Odili@60
Odili: An Undiminished Star

Peter Odili

About 18 months after quitting office, former Rivers State Governor, Peter Odili, remains a potent political force, even as he clocks 60
By Chidiebere Onyemaizu
HE is a star. Indeed, he has always shone and this illumination has remarkably become a source of inspiration and direction to his compatriots – peers and followers alike – especially in his native Rivers State. But with his foray into the uncertain terrain of partisan politics some two decades ago, a move which began with his election into the Constituent Assembly in 1988 and later progressed with his stint as Deputy Governor in the aborted Third Republic before blossoming into his eight years tour of duty as the state governor between May 29, 1999 and May 29, 2007, his illumination was no longer localized. He became a national phenomenon, and in the process etched his name on the consciousness of other Nigerians.
And just as gold is a precious and durable object, so also is its glitter: unwaning and undminishing. All these delicately capture the indelible imprints of Dr. Peter Odili in the political firmament and the countrywide aura which the amiable former Governor still commands.
The galaxy of eminent Nigerians across ethno-religious and political divides who recently constituted themselves into a “Committee of Friends of Dr. Peter Odili at 60” for the former governor’s birthday celebration bears huge testimony to this.
Abba Mohammed and Richard Akintola, Chairman and Secretary of the Committee respectively, describe Odili in flowery terms thus: “His dexterity in piloting the socio-economic and political affairs of the State are unequalled in the history of the State and he is today a dependable and loyal political beacon that can be relied upon within the context of our national political framework and aspirations”
Mohammed and Akintola speak the obvious. That Odili is, indeed, a potent political beacon that can be relied upon and infact reckoned with in the context of Nigeria’s current political equation could be gleaned from the wonders he wrought in Rivers in terms of breathtaking infrastructural, economic and social development of the oil-rich state during his eight-year tenancy at the Rivers State Government House, Port Harcourt as governor.
The panache and gait with which he approached his quest for the presidential ticket of his party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the resultant countrywide acceptance among party faithfuls and even non-PDP members also made emphatic statements regarding the fact that Odili is a political Iroko. He is neither the son of a multi-millionaire, nor heir apparent to the throne of a high calibre political gladiator. The son of a school teacher- the first man to taste Western education in Ndoni land- Peter Otunuya Odili has indeed grown into an oak in the large minefield that is politics in Nigeria.
Odili, in his maiden broadcast to the people of Rivers State on May 30, 1999, had listed a 10-point agenda as his priority areas. Chief among these were infrastructure development, urban renewal, education, housing, environment, ecology, food production, poverty alleviation and employment generation. By the time he ended his tour of duty on May 29, 2007, he had delivered on virtually all the priority areas. This earned him cheers and adulation, not only from the people of the state but also from other Nigerians who physically saw and acknowledged the Odili wonders in the State.
In a season when ghost achievements were bandied about to attract undeserving laurels, Odili, in his eight years on the saddle as the Chief Servant of Rivers State laid on the table, verificable and enduring evidences of quality statesmanship through breathtaking achievements. For example, the former governor had stunned skeptics with a delivery of the 1,200 residential blocks, instead of 1,000 units he had promised within his first 100 days in office.
Before Odili assumed the driver’s seat of Rivers State Government in 1999, movement in the vast water-locked areas of the state was largely by sea ferry. But appalled by this inelegant state of affairs, Odili within his eight years reign succeeded in changing the face of transportation in the state with massive road projects. Most Kalabari towns, including Degema and Buguma, hitherto unaccessible by land, are today linked by roads and bridges courtesy the medical doctor-turned- politician's purposeful leadership, thus making water transportation in these riverine communities an unfancied alternative.
