When The Come Comes To Become, We Shall Come Out – Mbadiwe Twins

The Mbadiwe Twins as they are fondly called are Ozee and Ocee (Ozumba and Oseloka Mbadiwe).

The twins are children of Ambassador Greg Ozumba-Mbadiwe, son of Dr. Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe, the renowned politician, minister and statesman; a great man that actively promoted the ideals of nationalism.

In this no-hold-bared interview, the twins open up on their life, career and family. Excerpts.

What inspires you most?

Our biggest inspiration comes from those that came before us and blazed the trail before us, from our grandfather Dr. Kinglsey Ozumba-Mbadiwe to our father Ambassador Greg Ozumba-Mbadiwe. They both worked hard, they both loved their country and they both worked hard to contribute to the progressive growth of our beloved country Nigeria and we hope to do the same, we are also very inspired by inspiring others.

How does if feel to be a generation after the great politician, Ozumba Mbadiwe?

It feels great!!! We are proud and honored, as I mentioned earlier, he blazed the trail and set the blueprint for us, He was truly a great man, He left a wonderful legacy behind and we hope to emulate him. It can be difficult sometimes having such big shoes to fill, but then as he always said “When the come comes to become, we shall come out”.

How has twinning been for you both, did you have fights for same thing?

Being twins is all we know and we like it that way, We feel blessed. We are fortunate to have known each other since inception, We both know our strengths and weaknesses and we are constantly working together to amplify our strengths and limit our weakness. Like most siblings we have had arguments and disagreements, but that is because deep down we truly want to push each other to maximise our potential and strive for greatness.

How do you feel about wearing same type of clothing?

When it comes to clothing/fashion we believe style is everything and style comes from the individual. In certain situations we have similar styles that might lead to us wearing similar clothing and we have no problems with that, but for the most part of our styles are reflective of who we are as individuals and so from time to time there are similarities, but there are also many differences

Do you think there is anything that can separate both of you?

Separation is a very strong word and our bond is even stronger so I don’t think we can be separated. However, realistically, when we start families that will require other commitments, but in terms of separation we don’t see that happening.

If you are to invest in a business what kind will it be?

Firstly, and foremost if we were to invest in a business it would be our business. The “Mbadiwe Twins” without passion, drive and unwavering belief in ourselves, we know that investing in ourselves will yield the most positive outcome.

How old are you?

Young enough to be powered by youthful exuberance and old enough to make wise and mature decisions.

What did you study and are you practicing, if no why?

We both studied law up to the masters level and we have both been called to the Nigerian Bar Association since 2012. We both practiced law for a period of time, but decided to take advantage of our burgeoning platform because we felt it gave us the best opportunity to inspire people and make more of a difference in our community and continent at large.

What’s your take on social media show of love?

To each their own, personally, we try to keep very personal things away from social media and the public eye, some things are best handled in private, however as mentioned earlier to each their own and everybody has their own perspective and unique take.

We gathered that you guys left Nigeria at age 12, if you’d stayed in Nigeria all these while, would you have achieved what you’ve achieved thus far?

I cannot look back and say what my life would have been like if we stayed in Nigeria all this while, unless we can go back in time and change history which is impossible. What we can say is that leaving Nigeria and starting a new chapter exposed us to different cultures, different perspectives and a different way of doing things and we have made sure we incorporated all the knowledge and lessons learned from our experiences into our values and what we represent, this has allowed us to achieve things far beyond our wildest dreams and inspire people not just locally, but internationally as well.

What’s that thing you wish you could change about each other?

We don’t think there is anything to change, there is always room for improvement and we are both honest with each other and advice each other daily on things we need to work on to allow us to function to the very best of our abilities

Do you believe in God?

Yes we do, we are born and raised Catholics, very strong in faith and the values we picked up from our faith and that are what guides us daily.