One of the popular faces in Nollywood, Diewait Ikpechukwu was so good as a right winger that he was invited to the Green Eagles camp in the 1970s. Call him a man of many parts or what you may, the proud grandfather is enjoying every moment of his many worlds.
I met Diewait for the first time in his Enugu home 32 years ago. He invited me and dinner was out of this world. His wife made me look like an August guest at a wedding party because there was so much to eat and drink. It was difficult to stick to any particular delicacy.
The winger side of him was revealed much later by former Enyimba and Spartans goalkeeper, Evans Ikwuegbu, better known by fans as ‘Mpoto’. It was over refreshment at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri in 1997.
” I am sure you may not remember that Diewait Ikpechukwu was one of the best right wingers in the 1970s. He was my team mate and we gave both Enugu Rangers and Vasco Da Gama enough to worry about,” Ikwuegbu pointed out.
Diewait confirmed this to me as we went chatting during the week and talked more about his exploits in Kaduna which earned him invitation to the senior national team.
Diewait said : ” I played for Blue Diamonds of Nsukka with Ikwuegbu and Ogbonnaya Onovo who later became Inspector General of Police (IGP). ( Onovo later moved to Vasco Da Gama). I made the Anambra State squad to the Kaduna ’77 Second National Sports Festival alongside Ifeanyi Onyedika, Arthur Ebunam and Mike Ogbodudu.”
Kaduna would later benefit from Diewait. ” I was the first Igbo to study Marketing at the Kaduna Polytechnic. I was the captain of the Kadpoly soccer team and I led them to gold at the 1976 NIPOGA Games. We defeated IMT Enugu and Ibadan Polytechnic parading Martins Eyo.
“I also played for Kaduna Rocks, the best team in Kaduna before the emergence of Ranch Bees. I was invited to the Eagles camp but I rejected the offer because my father wanted me to concentrate on education,” he added.
From soccer, versatility came into play. The next thing was to see Diewait on TV playing the role of Igwe (King) in several Nollywood films. He insists it was not a problem changing to acting.
” When I was Manager, Business Office and Team Manager at NITEL Vasco Da Gama, I used to be involved with New Masquerade and other television programmes so it wasn’t difficult for me to join Nollywood when I left NITEL.
” Infact, in the first movie I did I was the Igwe and the name of the Movie is ‘Evil Men’. From there I have been involved in so many great movies.”
One experience continues to haunt the Igwe of Nollywood. ” My most memorable experience as an actor was when a small girl of about nine stopped me on the road and called me ‘Wicked man’, apparently based on a movie she watched in which I played a very wicked role,” Diewait said.
You cannot blame the poor girl. The actor himself detests wickedness and evil. “Honestly wicked people turn me off too,” he told me.
This man is not only a footballer and actor. He is also into broadcasting and has done great as a sports commentator on Radio. He was popular in the 1980s especially in Enugu where he had as company Harford Eze, Henry Udutchay and DND Onyeacho.
“Kevin Ejiofor introduced me to broadcasting and football commentary. I later shared commentary with Ernest Okonkwo, Joe Latey, Sebastine Ofurum, Emeka Odikpo, Richard Asiegbu and many more. Pete Edochie was also my boss as a guest artiste. All these I did as a stringer.”
Ikpechukwu excelled as Team Manager of Vasco Da Gama, Enugu. It was in his days that the team produced such good goalkeepers as Ndubuisi Egbo who became the first Nigerian coach to lead a European club to the UEFA Champions League, Victor Oko and Liberian international, Momo Blamoh.
Diewait did not play for Rangers but he is an undiluted Flying Antelope. As Team Manager of Vasco, his team defeated Rangers in the 1991 final of the Anambra State Challenge Cup. You would not believe what happened thereafter.
He tells the story : ” In my days, Rangers versus Vasco Da Gama was like war but Rangers won most of the matches. In 1991 when I was Team Manager of Vasco, I beat Rangers in the final of the FA Cup but when I got home I could not eat, I couldn’t sleep. Rangers represented the spirit and strength of the Igbo nation.
” Rangers means so much to me. It means a lot to Ndigbo. Yes, my team won but my heart bled. I was close to Rangers players, Christian Chukwu, Stanley Okoronkwo, Sam Onyeaka and the rest.”
Historically, Vasco did not give Rangers breathing space. In 1973, Vasco taught their city neighbours bitter lessons in the National League. Managed by Leipzig, Germany trained Alabi Aisien, the Posts and Telegraphs side had Pat Ekeji, Obed Ariri, Johnny Nwadioha, Ahamefula Umelo and David Adiele.
Following that defeat, it became an unwritten policy to poach the best from Vasco at the end of every season and send them to Rangers. That was how Sam Onyeaka, Stanley Okoronkwo, Okey Emordi, Charles Adimora, Ignatius Ilechukwu and Mike Ogbodudu found their way to Rangers.
It also turned around. Players who lost favour in Rangers joined Vasco to prove they were still hot. Pat Okala, Ifeanyi Onyedika, Emma Osigwe and Victor Oko did exactly that. Mathias Obianika even moved to Vasco as a coach.
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Diewait holds post graduate qualifications from the Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT). His children are into other things, away from the field and screen. He is a proud grandfather who values education and remembers how scholarship helped him as a student.
I tried to find out the origin of the name Diewait.Maybe, a Latin name given by the Pope or a Spanish cognomen pinched from Las Palmas.
His response was snappy: ” Diewait is my late father’s way of translating Onwuchekwa. Onwuchekwa is Igbo for ‘ death please wait”. Sorry, next time you see Diewait you may just call him Igwe Onwuchekwa, Gburugburu of Nollywood.
