Melford Obiene Okilo is one of the greatest mortals that ever lived. He was an extraordinary human and a Legend by all human standards, measurements, judgements and ramifications. He is among the generational legends God releases from generation to generation to shape human history.
Going by the above, he can be classified and categorized among the Marcus Garveys, Martin Luther King Jnrs, Bob Marleys, Nelson Madiba Mandelas, Mahatma Mohandas Gandhis, Steve Bikos, Julius Nyereres, Senghor Leopold Sedars, Patrice Lumumbas, Herbert Macauleys, Kwame Nkrumahs, Oliver Tambos and other great leaders of the world that ever lived and shaped history of the world.
Before going to the crux of this piece, it is pertinent to give a background of this great Legend. Melford Obiene Okilo was born on 30th November, 1933 at Emakalakala Community into the family of Chief Otio Okilo and Mrs. Ibidi Okilo of Emakalakala Community in the present day Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
His father Otio Okilo was a farmer and a fisherman and he was amongst the three people that founded St. Batholomew’s Anglican Church, Emakalakala. Otio Okilo was baptized by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) led by Bishop Histop and he changed his name to Simon.
His mother, Ibidi was a daughter of a local warlord, Chief Ojoko, the son of Chief Amangi of Ogbolomabiri, Nembe. Ibidi (meaning good birth), was delivered on a day Chief Ojoko returned from battle against the British Incursion into the Niger Delta.
Early in life, the child Obiene was faced with many challenges that ultimately revealed divine reason and strength of his character. For example, he fell off a rickety foot bridge into a river and was saved after some minutes under water. Melford Obiene Okilo from youth was a man of many parts and master of all. He was a local wrestling champion, a successful fisherman, palm wine tapper and palmfruit cutter.
Obiene grew up under the protection of his uncle, Chief J.E. Egba and he started his education at St. Michael’s Primary School, Oloibiri in 1940, the year Reverend George Igabu Amangala founded the famous Ogbia Brotherhood and he finished in 1946. Thereafter, he attended St. John’s Training College, Diobu, Port Harcourt between 1947 – 1949, funding his education partly with money he made from palm wine tapping and fishing. Equipped with the knowledge and certificate acquired at St. John’s Training College, he proceeded to St. Cyprian’s Primary School, Port Harcourt where he taught between 1949 to 1955. The quest for greener pasture then took him to the Judiciary where he worked as a Judicial Clerk and Court Interpreter in Degema, under the defunct Eastern Nigeria. This position earned him a lot of respect, prestige, increased his popularity among the people and also made him very famous.
The quest to change the ugly, inglorious and infamous story of our great people made him to resign from his noble job to join and also partake in the pre-independence political activities. In order to actualize the above, he subscribe to the then Zikist philosophy that was fighting for the emancipation cum liberation of our people from the British colonialists and imperialists.
Melford, encouraged by the founder of Niger Delta Congress (NDC), High Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye a respected Ijaw leader and a foremost nationalist courageously gave up his then very comfortable judiciary job at the age of 26 to run for election into the House of Representatives, then Nigeria was operating a Unicameral legislature after selling his bicycle a few days to the end of nomination.
Obiene who was very young and inexperienced as at that time shocked book makers by becoming the only victorious candidate out of the eleven (11) fielded in the platform of the Niger Delta Congress/Northern Peoples Congress Alliance. This unique coalition and indeed Melford Okilo’s election victory facilitated the final British endorsement for Nigeria’s independence as Okilo’s victory was seen as a bridge between the North and the South.
His quality of patriotism and resourcefulness were irresistible as the young Okilo was part of a pre-independence goodwill delegation in a mission to neighbouring countries at the instance of the Prime Minister, Sir Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
Because of his outstanding performance and eloquence, Melford was made Parliament Secretary to the Prime Minister and in 1961, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary (Deputy Minister) to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was among the brains that brought life into the Organisation of Africa Unity (OAU). He was part of the formation of the African Liberation Committee in the Tanzanian Capital, Dares Salam in June of that same year.
