Valentine N. O. Igbobi
2 min read
Patron/Trustee Chief Dr. Sir Alphonsus U. Okpara
The Convention Personality
To understand why Patron/Trustee Okpara speaks with authority and unwavering conviction about Progressive, one must return to 2013—the defining crossroads in our history.
That was the era of the attempted hostile takeover, when a carefully engineered system sought to silence dissent, subjugate independent branches, and seize control of the club.
In Houston, the branch was led by Odogwu, Dike, Chief Dr. Sir Alphonsus U. Okpara. He was ordered by powerful interests to expel his own member, betray his branch, and surrender the Houston clubhouse.
He refused.
When his peace initiative was rejected and lawsuits were filed against him personally and against the Houston Branch, he put everything on the line and fought like a lion. Headquarters lost that battle. They also lost the subsequent patent lawsuit in New Jersey.
More importantly, the mountain of records, evidence, and institutional knowledge generated through the Houston litigation became the repository that helped preserve the Progressive identity. Without those documents, the patent case could have ended differently, and the Progressive brand as we know it today might never have survived.
That is why he is The Peoples’ Sage.
He is not merely a witness to Progressive history. He helped save it.
People’s Club of Nigeria International Progressive Worldwide owes a debt to men who stood firm when surrender was the easier path. Patron/Trustee Chief Dr. Sir Alphonsus U. Okpara is one of those rare men.
He is a hero, and history should say so without hesitation.
The Peoples’ Sage—Ogo Isi’Mmiri Okija, the entire Boston Branch eagerly awaits your touchdown in Beantown for the PCNI-PW national convention of the century.
