Bianca Ojukwu has taken a nostalgic trip down memory lane, sharing rare photos and a fascinating backstory from her traditional wedding to the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, held exactly 24 years ago in Ngwo, Enugu State.
In a post shared on Instagram on Wednesday, the former beauty queen and Nigeria’s ex-ambassador to Spain revealed that although she and the “Ikemba of Nnewi” had already had a white wedding and three children, her father didn’t give his blessing for a traditional ceremony until 2001.
“On this day, 24 years ago, all roads led to the hilltop town of Ngwo in Enugu State for the momentous event tagged ‘IGBA NKWU BIANCA,’” she wrote.
“Ikemba and I waited for 12 years for Dad’s green light which finally came seven years after our white wedding and three children later. That’s when the father of the bride said ‘Yes’!”
Bianca recalled how the town was flooded with dignitaries from across the country, including all the governors of the South-East.
The ceremony took place at the historic “Okwor’s Fortress,” the stone palace of her grandfather, Gabriel Okwor-Onoh.
The real twist, however, came in the form of an unusual demand from her father, C.C. Onoh.
Instead of money, he insisted on a bride price of 100 pre-independence copper coins—”those old coins with holes in the middle.”
According to Bianca, this request sent Ojukwu’s camp scrambling across Nigeria to locate the rare currency.
“It cost so much more to source the coins than they were actually worth,” she revealed.
She later asked her father why he made such a bizarre demand. “He laughed and told me, ‘I had to make it difficult for him to take your hand in marriage… If it were purely a matter of paying money… that would have been easy for him to do. But anytime he makes you upset… he will remember the difficulty in procuring your bride price!’”
Bianca described the gesture as “vintage Aninefungwu,” a nod to her father’s clever wit.
“Fast forward to today and I am simply awed by my father’s wisdom,” she added.
“Sometimes, when it’s said that ‘Daddy knows best,’ trust me… I should know!”
Bianca and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu had three children together before the Biafran warlord and former military governor died in 2011 at the age of 78.
