Encomium
‘How I almost lost the big opportunity’
A 39-year old, Lagos-based transport manager, Princewill Uzochukwu Nwosu, has won the grand prize in the Glo-CAF Awards Predict and Win Big promo, a brand new 2015 Mercedes Benz G-Wagon, valued at N35 million.
Nwosu won the glittering SUV at the Glo-CAF awards ceremony which was held at the Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos on Thursday. The draw was conducted by President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Amaju Pinnick, and supported by Glo ambassador and popular comedian, Basketmouth.
The vehicle was conspicuously displayed in front of the Convention Centre of Eko Hotel during the show.
Nwosu, a manager with a transport company in Lagos, was full of joy when he was called up on phone by Mr. Pinnick and informed of his prize. He initially expressed doubt about the authenticity of the call, but when reality dawned on him, his joy knew no bounds. He screamed in delight as the audience roared in applause.
Speaking later when he was contacted after the show, Nwosu declared, “I can’t believe this, am I dreaming or what? When they called me that I won a G-Wagon, I cut my phone. I thought it was all these 419 people again. But when they called again and again, I realized that it could be true. Now I believe it, thank you Globacom. What a way to start the New Year”.
Nwosu said he saw the promo ad in the dailies and also heard the jingle and decided to try his luck.
“I love sports, especially football. When I saw the promo advert, I just put in my entry because I knew that Yaya Toure will win the African Footballer of the Year Award again for the fourth time”.
Globacom described the G-Wagon as a worthy prize to the lucky, loyal Glo subscriber who successfully predicted the recipients in any three categories of the 2014 Glo-CAF Awards. Those were the African Footballer of The Year, African Female Footballer of The Year and African Coach of The Year.
The company said, “Globacom has always been in the fore-front of rewarding its loyal subscribers. The Glo-CAF Awards Predict and Win promo was created to provide an equal opportunity for our subscribers to win the state-of-the-art Mercedes Benz G-Wagon. It is indeed a worthy prize to the lucky winner.”
It encouraged subscribers who are not yet on Glo to join the network and begin to enjoy many other benefits which Glo provides on a daily basis.
The Mercedes Benz G-Wagon 2015 is a four-wheel drive, full-size luxury SUV produced by Magna Steyr in Austria and manufactured by Mercedes-Benz. The G-Wagon is characterized by its boxy styling and body-on-frame construction. It uses three fully locking differentials, one of the few vehicles to have such a feature. It is valued at N35 million.
‘I almost blew my opportunity to win Glo Promo Benz G-Wagon’ -PRINCEWILL UZOCHUKWU NWOSU
Princewill Uzochukwu Nwosu, 39, of Nnewi in Anambra State, attended the crossover service of his church in Lagos with two major requests on his mind on December 31, 2014. He asked God to bless him with a new car as his car was old and trouble-prone; he also asked that God prosper him in the New Year as things had been tough in the outgoing year.
Just eight days into the New Year, his prayers have been unexpectedly answered. He was in his house lounging in the evening of January 8, 2015, when he got a call from a number he did not recognize.
The call was from the popular comedian and professional compere, Bright Okpocha (Basketmouth). He was calling in the presence of over 1,000 guests gathered from all over the continent inside the Grand Ball Room of the prestigious Eko Hotel & Suites, venue of the 2014 Glo-CAF Awards.
The draw for the Glo-CAF Awards Predict and Win Big Promotion that had been running for one month had just been done, with the President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Amaju Pinnick, picking the winning entry, which happened to be that of Nwosu.
Consequently, what would turn out to be a multi-million naira call for Nwosu, a transport manager for Ekesons was to follow. As soon as Nwosu picked the call, Basketmouth told him, right there in the presence of Glo CAF Awards guests that he had just won the grand prize for the Glo-CAF Awards Predict and Win Big Promo, a sleek 2015 model of Mercedes Benz G-Wagon.
Nwosu said he thought it was a joke and wasted no time in telling his caller, Basketmouth, so. The comedian told him that although he was a professional comedian, he was not joking at that material time. Nwosu said he continued to doubt the news until Basketmouth handed the phone over to the NFF president who once again told the bemused transport manager that he was now a proud owner of a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon worth N35 million.
To clear any further doubt, he thrust the phone to the audience and urged them to shout congratulations to Nwosu. At that point, the gentleman got the message and went on a rollercoaster of celebrations.
“I couldn’t believe my luck,” he told Encomium Magazine. “I put in only three entries and I forgot all about it. To be frank with you, I wasn’t expecting to win anything, not to think of the grand prize of a Benz G- Wagon,” he said.
According to him, he had won a sundry of little funds, mainly from lottery in the past. But nothing substantial. Surely, he had put in more into lottery than what he got out of it in the past. So, with the Glo Promo, he had played with the intention of winning some little cash, not the ultimate prize of a brand new high end car like Benz G-Wagon.
Nwosu blessed the day he bought the Glo SIM card that has brought him this good fortune. He had owned the line for about four years. He said he lost the phone at some point in time and actually considered forgetting all about it, especially when he encountered some difficulties while trying to retrieve it. He was asked for proof of ownership at the GloWorld he went to for a swap, but he couldn’t immediately give them any.
After a while, he finally decided to visit another GloWorld in Apapa to attempt retrieving the line again. This time he was successful. He has kept the line ever since.
Nwosu, who got married to a lady from his hometown last year and awaiting their first child thanked his elder brother for advising him to come back to Nigeria about two years ago from England.
While living abroad, he said he was married to a Briton, with whom he had two kids. However, things were not rosy for him and about two years ago, he decided to heed the call of his brother to come back to Nigeria to begin a new life.
To Globacom, he said: “I cannot thank Globacom enough for changing my story. I’m experiencing what I never dreamt I could in 10 years- own a brand new car! I have an old car I bought from a friend. It is not a car you are proud to call your own. But Globacom has turned my situation around. Now I have a car that many rich men are not even able to afford. I am sincerely grateful to Globacom for positively impacting my life in a way I can never forget.”
