By Olorogun Bernard Okumagba
Today marks the silver jubilee of the transition of my father Chief Daniel Okumagba, a great man, trailblazer, nationalist and statesman. Father and Patriarch. Chief Daniel Okumagba departed on the 27th of July 2000 an accomplished man who had a distinguished resumè as a prominent leader of the Urhobo Nation, a retired civil servant who was well known as Mathematics tutor and Games master at Urhobo College Effurun, and politician who was a Member of the Western House of Assembly, later the Governorship candidate of the National Party of Nigeria for Bendel State (now Edo and Delta States) in the 1979 general election and then as the first Board Chairman of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited.
Chief Daniel Okumagba was my father but it is hard to remember him alone as father because of the large footprints he left behind. His image writ large for me as a child and growing up. I was used to seeing all the heavyweights of the Second Republic come to meetings with my dad at our home at 15, Upper Erejuwa Road in Warri, Delta State. From local party organisers to national leaders, they all came, amongst them the late former President Shehu Shagari. But while he was the NPN gubernatorial candidate for Bendel State in 1979, his relationship with political opponents was not acrimonious. His’ was a political culture that reflected the era and, while we noticed as children, I couldn’t have known this culture would become ingrained in me such that that temperate nature became the background of my outlook on life and service.
In 2012 when I started to research my father amongst his friends and from his records in the public service, including his time as the Member for Warri East Constituency in the Western House of Assembly Ibadan for a book I wrote on him titled ”Footprints of a Statesman”, I was literally swamped with testimonials of his forthrightness, humility, kindheartedness, diligence and friendship, things I experienced as a child. My findings gave me extra bounce in my steps that indeed my father was who he said he was, in private as in public; at home and on the march. Professor Union Edebiri, a past president of Urhobo College Old Students Association, observed in an interview published in The Guardian newspaper of July 31, 2000, days after my dad’s passing, that he was a committed teacher who “left no one in doubt that he wanted the best for his students.” Professor David Okpako, a retired Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Ibadan and my dad’s student at Urhobo College Effurun, said of him: “Okumagba’s attitude was a lesson in sportsmanship. Honesty and integrity were his hallmarks in sports and everything else he did. I am sure it was the same when he became a national figure in Nigerian politics.” Many of his students at Urhobo College also spoke of the passion with which he delivered his Mathematics lessons as memorable.
My father was born on January 1, 1922, the 12th child of Chief Okumagba Eboh. Leadership was thrust on my father quite early in life as in 1950 he became the Secretary to our Kindred Families of Olodi, Oki and Ighogbadu of Okere-Urhobo. This was a position of responsibility that meant he had to perform this role creditably. Yet, his ability to fit into the demands of the office and lead, while dealing with his other responsibilities as Teacher (from 1947 to 1976), Parliamentarian (from 1960 to 1963) and other public offices that he held, was widely acknowledged as remarkable. My father was central to the planning and implementation of the Okumagba Layout in Warri, ensuring that the area is interspersed with a brilliant network of spacious roads at the time of its initial development. Indeed, Chief Daniel Okumagba, my father, was a large hearted man whose footprints across the Warri landscape, Delta State, the old Midwest/Bendel Region/State, the Niger Delta and the Nigerian nation spoke of a Statesman who was a committed defender of our people’s right to our homeland, yet a very accommodating leader whose motto was akin to the maxim, live and let live.
In the tradition of the celebrated African leaders of the anti-colonial movement who started out in life as teachers such as Nnamdi Azikiwe and Kwame Nkrumah, my father carved his early niche as a teacher and added the dimension of serving as a games-master being a lover of sports. His foray into politics was kindled by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who commanded values that connected with my father. My father described Zik as a Leader who was selfless, visionary and determined. In the 1960 General Election at which my father contested and won a seat to represent Warri East, a Campaign poster of my father and the National Leader of the NCNC, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, bearing the legend “Vote For NCNC And Midwest” at the top and “Azikiwe 1960 Okumagba” at the bottom still dons our Family home in Warri. Of course my father went on to defeat the incumbent Chief Reece Edukugho of the Action Group and was a member of the Western Region House of Assembly up till 1963 when the Midwest Region was created. As a midwesterner, he was one of the leading campaigners for the creation of the Midwest Region out of the Western Region, which feat was achieved following an overwhelming ‘Yes’ vote in the plebiscite held for that purpose.
