Ojukwu/Bianca love story reenacted on stage

Beauty is a perishable product, according to a former Enugu state governor, C.C. Onoh whose daughter Bianca, married warlord Odimegwu Ojukwu for the most controversial union in modern Nigerian history.

But he may be wrong, and a stage play set for May is about to prove it in its take tagged: Bianca- Her Lord, Her Love, Her Nation

Executive producer, Joseph Edgar describes Bianca to Vanguard as various things, especially as his expectation of her personality was radically shifted at their first meeting. Before that first meeting, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs had sent him a ‘stinker’ for attempting to stage her story without her input.

Underestimating Bianca

“To be very candid, I didn’t have any expectations but as a very aggressive salesperson, I underestimated her. When I sent her the poster to ask for an opportunity to meet up with her to discuss the project, she came back slightly angry. I decided to book an appointment with her and I went to Abuja”.

He thought it was going to be a walk over, only to get there and meet this very firm, very stern lady with clarity regarding what she wanted and how she wanted to go about it.

“But then, what would you expect the wife of Odimegwu Ojukwu, a woman that transcended from beauty pageantry into one of the most serious leaders in the South East, leader of APGA and current Minister? She didn’t allow me push her around. Rather, she pushed me. I came away from that session with renewed respect and admiration that this woman with divine heavenly beauty had a steeliness that belied her physical appearance. She didn’t come across as a weakling in any way. Rather, I came out the weakling. She has collaborated very strongly on this project and I must thank her for her support so far.

Bianca is not a soft woman in any way. She looks like a soft woman but we all saw the slap. That was not the slap of a soft woman. Most women faced with that kind of aggression will run behind the man.

Intellectually she is very strong, very gifted. Her strength is in her intellectual capacity. Very cerebral. She told me a lot that I didn’t know. She is well travelled, sophisticated and all”.

A clean bridge builder

Moreso, he said he sees her as a bridge builder because the South East is going through stress. “She sits there very symbolic not just as the wife of a national leader but also a serious player. From this play, you will see that she’s also significant in standing between the older and younger generations. She is a beacon, an icon, very inspirational not only to young women but young Nigerians as well. In the Nigerian context, she is a clean bridge builder without the stains that come with all these other people who position themselves as bridge builders”.

But of all the issues plaguing the nation, why Bianca?

Edgar says it’s a matter of conviction. “Nigeria has been running with leaders that have not shown any form of conviction. Even the average Nigerian does not understand the importance of conviction in his interactions, relationships. Bianca is a story of conviction from the choice of a partner, the struggle with her father in trying to get her father to accept that choice”.

More so having staged other plays of successive actors around the event of the civil war such as Fajuyi, the Duke of Somolu Production Company thought taking on Ojukwu’s story frontally would be controversial, so it decided to go through the back door by using Bianca to tell the Ojukwu story.

Ojukwu, from other angles

“There are two things we are trying to achieve.

One, it’s a romantic story of true love, something that really doesn’t exist in Nigeria of today. Basically we are trying to draw out passion, dedication, very deep love.

Again, we are trying to touch on the Ojukwu story, see Ojukwu from different angles during the civil war and after the civil war. The things he did and very importantly, his love for Bianca. Ojukwu could be a very romantic person- the poems, the essays… otherwise he would never have got a woman who is very sublime in her approach to romance. Women like Bianca don’t get carried away by material things. It’s the little things that carry them away. The fact that he was a warlord, a soldier… He wasn’t spoilt. His father was one of the richest Nigerians but told stories of how on his own he had to go and push things so those are the kind of things that most likely attracted Bianca. I heard he was extremely romantic”.

Beyond capturing the beautiful love story of the People’s General and the nation’s beauty queen through narrative techniques, storytelling and flashbacks, the story dovetails into Ojukwu’s strength in exile and his wish for Ala Igbo and Nigeria to succeed.

His love and strong character, his love for theatre and the arts and especially Bianca’s role in helping him heal from the traumatic experience of the war will expose the General as a detribalised Nigerian who could easily speak the main languages of the nation.

Of love and conviction

“Her story saved my personal life”, Edgar divulges, “when your parents say, why do you want to go and marry outside of your tribe? I could connect with what she was going through; understand the pressure because I went through the same pressure on my own side too. All the fights, struggles made me pay very strong attention that it was a fight of conviction. I told my mother that she would die and I would cross her body and marry this person. I think that is the kind of conviction I pursued. What she even told me at some point was that her father did not agree for her to have wine carrying till after she had 3 children. That was the level of determination”.

The producers hope the audience leaves that hall falling back in love with the concept of true love. “True love is gone in Nigeria now. Everything is material because of the economy. That you can actually see someone and love that person and both of you can begin to walk together. In life we must stand for something. Bianca is known for something. All the personalities we have showcased in our production company all stand for something”.

Kogi born beauty, Kabila Jubril will play Bianca while Timi Dakolo will be there live to serenade the notable audience.