By Fred Ezeh
The main campus of the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) recently witnessed unprecedented human and vehicular traffic as prominent political players from Edo State and residents of Abuja last week converged at the lecture theatre of the Faculty of Management Science, UniAbuja, for the first Samuel Ogbemudia Memorial Lecture.
The lecture was organised by the management of the ivory tower to appreciate and celebrate the contributions of the late Samuel Ogbomudia, former governor of the old Bendel State, to the growth of the institution. The late Ogbomudia who passed on recently, was the pro-chancellor of the seventh governing council of the university.
Conspicuous at the event was the Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, his predecessor, Adams Oshiomole, Prof. Osaremen Osunbor, who represented ex-military head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), governing council members, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Michael Adikwu, members of the Ogbemudia family and many other dignitaries.
Except for a few, all the above mentioned names were said to be political protégés of the late political and leadership maestro, who thought less of himself and more of his people, as reflected in the legacies he left behind.
Aside from the Edo people, members of the seventh UniAbuja governing council, Prof. Anthony Adegbulugbe, Dr. Mahe Dange, Hajiya Aisha Babangida, Prof. Ediga Agbo, Mrs. Opeyemi Ariba, Prof. Siyan Peter, Prof. Samuel Asola, Dr. Ifeyinwa Okoli, Prof. E.J.C. Nwana, Prof. Muhammadu Katcha, Prof. Otaki Alanana, Mrs. Rifkatu Swanta, Alhaji Ahmed El-Yakub and Dr. Roseline Echezona, were also conspicuous.
Students, particularly those in faculties that got to enjoy full accreditation from the National Universities Commission (NUC) and other regulatory bodies, courtesy of the efforts and intervention of the late Ogbemudia, thronged the lecture theatre to join in celebrating the late pro-chancellor whose intervention gave them hope.
Intermittently, the students, led by the president of UniAbuja Student Union Government, Comrade Abdulaziz Kola, lighted up the hall with solidarity songs in honour of Ogbemudia.
Ogbemudia, two-time governor of Bendel State, which comprised of present-day Edo and Delta states, died on March 9, 2017, at the age of 84, and was given a state burial by Edo and Delta states.
Gowon, chairman of the occasion, represented by the former Governor of Edo state, Prof. Osarem Osunbor, opened the floor with praise for the great legacies of the former leader.
Several adjectives were used by the elder statesman to describe the great impact of Ogbemudia on the people of Nigeria.
One after another, the dignitaries took the floor to rain encomiums on the personality of the late Ogbemudia, which epitomised greatness, patriotism and service of mankind.
Unfortunately, early speakers exhausted all the available adjectives trying to describe the personality of the late governor, thus leaving late speakers to either repeat what was earlier said or stutter sheepishly.
Osunbor recalled his first encounter with Ogbemudia while he was in school and how his actions, utterances and steps in office inspired him to greatness.
In the words of Gowon, “Ogbemudia was a great son not only of Edo State but the entire Nigeria, whose legacies, politically, educationally and otherwise, endure. Some of the infrastructure that is still in use in different parts of the state was built by him, and the beneficiaries remain eternally grateful to him. He lived a fulfilled life and we thank God for him.”
In his turn, Adikwu disclosed that, “By retrospection, the seventh council of UniAbuja was inaugurated on April 9, 2013, and held its first meeting on April 25, 2013, in the midst of anxiety and severe challenges facing the school.
“Most worrisome was that engineering students had been farmed out to sister universities and medical students were always on protest due to none accreditation of the programme by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
“To worsen the situation, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) downed tools to demand the release of the White Paper on the special presidential visitation panel of 2012. Indeed, the school was in turmoil, but the council, led by the late Ogbemudia, confronted the challenges with great wisdom and achieved success.
“He constituted a committee on accreditation, summoned and addressed senior academics, provosts, deans, directors, HODs and the aggrieved students, and gave his word that all pending accreditations with the NUC and regulatory councils would be secured in two months, promising to resign if he failed to secure the accreditation. Behold, the accreditations were done in two weeks. That was the magic of the late Ogbemudia.”
The VC, in recognition of the great contributions of the late pro-chancellor to the growth and development of the institution, and to keep his memory alive, renamed the school library after him.
There was a mild drama in the course of event when Obaseki walked out of the meeting hall when his predecessor, Oshiomole, mounted the podium to speak.
The entire gathering was surprised at the action of the governor, with suspicions of a deteriorating relationship between the governor and his predecessor a few months after he assumed office unarguably with the all-out support of Oshiomhole.
Meanwhile, the guest lecturer, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, extensively discussed the topic of lecture, “Nation Building and Development in Nigeria: Ogbemudia Factor.”
He pinpointed several traits of the late Ogbemudia that distinguished him from his contemporaries. These traits, according to Babatope, contributed immensely to the great heights that Ogbemudia achieved and the impact he made on humanity.
He listed some of the steps and decisions that Ogbemudia took, which transformed Bendel State and encouraged the present crop of leaders to emulate him and possibly surpass it so that posterity could judge them right.
inister of Transport and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recalled with nostalgia the outstanding views and opinions of the late Ogbemudia which resulted in an inexplicable strides he made in Nigeria’s political and social life.
He listed few of them. “In education, he built one of the first class universities in Nigeria, the present day University of Benin (UniBen) which had provided a great platform for quality and affordable education, leading to self realization and empowerment of millions of Nigerians.
He said that the late military personnel was a lover of sport, as shown in his interest and enthusiasm towards sports development particularly at the grassroot level. The popular Afuze sporting village was created by him for the purpose of training sportsmen and women.
Chief Babatope recalled that it was the diligence, commitment and dedication to excellence of the late UniAbuja pro Chancellor that led to the establishment and sustenance of the Observer group of newspapers, which then was the only reliable, accurate and most trusted source of information. “These and several others he did to the glory of God and mankind,” he said.