The story of Livinus Ikechukwu
Orakwe seems like a fairytale.
It reminds one of such great
story books like Cinderella and
Eze Goes to School; books that depict
the triumph of hard work over laziness,
honesty over criminality and purposeful-
ness over indolence. However, one very
unique thing about this book is the clear
fact that God is able (and He is still doing
so) to transform one’s chequered story
from grass to grace. He is willing to make
use of you and I for His divine purpose, if
only we are ready to allow Him into our
lives. This, I believe, forms the very kernel
of this book, My Life His Gifts.
MY LIFE HIS GIFTS, a 108 paged
book published by ToniMatt Books, is a
creatively-woven memoir of the author,
Livinus Ikechukwu Orakwe. The book, a
non-fictional work of art, tells the story of
a boy from a very lowly background who
defiled all odds to excel in life. In it, we
see a sickly but obstinate lad, Uza, who
refused to be caged or bugged down by
the strange circumstances surrounding
his birth and childhood, nor the vicissi-
tudes of his environment. In this book,
we also learn of the hardship that beset
the whole of the once-thriving Igboland,
then known as Biafra, during the civil
war, the time the author was born; the
challenges of growing up as a sick, but last
child of a large family and the fond mem-
ories of communal living which used to
be the hallmark of the typical Igbo village.
The book, which I gathered was com-
pleted under a month, is divided into
eleven chapters, each with a sub-title.
Chapter One
The narrative which begins with the
sub-titled Sweet Cradle, sees the writer
take us to the very beginning of his life,
the earliest memories of his childhood,
the person of his father, Mazi Mmuolok-
wu, the beauty that characterized the
Igbo architectural settings and the place
of the spiritual in the social-cultural con-
text of the igbo people. One illuminating
feature of this chapter, which I believed
is very instrumental to the destiny of the
young Ikechukwu, is the fact that his fa-
ther, Mazi Mmuolokwu, a flute maker,
was also a great devotee of traditional
religion. This was well captured by the
writer in this way: “My father was in the
habit of visiting the town’s major shrine
every morning and evening.” Similarly,
one can juxtapose this today with the
knowledge that the author is now a priest
of the Roman Catholic Church, celebrat-
ing Mass morning and evening in honour
of the Almighty God. Indeed, God works
in mysterious ways.
Chapters Two and Three
These chapters give vivid narrative of
how the young Ikechukwu commenced
his early education known as “Nta-Aka-
ra” (which could be likened to the kin-
dergarten stage as we know it today) in
company of his sister Agatha, his fond-
ness for fruits of different types and his
yearning for knowledge. He also takes us
into a deeper understanding of the hard-
ship that his family, like most at that time,
had to battle with on daily basis to stay
alive. Living in a make-shift mud-house
with licking roof, the family was forced to
do so many odd jobs.
It is a common knowledge that after
the Nigerian/Biafran war, there was an
economic clampdown on all Igbos. Aside
having their homes destroyed by bombs
and their means of livelihood stalled,
they were denied access to the money
they kept in the banks. Instead, only a
minute sum of 20 pounce was doled out
to every account holders, notwithstand-
ing how large their bank balance was. As
a result, they had to start from the very
scratch to rebuild their life. It was in this
atmosphere of despair; coupled with hav-
ing lost his father at a tender age of two,
that the author had to contend with.
Luckily for young Ikechukwu and his
six other siblings, they had a very strong
fortress in the person of their mother, Ez-
inne Mgboliocha, whom he described as
a very hardworking and prayerful wom-
an. She it was who instilled on them the
discipline of hard work and forthright-
ness. Ezinne Mgboliocha had suffered so
much in life owing to the loss of several of
her children and the eventual demise of
her husband, leaving her with seven chil-
dren to cater for. Irked by regular spiritual
attacks, as she puts it, coupled with the
usual oppressions widows often suffer
in the hands of husband relatives at that
time, Ezinne Mgboliocha had no option
than to run to God for solace through a
Church known as ‘Odozi-Obodo’ She
was to find the true peace she yeaned for
in the Catholic Church years later when
her son became a seminarian.
