Chief Simon Odo alias Onuwa, a herbalist, is
based in Aji village, Enugu-Ezike, Igboeze
North Local Government Area, Enugu State.
In this exclusive interview with Daily Trust
on Sunday, Onuwa, who boasts of 150 grand
children, says he will not count the number
of his children until he stops procreating.
His youngest wife is 15 years old. Excerpts:
How do you describe yourself?
My name is Simon Odo alias Onuwa in Aji,
Enugu-Ezike. My nickname is King of Satan.
If you go to my cars, you will see the
inscription: King of Satan.
Why do you answer King of Satan as
your nickname name?
King of Satan means that I am a
traditionalist. I’m not a Christian anymore. I
was baptised as a Christian in 1956. And I
was a mass server between 1959 and 1960
and the evil and wicked people
who didn’t want me to live, poisoned me
with ukwaranta (whooping cough) which I
suffered for five years. Thereafter,
somebody kept poison for me and I marched
on it. Consequently, my right thigh (he pulls
his trousers for the reporter to see the deep
scar on his lap) got lacerated for five years
and I was taken to another place for
medicine. So I decided to embrace the
traditional way of life and I survived the
sickness.
When the enemy wanted to terminate my
life, I was still single. So I survived the king
of Satan. What I don’t do is bad medicine. I
don’t go near human blood at all. That’s
why I married 57 wives. My grandchildren
are 150 in number.
Did you say 150?
Yes, I said 150.
Did you pay bride prices before you
married your 57 wives?
Ok. I’m coming. (He enters the inner room
and reappears with a book containing names
of his wives and children). You know our
community has taboos, if you go into
fornication or adultery in our place, your
children will be condemned or you may go
mad. Here are the names of my children and
my wives. The names of my wives covered
two pages of the notebook – Igbo women
are there, Yoruba women are there, Awka in
Anambra, every tribe is there.
Now, coming to your question, I paid the
bride price on the head of all my wives as
tradition demands. Above that, there are
some of my in-laws, I bought cars for and
also built comfortable houses for them.
Some of my mothers- in-law I built a
bungalow for. The wife that is next to my
junior wife, I dashed her mother Peugeot 406
car. I spend as from N300,000 upward
whenever I’m going to marry.
I don’t marry from big (rich) families. I
marry from the poorest families so that I can
help them. If I want to marry a woman and
she tells me that she is from a well-to-do
family, I won’t marry her again. I suffered a
lot in this life. As you hear the story of Job in
the Bible, I suffered like Job. This snuff I am
taking now, I started taking it in the year
1960 when I was in Standard Three. The
cough poison which the evil people inflicted
me made me to drop out of school at
Standard Three. I hope you know that
Standard Three is not Elementary Three?
Whatever I’m telling you is the truth because
you came all the way from Enugu, which is a
very far distance, to come and interview me
and so I will not like to tell you lies.
People say that your wives live like
sisters from the same mother. What’s
the secret?
It’s not just that they live like sisters from
the same womb but they eat from the same
plate. They cook in the same pot. My wives
don’t fight, they don’t quarrel. If any of them
fights, I sack her without wasting time. And
when I sack the person, I wouldn’t go asking
for the things I spent on her head as bride
price.
Has any woman left you under such
circumstance?
If I sack my wife, I remarry. About seven
have misbehaved and I sacked them. But if
the wife I sacked should repent and beg for
forgiveness, I remarry her.
How do you fend for a large family of
over one hundred members?
Whatever question you want to ask me,
don’t shy away from such question, and I’ll
answer you. Don’t ask me indirect question.
The way I take care of my large family is
simple. Thankfully, those I saved their souls,
helped to solve their numerous spiritual
problems, usually come to do thanksgiving
here. And they help me a lot.
How many children do you have?
I don’t know the exact number of my
children. I don’t want to count them until I
stop procreation.
Are all of them going to school or do
you train them in other skills?
