How a company silently got into every Nigerian home without advertising

By Azuka Onwuka

I heard some people make snide remarks and unnecessary comparisons about the marriage of the son of the founder of Ekulo Group and the daughter of the founder of Nestoil, and I laughed in Nsibidi dialect.

Our people say in pidgin: Person wey no know person dey call am “this person”.

Chief Emma “Bishop” Okonkwo (OFR), Chairman/CEO of Ekulo Group of Companies, a son of Ichi town in Anambra State, is so ingrained in the Nigerian system that most people use his products every day without even knowing that. Most of them have never even heard of him or his company.

Any time you use anointing oil (Goya olive oil), you are most likely using his product. Any time you take Holy Communion, you may be taking his product.

If you don’t like alcoholic beverages but like to take drinks in bottles that look like wine brands, you are most likely patronizing him (Eva, Chamdor, Toma, J&W, etc).

If you prefer the milky, sweet-tasting liquers like Amarula, Wild Africa, etc, you are his customer.

But if you prefer brandy (St. Remy, 501, etc), he is quietly waiting for you. And if you prefer whisky, cognac, gin, rum, tequila, champagne, white wine, rosé, or bitters, he is there wherever you turn.

Even if you avoid all forms of drinks, he is waiting for you in the bathroom with different soap brands like Eva, Clear Essence, Gino, Hawaii. If you say no to those, he is waiting for your through his body spray brands.

If that fails, he waits for you to need blood tonic and multivitamins. If you scale that, he is waiting for you when you need to eat biscuits, Danish cookies, lollipop, Titus sardines, corned beef, chocolate, wafers, crackers, etc.

The man is the real definition of “Everywhere you go”. His products are so many that it is hard to put a figure on them. And most of them are market leaders or doing well in their category.

I don’t know how one man is able to have such amazing number and variety of brands that people patronize heavily with little or no advertising. Those who patronize him don’t even know the owner or distributor of the brand they patronize. It is only in some parts of Anambra State that those with their ears to the ground know him very well.

Largest EPCC company in Nigeria

For Dr Ernest Azudialu Obiejesi, Chairman/CEO of Nestoil, one does not need to talk much about him. His impressive head office keeps his business in people’s view, even if they don’t know much about the man. But the man, popularly known as Obijackson, is a man who has sworn to turn his Okija hometown into a town that nobody can take for granted.

His company, Nestoil Plc, founded in 1991, is the largest indigenous Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Commissioning (EPC) company in the Nigerian oil and gas sector

He has funded various initiatives, including the development of infrastructure, creation of employment, and community support programs. He midwifed the establishment of the first commercial bank in Okija, built the Acropolis Golf and Resort, and supports initiatives like the “Keep Okija Clean Initiative”. He also established the Obijackson Foundation, which focuses on community development, education, healthcare, and environmental conservation.

Some people know how to sink their roots into the ground without any fanfare.