Chapters Four, Five and Six
At this stage, Ikechukwu, has now be-
come a healthy young man, having recov-
ered fully from whooping cough. Howev-
er, he is still contending with overcoming
shyness. Now a strong and daring schol-
ar, he gains admission into the Secondary
School where he mingles with other age
mates and manages to stamp his author-
ity as someone not to be messed with. At
this point also, fate brought him in con-
tact with Sennen Agorchukwu, a class
mate who was destined to lead him on
the path to his life’s calling. Sennen’s fa-
ther was a catechist with eleven children
of which five where priests and religious.
Sennen was also determined to also toe
the family line of total commitment to
God. But would he succeed?
Like it is said, show me your friend
and I will tell you who you are; birds of
same feather flock together. The inter-
esting and close-knitted friendship be-
tween Ikechukwu and Sennen helped to
pave the way for what lay ahead. Having
finished his secondary education, young
Ikechukwu went to learn a trade and fi-
nally landed in Lagos. A restless young
man, he was soon bored with the chaotic
Lagos life and came back home. He did
some odd jobs here and there and went
back to business. Again, he found no
peace of mind. Meanwhile, Sennen was
always there, giving him emotional sup-
port. One day, a visit by Sennen changed
the whole narrative. The former had
come visiting and the author made an
on-th-spot decision to accompany him to
visit the Claretian Community at Umu-
chu Street, Enugu. Right there, Ikechuk-
wu made a decision to join the seminary.
In no time, against all contrary advice, he
sold his goods and joined the seminary
community. Now 21, young Ikechukwu,
joined 23 other postulants to Utonkon,
Benue State for one year novitiate.
Chapter Seven
The author introduces us to life at the
seminary and how he managed to cope
with it. From Utonkon, he was lucky to be
among the few that were allowed to pro-
ceed to Claretian Institute of Philosophy,
Owerri to commence his study of philos-
ophy. There, he became a bookworm; an
avid reader. Co-incidentally, his friend
Sennen, who had earlier left the novitiate
due to family set-backs, was back again at
Owerri. The two friends were glad to re-
unite. For now, it appears their dreams of
both becoming priests would see the light
of the day! Unfortunately, things don’t al-
ways go the way we want. It is always best
to allow the will of God to prevail. Sen-
nen, though a very intelligent young man
could not continue. He opted out after
graduating with a degree in philosophy.
He later travelled to the United States and
settled down with wife and children.
Tragedy struck. Against all expectations
death took away Ezinne Mgboliocha. It
was a sad period for Ikechukwu. He was
more broken hearted to learn that she
was buried suddenly without allowing
him room to say a final goodbye. It was a
very point in his life.
Priestly Ordination
After his philosophy degree, Ikechuk-
wu Orakwe was sent to Spiritan Interna-
tional School of Theology, Enugu where
he distinguished himself. In 2001 he was
ordained a Deacon in very dramatic cir-
cumstances. Finally, he was ordained a
priest of the Most High on June 29, 2002
by Most Rev Dr Lucious Ugorji at Nek-
ede, Owerri. It was a dream come true!
Alas! His mother was not there to share
the joy with him.
The remaining part of the book focused
on the priestly missions of Rev Fr Livi-
nus Orakwe. From Abuja, he was posted
to his first mission outside Nigeria. He
stayed brief at Rome and Spain before
proceeding to Haiti, one of the poor-
est nations on earth. At the airport, the
long hands of God saved him from what
was obviously a drug-related set-up that
could have landed him in jail. At Haiti,
he learnt first-hand that the priestly vo-
cation must continuously be nurtured.
He also realized the need to always allow
God take charge through thick and thin.
