By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

Leadership in Nigeria needs large-minded statesmen whose scope of thinking is as large as the nation. This needful nationalistic prism shaped the life and times of Chief Daniel Okumagba, the remarkable Mathematics teacher-turned-politician who contested for the governorship of then Bendel State in the Second Republic.

It is very rare seeing books written by sons on their fathers in the general scheme of Nigerian life. This makes Footprints of a Statesman: The Life and Times of Chief Daniel Okumagba a trailblazer in the realm of “a son’s appreciation of his father, and the lessons therefrom.” In documenting his father’s life for posterity, it is noteworthy that Bernard Okumagba dedicates the book “to the many people across the world who believe in truth, justice, fairness, mutual respect and inter-ethnic harmony, which were values my father stood for in his journey through life”.

Chief Daniel Okumagba served as a pioneer teacher at Urhobo College, Effurun from 1949 until his retirement from teaching in 1976. Back in 1960, he won the election to represent Warri East Constituency at the Western Region House of Assembly in Ibadan on the platform of the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC). At the advent of the Second Republic, Chief Okumagba became a foundation member and a pioneer national committee member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), before becoming the party’s candidate for the gubernatorial election in the then Bendel State, now Edo and Delta States.

He was the pioneer Board Chairman of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited. The great man passed away on June 27, 2000, leaving behind a cherished legacy as a teacher, legislator, politician, businessman and frontline Niger Delta leader. It is a well-documented oddity of history that very many famous fathers almost always ended up siring very infamous, if not disreputable, children. As the scion of Chief Okumagba, the author Bernard breaks the mould by being a stellar graduate of Accountancy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; a Chartered Accountant; a banker of immense influence; Delta State Commissioner for Economic Planning, and later Commissioner for Finance. He is Chairman of Regents Consults Limited and Noly Insurance Brokers Limited; a Director of Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc, and holds the traditional chieftaincy title of Eruvwu R’Ovie of Agbarha Kingdom, Warri, Delta State.

Bernard Oboatarhieyeren Okumagba has in Footprints of a Statesman: The Life and Times of Daniel Okumagba blazed a trail of political example in Nigeria. In the son’s appreciation of the father, there is a huge vista for other political families to explore in Nigeria’s march to true nationhood. There is the need to hold the fathers to account, and Chief Daniel Okumagba trumps because his opinions on all issues, no matter how controversial, are never hidden. For instance, he dismisses the Land Use Decree, thusly: “I have never considered the Land Use Decree a wise legislation. For one thing, it is not practicable.”

Nigerians are used to instances where prominent politicians cannot in truth vouch for their roots. It takes a properly rooted son to trace his ancestry through his celebrated paterfamilias, to wit Chief Daniel Okumagba, who was born on January 1, 1922 as the 12^th child of Chief Okumagba Eboh, a paramount chief (born in 1853 and died in 1963) of Okere-Urhobo in Warri of present-day Delta State. According to Bernard Okumagba in Footprints of a Statesman, “So spread out in ages were the children of my grandfather that his first grandchild and my cousin, the late Mr. Forcados Wilkie, was older than my father, who was born when his father, my grandfather, was already in his 60s.”

Grandfather Okumagba Eboh was one of the early converts to Christianity when the Catholic Church made an inroad into the coastal communities of the Niger Delta. The very influential grandfather embraced the faith, getting his children, including Daniel, baptised as Christians into the Catholic fraternity whilst sending them to the Roman Catholic Mission (RCM) School in Warri. This way, the young Daniel obtained his Teacher’s Certificate from the prestigious St. Thomas College, Ibusa. Even though he passed his matriculation examinations he had to start his teaching career in primary schools in Adagbrassa and Warri from 1947 before transferring to the secondary school at the inception, in 1949, of Urhobo College, Effurun.

Leadership was thrust on the young teacher quite early in life, as in 1950 he became the Secretary to the Kindred Families of Olodi, Oki and Ighogbadu of Okere-Urhobo, taking over from the veteran Pa Gbamijolo Eburu, who was until then the Acting Secretary. 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, the zestful young Daniel carved his early niche as a teacher and added the dimension of serving as a games-master. He was an astute teacher of Mathematics as attested to by one of his students of the Class of 1954, David Okpako, who retired as a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Ibadan.

Okumagba’s foray into politics was kindled by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, popularly called Zik of Africa, an inspiring speaker who “commanded values that connected with my father – he was selfless, visionary and determined”. There is on Page 76 of this book a 1960 Campaign Poster of the pictures of Chief Daniel Okumagba 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.

Of course, Okumagba went on to defeat the incumbent, Chief Reece Edukugho of the Action Group for the Warri East Constituency seat in the Western Region House of Assembly on the ticket of the NCNC. He was a member of the Western Region House of Assembly up till 1963 when the Midwest Region was created.

As a 38-year-old legislator in the Western House at Ibadan, Okumagba “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 Okumagba asked pointedly: “Why can’t the Western Region government (AG-controlled) leave the Warri Urban District Council (NCNC-controlled) on its’ own?” As a formidable leader, Okumagba was irresistible in fighting the causes of Okere-Urhobo, Warri, the Urhobo nation, the then Western Region, Midwest/Bendel State and the Nigerian nation at large.

Chief Okumagba stayed out of political limelight in the years of military rule but stood up to be counted when the ban on political activities was lifted on September 28, 1978. He became a founding member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) as “he saw it as the most national of all the 52 political associations that came up in the wake of the resumption of party politics.” He aligned himself with the views of another NPN chieftain, Dr Chuba Okadigbo, who stressed that the NPN did not believe in a godfather-like emperor “but in a communal sense of leadership and followership.”

Amid immense intrigues, Chief Okumagba emerged as the NPN gubernatorial candidate for the then Bendel State, but eventually lost the elections to the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) candidate, Professor Ambrose Alli, largely due to infighting within his party. After the election of Alhaji Shehu Shagari as Nigerian President in 1979, he appointed Chief Okumagba as Chairman of the Board of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited. Chief Okumagba had all along been campaigning for the diversification of the oil mono-economy of Nigeria through industrialisation, as he was reported by the Nigerian Observer of May 26, 1979 as saying while campaigning for Governor: “The economy of Nigeria is in danger and may collapse unless steps are taken to diversify the economy through rapid industrialisation.” Okumagba’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 the old USSR until the military takeover of December 31, 1983 all but killed off the dream.

Bernard Oboatarhieyeren Okumagba has in Footprints of a Statesman: The Life and Times of Daniel Okumagba blazed a trail of political example in Nigeria. In the son’s appreciation of the father, there is a huge vista for other political families to explore in Nigeria’s march to true nationhood. There is the need to hold the fathers to account, and Chief Daniel Okumagba trumps because his opinions on all issues, no matter how controversial, are never hidden. For instance, he dismisses the Land Use Decree, thusly: “I have never considered the Land Use Decree a wise legislation. For one thing, it is not practicable.”

This is a book to treasure indeed. Unlike many books published in Nigeria, it is well-indexed. The 16 pages of epochal photos put history before our very eyes. The print quality is so eye-friendly that one cannot but read on and on until the very end. Footprints of a Statesman by Bernard Okumagba deserves a place in the shelf of the library of every Nigerian home and institution.

Uzor Maxim Uzoatu is a renowned poet, journalist and author. 

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.