We ’ll soon become more than a community – Son of late Enugu man with 68 wives, 400 children, grandchildren
Known by members of his community as king of Satan, Simon Odo, Native doctor in Aji community in the Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State was on Tuesday buried in a new car inside his compound after fathering over 200 children and several grandchildren.
Married with 68 wives, over 200 children and more than 200 grandchildren, according to his close friend, Chief Joseph Ugwu, 74-year-old Odo (also called Onuwa) built houses in several places within the town to accommodate his large family. Until his death, about 62 wives were said to be living with him.
Our correspondent gathered that the King of Satan as fondly called had three palaces located in different locations within the community – each with several houses where his wives and children live.
One of his sons, Arinze Onuwa, described his father as a jovial person and disciplinarian, who didn’t discriminate.
Arinze said, “He loved to see us educated. Some of us are studying abroad while many have graduated. When people report us to him, he would not support us. Later, he would tell us that he acted like that in order not to create an impression that he was supporting his children because he was mighty. He built the greatest kingdom that I don’t think would exist in Igboland. The way things are, our family will soon be more than a community.
“Our father adopted the name Onuwa which means ‘what the people or the world say’, because he didn’t care about what people say. He knew all his children. Our father knew all of us. That was one of the unique things about him. All his children live and enjoy themselves together in peace. We don’t quarrel or fight one another.”
When asked about the number of children his father had, he simply said, “In our place we don’t count children.”
Odo’s bosom friend, Ugwu, who led our correspondent during the tour, disclosed that Odo was famed for treating diseases, describing him as a good man.
He said, “Onuwa was my bosom friend. He facilitated my marriage to a second wife and bought a motorcycle. I was also involved in the marriage of some of his wives. He was generous even to his wives and rewarded any of them that introduced a beautiful woman to him for marriage. He would give such N50,000 immediately for helping him to secure a new wife.
“He once married a Hausa woman from Kano but they only lived together for a while before he sent her packing because he did not like the way she behaved. He married from different parts of Nigeria. He was not doing native medicine for rituals. He was only treating ailments of different kinds.”
Ugwu explained that his friend married many wives because he was the only surviving male child of his parents.
He added, “He recently married the 68th wife. He has over 200 children and his grandchildren are more than 200. Throughout his life, Onuwa allowed his children who didn’t want to follow his footsteps as a traditional religion worshipper to attend church.”