Surviving the rough typhoon infested
cliffs of the Caribbean Island was a lucky
experience not reserved for many. From
Haiti Fr Urakwe was sent to Chad where
he once again survived being a victim of
a coup attempt that saw his parish ground
turn to an orgy of violence and death. It
could only have been the handiwork of
the Almighty. At Zimbabwe, Fr Orakwe
learnt to survive doing turbulent times.
Faced with a debilitating economic sit-
uation that was affecting the mission
work, the young priest had to cultivate an
ingenious means of providing, not only
spiritual, but also economic succour to
his parishioners. Aside digging boreholes
to provide portable water for the impov-
erish people, he also took to farming.
Here his exact words:
“We planted maize and cotton, got
trailer loads of seeds and distributed
them to the people for free.”
Home Mission
Having been tested and found eligible
to take on more responsibilities, Fr Orak-
we was recalled home and posted to Ig-
bo-ora in Oyo State to have a taste of rural
home mission. Again, he never flinched.
Like a true soldier of Christ, he arrived
the ancient town with optimism. His
new parish was small, encircled in a sea
of wide bushes and fierce looking trees.
Goats and fowls grazed all over. Funds
were meagre. In a situation as this where
many would see challenges, Fr Orakwe
saw only opportunities. He struggled to
turn the parish around. Notwithstand-
ing suffering several spiritual attacks and
infiltrations from strange people, the
man of God remained resolute to excel.
Despite several challenges, he rebuilt the
parish house, set up a garri processing
farm and went about adding value to the
life of the community. By the time he was
recalled, he was already fulfilled.
Ijebu-Ode to St Augustine
The icing of his memoir is the account
of his exploits at Ijebu-Ode and St Augus-
tine, Ikorodu where he is presently the
parish priest. Ijebu-Ode offered Fr Orak-
we the opportunity to consolidate on his
experiences as a young priest living in a
rural community. Like in Igbo-Ora, Fr
Orakwe was quick to realize that adding
value to the economic life of the com-
munity would easily pave way for their
spiritual transformation. And so, while
proclaiming the gospel on one hand, he
equally ensured that the economic life of
the rural dwellers was affected positive-
ly through embarking on several farm-
ing activities. By so doing, the Claretian
Community where he resided at Ibefun
also benefitted immensely from his fore-
sight.
As I conclude this review, I believe
the beautiful parishioners of St Augus-
tine Ikorodu are in better position to
appreciate the ingenuity of their Parish
Priest Rev Fr Livinus Orakwe who I can
describe as a gift to the Body of Christ.
The spiritual growth witnessed as can be
attested by the growing number of out-
stations and quasi parishes are pointer to
the fact Fr Orakwe is truly a priest with
uncommon vision.
Conclusion
One cannot but recognize the delicate
but prophetic hand of the Almighty in the
life of Rev Fr Livinus Orakwe. This book
will serve as a big motivation to change
the mind-set of those who see their lowly
background as obstacle to greatness. On
the contrary, we can learn from the sto-
ry of Fr Orakwe that we can attain any
feat in life we set for ourselves provided
we are determined and that such is in
tandem with God’s purposes for us. Sec-
ondly, the role of parents in the destiny
of their children cannot be jettisoned.
Fr Orakwe’s father yearned to serve God
in the way he knew best and died as a
young man. In his stead, God raised his
last born, Ikechukwu to fulfil that design.
His mother was a very prayerful woman
who struggled through great difficulties
to cater for her children. Today, also, we
have several catechists and devote moth-
ers whose sons are priests and Rev Sisters.
These show that when parents serve God
diligently, He rewards them also through
elevating their children.
In all, this well written book is an inval-
uable contribution to the literary world.
And like the author says, it is only the
beginning of greater publications ahead.
Being a man of letters, an avid reader and
prolific writer, I look forward to more ad-
ventures from the stable of Rev Fr Livi-
nus Ikechukwu Orakwe, CMF. I say a big
congratulations to him.