Okilo was also found worthy to lead a Federal Government delegation to the 18th Session of the United Nations Organization (UNO) General Assembly in New York in 1963. The young leader from Ogbia, addressed the world and was given a standing ovation.
Just before the political upheavals of the First Republic, Melford Obiene Okilo registered as an external student at the University of London, and at the Blackstone School of Law, Chicago, USA, from where he obtained an LLB degree. He later spent a year at the University of Buckingham, England for postgraduate studies.
Chief Melford returned to the country at the end of the Nigerian Civil War and between 1970 and 1975, served Rivers State in numerous capacities from the Chairmanship of the Rivers State Transport Corporation to the Commissioner of Education, Commissioner of Petroleum Matters, Labour and Field Administration. He was also Chairman, Agriculture Production and Marketing Corporation.
He was also elected Councillor, Ogbia Oloibiri Ward 1, Brass LGA, from 1976 to 1977. Chief Okilo was elected the Brass LGA member of the Constituent Assembly to draft the 1979 Constitution. Melford Obiene Okilo held many party offices including the Vice Chairman of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Rivers State Chapter.
Chief Melford Obiene Okilo was the First Civilian Governor of the Old Rivers State in 1979. He was actively involved in the appeal to Shell D’ Arcy in 1956 for fairness to the Oloibiri land owners. He was foremost in the campaign for accelerated development of Niger Delta Development Board (NDDB) Act.
As the First Civilian Governor of Rivers State, he established the first University of Science and Technology in Nigeria, I mean the now famous and prestigious Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Nkpolu, Port Harcourt; he increased by over 50% the number of primary, post-primary and tertiary institutions in the Old Rivers State; he introduced free education for all from primary to tertiary levels; he generously granted postgraduate and overseas scholarships, reformed and enlarged the revision of school syllabus to include character building in young people; he modernized and equipped hospitals and built 12 new General Hospitals; he encouraged training and retraining of health workers at all levels; he undertook massive improved portable water supply in the state; he was the innovator of the decentralization of the government to grassroot level where he created 50 new urban centres and also created for each local government area useful committees to handle each sphere of governmental activities.
He embarked on massive land reclamations, canalisations, shore protections, land and tidal wave erosion control; massive rural electrification including procurement of two 20 Megawatt Gas Turbine Engines, the first independent power plants in Nigeria which were installed at Imiringi Community; encouraged small scale industries and other commercial activities.
Melford Obiene Okilo complemented his excellent leadership qualities with his masterly ability to communicate and relate well with all categories of people even in pidgin English.
Nigeria rewarded him with the meritorious award of the Commander of the Federal Republic, CFR which is the third greatest national honour. He was also awarded several honorary doctorate degrees and many other honours including chieftaincy titles.
Chief Okilo was elected for a second tenure as Governor of Rivers State in 1983, a term that was deliberately ended by military coup. Chief Okilo was held in custody with other politicians and he was made to appear before five different tribunals but he was found innocent. The same military later vindicated him with his appointment as Minister of Commerce and Tourism under General Sani Abacha.
He was recognized and celebrated internationally as a great and renowned Philosopher and human developer. Chief Okilo was elected as President of the Prestigious University of Science and Philosophy, Waynesboro, Virginia, USA in 1996 and President of International Studies of the same university in 1997. He later established in Port Harcourt, the Lao Russell Memorial Secondary School, an affiliate of the university.
Chief Melford Obiene Okilo was made a Bishop of the Orthodox Church in New York on April 7, 1968. He was elected into the Nigerian Senate in 1999 to represent Bayelsa East Senatorial District and after serving one tenure between 1999 – 2003, he voluntarily stepped aside even when the good people of Ogbia, Nembe and Brass wanted him to remain in the Senate, he gave way for younger people to also lead like Nelson Madiba Mandela of South Africa.