My father’s legislative values were strictly focused on the issues of fiscal responsibility, respect for constitutionalism, responsible governance and citizens welfare, subjects on which he intervened in parliamentary debates and oversight. A man ahead of his time, he was a strong believer in local government autonomy. As a 38-year-old legislator in the Western House at Ibadan, he was as hard on the central government as he was on the Western Region government, whenever he saw injustice. His well-judged submissions were duly reported in The Hansard, such as the debates on November 23, 1960 wherein he demanded pointedly: “Why can’t the Western Region government (AG-controlled) leave the Warri Urban District Council (NCNC-controlled) on its own?” This was at a time when the Western Region government was haranguing the local council in Warri.
His belief in order and what was appropriate transcended politics to even the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) of which he was General Secretary from 1984 to 1993 alongside Chief (Dr) Frederick Esiri who was President General during the period . He was decidedly against the politicisation of the union. Peter Ekeh in his book, T.E.A. Salubi: Witness to British Colonial Rule in Urhoboland and Nigeria, records an encounter as follows: “The second speaker was Mr Okumagba who reiterated the advice that affairs of the Union be insulated from party politics. He was keen that people should not allow their personal political affiliation to affect their communal interests.” If he were to be alive today, he would puke at how political considerations have seized and threatened all conversations and relationships, locally and nationally, and how this has come to define the continuing problems of insecurity and lack of national cohesion.
One area that will also baffle him is how we have not been able to sufficiently diversify our economy from what it was in the 1970s. As governorship candidate of the NPN he spoke of lofty dreams to industrialise Bendel State, arguing in an interview published by the Nigerian Observer of May 26, 1979, that: “The economy of Nigeria is in danger and may collapse unless steps are taken to diversify the economy through rapid industrialization.” It was no surprise that he was tapped by President Shagari who appointed him as Chairman of the Board of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited. My father’s zeal to reenact the feat of steel serving as the basis of the Industrial Revolution in Europe and America had to contend with the Western powers being reluctant to assist with the technology to set up the plant, in which case Nigeria had to depend on partners from the old USSR until the military takeover of December 31, 1983 all but killed off the dream.
My father’s opinions on all issues, no matter how controversial, were never hidden. For instance, he dismissed the Land Use Decree thusly: “I have never considered the Land Use Decree a wise legislation. For one thing, it is not practicable.” He was a man of deep time-tested convictions, unafraid to air and defend them! His essence spoke of a time in leadership when leaders led with courage, decorum, respect and consideration for the people, a determination to make things better. Our social progress as a country or lack of it brings forth memories of his generation and their time as leaders. Men like Sir Abubakar Balewa, President Shagari and more who had a sense of moral rectitude while in power, and out of it.
It is difficult to know if there is a correlation between his study of mathematics and his love for investments in the capital market, and many people wonder if my father compelled any of his children to take to the financial sector, given that a number of us ended up as bankers, chartered accountants, economists and stockbrokers. He did not. Could his love for mathematics have been so ingrained in his bones as to produce a genetic effect? This is a puzzle for Science. But he was glad that his children shared an interest in the discipline he took to heart. You knew that even if Papa had little time to look up your school performance, you had no reason to fail; it was ingrained that failure was not an alternative.
In his last years in retirement, with his sights off political office, my father focused more on contributing to the structuring of the Nigerian federation. He advocated the right of the Niger Delta people to a more equitable share of the wealth from their region, which later became the resource control struggle. His views on national issues were unambiguous. It was a time when we shared more time together discussing national affairs. In spite of the social undercurrents of contentions and an economy that was wobbly, he spoke of hope that my generation would stem the tide. With his work done, my father died peacefully in the early hours of July 27, 2000. His funeral saw a congregation of political heavyweights from the Second Republic. Second Republic President Shehu Shagari sent a delegation, as did several other associates of my father through the years.
Teacher, Businessman, Community Leader, Urhobo Patriot, Politician and Statesman, Chief Daniel Okumagba inspired confidence, valour and moral rectitude. He was a mentor to many. Twenty five years after his passing, his memory remains fresh.
Continue to rest in peace, dear Father.
Olorogun Bernard Okumagba is a former Delta State Commissioner of Finance and Commissioner of Economic Planning
