This article which refers to the "mortar legs" of the "elephant" is an appropriate metaphor for the unusual physical strength of Michael Okpala which many people, as we have seen, have erroneously attributed to the influence of "juju". The metaphor is from Christopher Okigbo's poem "Hur-rah for Thunder". Let us quote in full the secolid stanza from where it is taken: The elephant, tetrarch of the jungle: With a wave of the hand He could pull four trees to the ground; His four mortar legspounded the earth.
Wherever they treaded, The grass was forbidden to be there. In the poem, Christopher Okigbo basically depicts the overthrow of the powerful but corrupt civilian regime by the military in 1966 and warns us of the potential depravity of the military regime Which poses as a champion of social justice. What concerns us here is Okigho's perception of the elephant which is portrayed as the lord of the animal kingdom, since it is the "tetrarch of the jungle". Just by mere waving of its hand, four trees can fall to the ground. The legs are as tough as mortar which is generally made of cement, sand and water; they accordingly cause serious damage to the ground they "pound" mercilessly; poor grass - none survives the onslaught.
Michael Okpala is an elephant. His physical prowess has endeared him to thousands of fans who thronged to halls, stadia and designated places in Nigeria, West Arica, Europe and East Africa to see him display it in exhibitions. We are now going to see. how Michael Okpala metamorphosed into Power Mike, the nature of his displays and the places he toured in Africa and Europe.
Power Mike:
We have seen how Killwee Nwachukwu discovered himself. It was a slow process. Michael Okpala underwent the same expe-rience. It did not fully dawn on him that he was a "Superman" after the pugilistic encounter with the classmates and the headmaster at the Adazienu primary school nor did he realize it from his expe-riences with opponents when he was an amateur boxer.
It was when he was in Kano as a budding salesman in tyres and an apprentice motor mechanic that the realization came. And whenit came, the praise name "Power Mike" emerged to give concrete expression to the new experience by completely swallowing up "Michael Okpala" which was identified with the old self. No person, even among his kinsmen with whom he grew up, remembers today that he has any other name than Power Mike. In his workplace there was a workshop for repairing old tyres.
Some of the tyres were so big that only about four to six boys could lift them. However, it was discovered that whenever the occasion called for it he could lift any of them alone and even mount it on the appropriate macliii a ,heart for it. This used to baffle his workmates. "My friend, how did you get this power?", they used to ask him. Again, he and his workmates used to organise weight-lifting exercises at the workshop in order to test their prowess. Muscles were flexed, heavy engine blocks and equipment items lifted.
Michael Okpala used to excel in the exercises. His mates consistently pointed out to him that he had superhuman powers. I felt elated with a compliment: These remarks stand later on, 1961, began to put up power shows and exhibitions in Kano. This was the time he was nicknamed "POWER MIKE' of Kano.
Consequently, he decided to put up a variety of mind-boggling shows that kept many people wondering-whether he was a spirit or a human being. He became an instant celebrity, hence his tour of Nigeria, West Africa, Europe and East Africa.
Typical Nature oF Display:
It is important to have a peep into the galaxy of his displays:
1. He could use his bare hands to hammer a 6-inch nail into a one-inch-thick piece of wood, and then pull it out with his teeth!
2. He used to break a 6-inch nail into two within 30 seconds.
3 He lifted a heavy engine block of a five-ton lorry and held it shoulder high for some minutes.
4. He used his teeth to lift a heavy engine block of a five-ton lorry tied to a rope. 5. He lifted a big tyre of a five-ton lorry with his foot.
6. He could lift four heavy men with relative ease.
7 He used to pull four hefty men in a tug-of-war while another heavy one lay across his shoul-der.
8. He could lift four heavy men and swing them in the air.
9. While holding a heavy man up in the sky with his left hand, he pulled three other hefty men.
10. He could engage several men in a tug-of-war; some on his right side, others on the left.
11. He used his teeth to lift two bags of cement.
12. He lifted a bag of cement with his teeth while carrying another one on his shoulder.
13. He carried twelve bags of cement on his chest, each weighing 50kilos, and all weighing 600 kilos.
14. He used to lift a bag of cement with his teeth while holding two bicycles one on each hand.
15. He could blow a hot water plastic bottle to the point where it burst like a balloon.
16. He bent an iron bar with his bare teeth.
17. He used to stop 2 cars being driven in opposite directions from moving.
In performing these feats, Power Mike's majestic poise revealed his well-developed muscles, glowing eyes, determined look, intellectual alertness and the symmetry of his well-balanced hands and feet. Clad in his well-groomed professional attire, he exuded confidence and like the Roman gladiator seemed set to conquer the heavens. He looked like an Atlas bent on gracefully supporting the whole world. lie is admired by mankind because he has by his feats succeeded in catharsizing the emotion of aggressiveness lurking in the deep layers of man's psyche. I Iis tour of the world in search of glory and challengers is a welcome relief from man's foolish propensity to inflict violence on himself through wars and bad governance.
We have to turn to Eric Fromm, that great incisive analyst of human behaviour, to understand the point I am making: Man seeks for drama and excitement; When he cannot get satisfaction on a higher level he creates for himself the drama of destruction.
Ambassador of peace through athletic fitness and prowess, Power Mike has memorably succeeded in domesticating this destructive force of evil in human beings. He sees his performances as an art-form that outlives the contingencies of time. In fact, he had the finesse of allowing his challengers to try the feats first so that his subsequent victory would be seen to be clear and incontrovertible.
Source: www.throwbacktimes.com.ng