Okilo fell ill and instead of flying him abroad for better, proper and adequate medical treatment, he was left at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa where he died on 5th July, 2008 at the young age of 74years when the younger generation needed his wealth of experience most.
THINGS OKILO REPRESENTED THAT ARE MISSING IN THE PRESENT CROP OF POLITICAL LEADERS IN OGBIA KINGDOM
- Okilo stood for the peace, unity, oneness and togetherness of Ogbia people. To achieve and also consolidate on this, Okilo worked with the then leadership of Ogbia Brotherhood to found the present Ogbia Town in 1972 which is meant to serve as the symbol of Ogbia Unity and the Central Home of all Ogbia people.
- Okilo encouraged growth and development of the people of Niger Delta, Old Rivers State and Ogbia Kingdom in particular as evidenced in the massive work he did in Ogbia Town that was a virgin forest uninhabited by any human, the roads he built, the 20 Megawatts Gas Turbine Engines at Imiringi that gave light to the whole part that is now known as Bayelsa State and some parts of Ahoada West and Abua/Odual Local Government Areas in Rivers State, etc.
- Okilo promoted education. This is evidenced in the number of schools he built and scholarships he gave to our people.
- Okilo was selfless, he was not selfish. Okilo saw the whole of Ogbia Kingdom as his immediate constituency and community that was why he never gave any special infrastructural developmental attention to his Emakalakala Community.
- Okilo stood for love. He promoted and also emphasized love among our great and most unique people. He preached and practiced pure Ogbia Brotherhood.
- Okilo believed and emphasized politics of merit and competence, he always wanted the best brains to lead.
- Okilo encouraged intellectualism. Okilo always identified intelligent young Ogbia people and carried them along in the scheme of things unlike the present leaders who see intellectuals as threats and they end at nothing to eliminate or discard them.
- Okilo never encouraged politics of imposition. Okilo never subscribed or believed in the politics of imposition of incompetent surrogates, stooges and puppets on the sensibilities of our great people.
- Okilo never hated any segment or section of Ogbia people, I mean any community or clan.
- Okilo had a forgiving spirit as an outstanding leader and father to all.
HIS PAINFUL DEATH
In spite of his great achievements, accomplishments and contributions to the growth and development of humanity and Ogbia Kingdom in particular, Okilo died an unhappy man.
Before his death, as customary, Okilo never went to Emakalakala his country home without doing a brief stopover at Ogbia Town where he usually walked on foot round the town before leaving. This is because of his passionate love for Ogbia Town and the Ogbia unity it represents.
On that fateful day, our great sage Chief Okilo arrived Ogbia Town wearing his Black Papas cap that has become part of him but instead of wearing it properly, he wore it turning it backward, the front facing backward. And as he was moving round, a young and very curious mind called his attention to the face cap thinking it was a mistake but Okilo told him that it was not a mistake rather it was symbolic. Okilo told him that it showed the backward movement of the once great and very powerful Ogbia Kingdom since the inception of the new crop of leaders since 1999 till date.
Okilo was hated because he was always saying the truth which was on the need for the rapid socio-economic and political growth of Ogbia Kingdom. Remember that Goodluck Jonathan rode on the political bridge Okilo built with the North to greatness.
It is very sad and unfortunate that the ills he spoke against that attracted unprecedented hatred to him are still prevalent and even worst.
It is unbelievable that there are no roads in Ogbia, no good schools, hospitals, Ogbia has remained in darkness for over 4years and still counting, no portable water, there is near absence of all modern basic social amenities despite all the enormous natural resources and abundant oil and gas deposit in Ogbia and the Nigerian presidency we produced and had for 6years without any result.
May God help Ogbia Kingdom!
Comrade Wisdom Oniekpar Ikuli writes from Bayelsa
Disclaimer: Opinion expressed are those of the author and not the blog
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