, Trained nurses, serving, medical equipment was top notch, some unused, some overused and the environment was reviving. I left the hospital feeling relieved and grateful that a charismatic religious leader, an evangelist of Rev Uma Ukpai standing did not use his high office to mislead his own people to only seek miracles from the churches and his outdoor crusades where he actually did performed great miracles but set up a befitting medical outfit for the people when it appears prayer alone is not enough.
The man of fire; While growing up as a kid in the late 70’s, we had sat, crowded in front of the black and white box television every Sunday from 7.00PM to watch NTV Channel 6 Aba at the home of the only man that owned a television in entire community, at the set time, the figure of a slim man in dark suit with his arms raised up appears with a tongue of fire upon his head, and the inscription Evangelist Uma Ukpai. The man will preach with so much vigour, sweating and demonstrating power from God Almighty, although many of us including myself could neither speak nor understand what he was saying in English at that time but seeing that man outlive those days of hardship and strenuous commitment to preach and reach out to his people through the dark days of communication barriers is somewhat nostalgic and memorable to see him live through decades and witnessing the era of social media revolution where his sermons are available and reaches the world at the click of a button.
Back in Lagos State, in the 80’s the Uma Ukpai Evangelistic Crusade has transformed into a mammoth crowd puller with the likes of late Rev. Dr. O Ezekiel, the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, Felix Omobude, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, and sometimes complimented with occasional appearance of the Late Reinhard Bonke, the German Evangelist, the mention of Rev Dr, Uma Ukpai coming to Lagos created such a great expectation of miracles about to happen and divine opportunities for attendants.
At the end of every evangelistic tour, those of us from Abia State, not privileged enough to come closer to the podium as a result of the pressing crowd in Lagos had always look forward to the annual ‘Homecoming’ where the Evangelist will mount the wooden podium made by us, often dressed in the Ohafia traditional attire to give that heartwarming nostalgic welcome song “Ezi Chineke a nam ekele gi”
Today, as Abia State especially the Ohafia clans mourns and celebrate the transition to glory of this great man who has inscribed the name “Ohafia’ in gold on the world map, it is even more fulfilling to allege that the Greater Ohafia Development Authority (GODA) an agency of infrastructural and human development in Abia North, a brainchild of the administration of the working governor H.E. Alex Otti is in no doubt an offshoot of the Greater Ohafia for Christ Crusade, born out of passion for human and overall development of Abia State and the people of Ohafia.
As Ohafia people, the entire Abia State indigenes and Nigeria lay the great Rev. Dr Uma Ukpai to eternal rest, I pay my last respect and continuous reverence to the living legend, although you’re gone “Papa Ukwu, you will live in my mind in those images of Childhood memories from Isiugwu Ohafia and Lagos as a young adult till the last time I spotted you again in Isiugwu Ohafia, weak and tired, a Soldier who has paid his dues to mother earth.
Good Night “Papa Ukwu”
Njoku Jerry A. is the Acting State Publicity Sectretary Labour Party, Abia
