•’I planned what I wanted to become at 50′
•’My family was poorest in my village ’

By Charles Kumolu, Deputy Editor

At 50, Chairman of Blue Diamond Group, Festus Mbisiogu, literally has the world at his feet. He dines with kings, governors, ministers and other people of power and influence. He creates wealth, offers countless opportunities to earn a living, gives hope to the hapless and feeds the hungry.

But 50 years ago he was born into the poorest family in his Umuchima village, Ideato Local Government of Imo State, with no hope of ever growing beyond the deprivations of his birth. How did Mbisiogu overcome the natural barriers between him and success? The industrialist, the philanthropist and good governance advocate, who clocks 50 today, shares his story, in this interview.

What does turning 50 mean to you?

I am super excited because when I look back at what I have passed through in life, I am surprised I am alive today. There was a time I was admitted to the hospital and was taken to an emergency ward. That was in 2006. I had concluded the Lord was about to take me because, despite all efforts to know what was happening to me, nothing was discovered. I was subjected to different tests but they couldn’t detect what was happening to me. I am grateful the Lord saved me from that sickness and took me far. I am so happy the Lord has brought me this far.

What does it feel like to be 50?

Some of my friends are no longer alive. When I look at a few of my friends who have left, I appreciate God for making me get to 50.

Can you count and name your blessings?

There are so many. My parents were from a poor family. In fact, my family was the poorest in my village. At the time I left the village for Lagos, my mum managed to borrow money from the group she belonged to and built two rooms. My mum and dad shared one room. My siblings and I shared one room.

In the first four years, each time I travelled back to the village, I would stay in that house. The Lord was so kind to me that I have much now. When I came to Lagos, I stayed with one man named Josiah. Before then, there was a guy called Sunday that brought me to Lagos and handed me to Josiah. I served Josiah for seven years faithfully. He was so happy to the extent that when he wanted to settle me, he called the whole community and elders and they all blessed me. He killed a cow to celebrate me for serving him. We were into trading at Tejuosho market. His wife bought clothes and gave them to my mum. She told my mother she had a very good son. The man gave me only N50,000 as a settlement. That was in 1994. I started my business with that amount at Tejuosho market.

Given my honesty, people began to identify with me. Some people started to give me goods on credit. When I started having problems in my business, I decided to travel to Antigua but I was duped to the tune of $50,000. I later went to Dubai where I was also defrauded and given a fake visa. I was deported.

I struggled again to go back. I met one Alhaji who gave me a fake passport. I was deported again. At that point, all my money vanished. I didn’t give up. My mum invited me back to Delta where she was staying with my dad. They sold tubers of yams which they cultivated and gave me N30,000. My parents said I should go back to Lagos with the money. I was living close to Ojuelegba bus stop at the time.

I had meetings with some friends and we agreed to be importing goods from Dubai. I told them I could only afford the ticket money. They contributed $2,600 and decided I should be the only one to be traveling to Dubai to bring the goods. It was because of the trust they had in me. On the last trip I made to Dubai before we separated, I met a man called Azeez, who said he wanted to do business with me. He started giving me goods on credit. He gave me the first goods worth $2000 and within two months, I paid them back. The man was surprised. That was how he continued giving me until he increased it to $40,000.

I also met a man called Obison who volunteered to help me. He gave me $2000, and I traded with it and returned the money. This is how I started. But later, my mum fell sick and I spent all the money I was using for business on her.

I started going to China and all the people I met, I found favour with them. One gave me goods worth $ 1 million. Looking at what I passed through in life, it is the grace of God that has brought me this far.

From your humble beginning, you rose to become a friend of governors, ministers and other men of repute. How did it happen?
I dropped out of secondary school in year two. At the age of 40, I achieved all I had planned to achieve when I am 40. But I realised education could impede some of the things. So I took Joint Admission Matriculation Examination, JAMB, got admission into the University of Lagos , UNILAG,and studied Business Administration.

While at UNILAG, I started planning to relocate to China to open an office there. I deferred my studies for a year and went to China to establish my business. I came back and finished my degree. I did my masters in China and went to Lagos Business School.