All of them go to school. I encourage them
to go to school, except if they don’t have the
brain for that. Yet, you must have a skill in
my family. If you don’t have a skill, that
means you don’t want to be useful and I will
chase you out of my family. Of course,
nobody steals here. You can’t be in my
house and decide to steal. Stealing is
forbidden in my family. That’s why no
matter the size of my family, you can’t see
any member of this family stealing. If
anybody from this family steals, the person
knows the punishment I will give him or her-
I will kill the person.
Do any of your children want to
become herbalist?
None of them is showing such interest. They
are not showing interest in my kind of
occupation. All I need to do is to bless them
so that God will help them in whatever they
do. But I emphasise to them, never steal
anybody’s thing. If you steal, I will
denounce you as my child.
Isn’t it surprising that none of your
many children, either male or female,
is showing interest in what you are
doing?
In the first place, I did not learn this
occupation. It’s my God’s gift to me. Many
of my children are pastors in The Lord’s
Chosen Charismatic Church. Many of my
children are Christians. But I used to tell
them that whatever anybody is doing, don’t
allow abomination to come into it. Don’t
use it to perpetrate injustice or falsehood or
impunity.
Who are your patronisers?
Those I help are many. When politicians
who are aspiring to positions come to me
for help, I usually pray for them. But I must
emphasise to them that if God helps them to
get to the positions, they must govern well
and they should not misbehave with the
public offices entrusted in their care. But
where the person gets into office and begins
to misbehave, I am not to blame, I only
prayed for him, I am not God who gives
position, I‘m not God who controls the
affairs of men.
How many bags of rice are consumed
daily or weekly or monthly in your
house?
Truly speaking, some of my wives are well
to do, they are established and they are
helping to carter for the family. But when I
want to go an extra mile, I provide them with
bags of rice two times or three times in a
week. I am living with the young ones, I’m
almost 70 years. I trained the old ones who,
in turn, help to train their younger ones.
Most people outside there don’t know the
trick: they think I am the only person
catering for the entire large family.
When you were in your 40s, for
instance, how did you feed them,
especially in providing source of
protein to the family?
I killed three, four, five cows every month to
provide meat which is a good source of
protein for the family every month. If you are
in doubt, I can take you to the place I kept
the skull of the cows I have killed over the
years, so that you see them.
Any of your sons a polygamist like
you?
No, I don’t want to encourage them to marry
more than one wife. They must all marry
one wife each because there is no land to
occupy more people. I built 15 different
storey buildings to accommodate members
of my large family. As my child, if you grow
up, you go out and build your own house
and thank God.
You married over 50 wives…?
(Cuts in) I married over 57 wives.
How old are you this year?
I was born in the year 1947, almost 68 years
now.
And you decided to produce a whole
community…don’t you think you are
causing population problems for the
country?
No. The truth is that my father was the only
son of his parents, Papa bu ofu nwa. And he
vowed that in his next coming
(reincarnation), he was going to have large
family full of his many children. And what
he wished came to pass or don’t you know
there’s power in the tongue, in the spoken
words?
Do you have regret marrying many
wives?
No. There is no regret.
Assuming any of your sons should
marry more than one wife, how would
you view such act?
If any of my sons marries more than one
wife, contrary to my instruction, he should
go and buy his own land and build his own
house elsewhere. But as for staying in my
compound with more than one wife, it won’t
work.
How old is your oldest wife?
My oldest wife was 56 years old before she
died.
What about the youngest? How old is
she and how do you manage to…?
(Cuts in) Are you talking of the last one? She
is 15 years. Should I call her for you so that
you see her? (He goes out to call the
youngest wife, Chidinma. After this
reporter has photographed her, he asked her
to leave) Very good of you to have asked
that question-the way I used to behave
when I was young is the way I behave now. I
know where you are going to. I know the
question you want to ask. The vigour I used
to have when I was young is still in me now.
I don’t have female friends! I don’t have
concubines. I don’t go after other men’s
wives. I face my wives only.
How do you feel marrying 15 year-old-
girl who is young enough to be your
grandchild?
I am as healthy as I was when I was young
because I don’t bother myself with troubles
of this world. I am not an enemy of
progress. I don’t envy anybody. I don’t
begrudge anyone. I try to go about my own
way and mind my business. Sometimes I
drive myself to Lagos. What I’m doing is just
a gift from God. If you come here in the next
10 years, I will still remain youthful as I’m
today.