I started making friends with people that are higher than me. I have received a lot of insults following these people. The people you mingle with in life determine where you get to in life. If you mingle with those that go to clubs every day, that is what you become.

When I went to China, I was vocal. Former President Goodluck Jonathan. Okonjo Iweala and other top government officials knew me as a vocal person. If governors and government officials are lodging in a $1000 hotel, I would lodge there for networking. And it paid off. I started organising business summits. I orgainsed one that had 24 governors in attendance. We did the North Central Investment Forum and many others. Early in life, I planned what I wanted to become.

At some point, you became the Coordinator of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, NIDO, in China, Guangdong Province. Can you tell us the story?

Nigerians in China were not valued because the Chinese felt our people were committing many atrocities. You can’t even stay with your family in China. It is too difficult. For 15 years, I was the only one allowed to own a visa in my company. Most Nigerians in China cannot live a good life. There are places you cannot reside in China.

I held a press conference on one of my visits to Nigeria to tell Nigerian government what Nigerians were passing through in China. Okonjo-Iweala read it in 2015. I raised a question on why Nigeria had an embassy in Beijing with less than 600 Nigerians while in Shanghai, Guangzhou there were over 10,000 Nigerians but no embassy. I said it was the reason we were being humiliated. We were just like sheep without a shepherd.

When Okonjo-Iweala and President Jonathan came to China, they approved the consulate office in Guangdong. Many international media outlets like CNN and Aljazeera interviewed me over the matter. Consequently, Abike Dabiri appointed me as the NIDO Coordinator in that province.

Why your choice of China?

80 percent of what Africans consume is from China. All the things they buy from Dubai are from China. In China, if you place an order for one container, it would take two to three months to produce what you ordered. I told Nigerian government we could do better if we had a steady power supply. There are a lot of opportunities in China. If you have 10 families, eight are into manufacturing. One can stay in his or her room, join wires together, come out with an idea and start exporting to the whole world.
If you want to buy anything from China, they will ask if you want European, African, or Nigerian standards. The Nigerian standard is the cheapest and the lowest but thanks to God for the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON.

My stay in China helped me to achieve what I have achieved today. As a businessman, you go to where you can make more profits. I established a company in Imo State. Then President Jonathan sent a representative to commission it. I brought my equipment to Nigeria.

Tell us about your philanthropic side…

It’s like a script written before now. I copied it from my late mum who was always giving food items to people in the village. Since 2009, I have been giving bags of rice to widows. I have more than 150 widows who benefit from it. Even when I have challenges, I still give.

I also built a hospital in 2012 in my community, Umuchima in Ideato Local Government of Imo State. Though there were threats by politicians to frustrate the project, the women insisted it must be built because there was no single hospital in the area. I equipped and handed it over to them.

On the issue of water, after my mother’s burial, I gave the village five boreholes. I also provided for other communities. I insisted every village must have water. I made it an annual thing to empower people. We empower those we trained. I have some kids I sponsor in my foundation, Uzotext Foundation. As a result of my philanthropic activities, some name their children after me. It is motivating.

What moment can you consider your saddest?

One was when I lost my mum. I cried for almost two weeks. The second one was when my wife visited me in China for the first time. When she got to my house around 5pm after I dropped her at home and went back to the office, as she was cooking, the police came and asked her to stop cooking. They arrested her for nothing.

She called me and went to meet them at the police station. Her crime was that in the house I was living in, no black man or Nigerian could live there. They considered the place too nice for a black man to reside. They insisted they must detain my wife until I moved out of the house. A Chinese lady even volunteered to be detained so they could release my wife. And the police agreed. I had to leave the house. The pain is still like a dream to me.

The concept of apprenticeship is no longer what it used to be. What’s your take?

When I was learning a trade, we were about six with our boss but I was the only one that my master settled willingly and celebrated because of my integrity. I refused the temptation to steal my master’s money before settlement. Some that tried it were caught and dismissed.

Some of our Igbo brothers don’t want to stay long as apprentices. They want to become rich overnight and they soil their names in the process. Some masters are also not good. In Igbo land, the trend of serving someone for many years has reduced now.