What is the secret of your youthful
look?
I don’t eat the kind of food you people eat
these days. I eat the type our fathers ate. I
eat our natural food. I don’t drink alcohol
and I don’t smoke.
You have never taken alcohol since
you were born?
I stopped drinking alcohol in 1998. I used to
drink a lot.
Why did you stop drinking?
Alcohol destroys man’s sperm. I am careful
about my life and that’s why I am alive
today. I don’t eat a lot. Sometimes, I eat
once or twice in a day. One of the causes of
sudden deaths these days is: somebody will
eat one chicken, drink a bottle of big stout,
or Gulder, Star and palm wine. Such eating
and drinking habit can kill early. But if you
can avoid too much consumption of all
these stuffs and live the way God has
created you, hardly can you have health
problems.
Do you go to hospital?
I do go to hospital. I go to see the doctor for
check-up because I have many wives. I
don’t joke with my health.
People say you use juju to control all
your wives so that they will be
obedient to you. Is it true?
No. There is nothing like using medicine or
juju to control them. A woman is like a dog
that bites. Is there any juju you can use to
control a dog that bites? Tell me the name of
such medicine, please, if you know of any. It
is just the gift and wisdom God gave that I
use in controlling them. I don’t use charms
or juju to control them.
One of your young wives, Ndidi, gave
birth to a set of twins. Has God
blessed you with twins before?
I have been blessed with sets of twins, from
different wives, almost six times. Should I
call the latest set of twins and their mother,
Ndidi, so that you see them? Ndidi Agada
gave birth to twins – Ebele Odo and Ngozi
Odo on October 19, 2014.
What will you tell young men who want
to marry?
I have always told my sons never to marry
more than one wife because if you marry
more than one wife, how to feed them may
become a big problem. I will not live in the
world forever. If your father is a man who
has a limited company, it doesn’t imply that
the son must have few accomplices.
What lesson would you like your
children or other people to learn from
you?
Whatever you enjoy doing develop it and use
it to help people. If your gift is to trade, you
face trading, if your gift is in public service,
you face it and use it to help people. If your
gift is to be a pastor, then you face it and
spread the word of God. Some of my
children have money but when you are rich,
you try and help your fellow men. Some of
my children are abroad. Normally, when you
go to some large families, you will likely see
some deformed people – slowpoke, insane
people, deaf and dumb and things like that.
But in my own case, God has blessed my
family in such a manner that such deformity
does not exist in my large family..
How do villagers see you?
They love me essentially because I’m not a
liar. I don’t offend people. I stay here and
people visit me. My vehicles, at times, may
stay here up to six months without me
driving any. I recall when one Reverend
Father and Reverend Sister visited me and
asked me why is it that I’m answering King
of Satan regardless of the fact that I’m doing
good by helping people?
I explained it from the Bible.They said,
please, Onuwa, leave us to rest and discuss
the reason for which we are here. But I
insisted they must listen to me. If anybody
is answering King of God, let him answer
but as for me, I will answer King of Satan.
How many people did I dash cars? How
many people did I dash motorcycles? I
bought 96 machines which I dashed out to
people and 10 vehicles which I gave out to
help people. Have you seen anybody I gave
motorcycle got involved in an accident with
it? Or have you seen anyone I gave a vehicle
and he got involved in an accident with it?
The priest was nodding his head.
What advice do you have for the
government and those in leadership
positions?
If you are a governor, govern well. Do not
use your position to suppress people,
especially the innocent, poor people
because if any leader decides to oppress the
poor, whenever such leader leaves this
planet, others will oppress his own children.
People in leadership positions should not
encourage nepotism.
I told the vigilante people in our community
that if you arrest any of my children who is
doing evil, just deal with him, don’t say
because he is the son of a prominent person,
Onuwa, you can let him go while you punish
an innocent poor person who didn’t commit
any offence. Don’t use your high position to
snatch somebody’s wife or land or shed
innocent blood so that God’s anger will not
come upon you because there is something
called the law of karma which still exists.