The former governor it was too, who introduced the first ever city cab system in Nigeria, with an initial 300 cars. This was followed up with 70 ultra-modern buses and first ever city train shuttle service. He capped his transportation initiatives with an air ambulance and a VIP hire scheme. To further boost the air transportation system especially within the state, the former governor had earmarked Bonny Island, which hosts the multi-billion dollar Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) project for an aerodome. And to enhance water transportation, the former governor purchased a 74-seater water craft to complement existing ones in freighting goods and personnel to Bonny.
There is also the historic Omoku power plant, a gigantic power plant, the first of its kind solely financed by a state government. Stunned by the audacity of Odili to ever conceive the idea of financing such capital intensive but productive venture, the former governor’s critics bandied all sorts of unorthodox postulations and fairy tales about the project. For example, his opponents had alleged that the Omoku power plant project was not only a huge joke played on the people but a well-laid conduit through which the former governor drained the state of its financial resources.
Uncowed, and with his mind irrevocably primed at putting Rivers on the world map as the only one out of the 36 states with self- sufficiency in power generation and distribution, Odili soldiered on with the awesome N40billion Independent Power Project (IPP) and successfully completed it, bequeathing on Rivers and Nigeria, its best power plant ever.
Odili rationalises the blistering criticism he received as regards the Omoku power project thus: “When you are confronting challenges that everybody has shied away from in the past, naturally it elicits a lot of skepticism”. The power plant supplies the state with 125 megawatts of electricity, making it the only state in the entire federation self-sufficient in power generation.
Odili’s large and kind- heartedness, which even out of office remains one of his hallmarks, registered itself bodly on youths, the aged and civil servants in the state during his tenure. These category of Rivers indigenes had cause to at different times, sing joyful songs in appreciation of Odili’s generousity, for no sooner had he assumed office as governor than he abolished all manners of fees in primary and secondary school in the state.
In addition, Rivers State Government under Odili, beginning from 1999 till he left office on May 29, 2007, picked the bills for all indigene-candidates for WAEC, NECO and NABTEB examinations. This was capped with a free bus transportation service scheme for students which ferried them to and from school, from bus terminals nearest to their homes. The free transportation scheme he put in place for students, he also did with the rail, with infusion of toll-free compartments in the train shuttle.
Odili did not stop there. He also cleared up arrears of bursary allowances due to Rivers indigenes in tertiary institutions which he jacked up from a misery N2,500 to N20,000 for each undergraduate. The Odili administration was labour-friendly. He enhanced the dignity of labour by being the first state governor to adopt the N7,500 minimum wage package of federal civil servants. Under him, civil servants in the state earned Christmas bonuses as of right. He also introduced a new car loan scheme in the civil service, and approved an enhanced car loan scheme for all permanent secretaries in the state’s civil service.
There was indeed no sector of the economy that did not receive the Odili magic touch, be it health, agriculture, industry, job creation, et cetera. For example, the former River State helmsman showed uncommon commitment to wealth and job creation and poverty alleviation as the chief pilot of Rivers State. He began this drive with a meticulous collation of data on the level of unemployment in the state. Then, he embarked upon the registration of primary and secondary school leavers as well as university graduates for skill acquisition programmes.
Working in tandem with his wife, Justice Mary Odili’s pet project, The Adolescent Programme (TAP), by the time Odili left office on May 29, 2007, available records showed that over half a million unemployed Rivers Youths had acquired training in various enterprises. While some of the beneficiaries were absorbed into the state’s civil service, others were set up by the Odili administration to manage their enterprise in various areas such as fashion making, hairdressing, carpentry and paint making.
Since no one lights a candle and puts it under the bed, the Odili phenomenon, his all-round revolution in Rivers State was soon to get Nigerians of all strata enamoured and they reasoned that at the national level, an Odili was needed to re-engineer the country. For example, the revered and irrepressible Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, did not mince words about this when on a visit to Rivers State sometimes in 2006, he emphatically urged Odili to aspire to a higher national duty.
Cardinal Okogie: “I have seen things which I thought can only be found in Europe. The House of Assembly complex and the gas turbines are projects which I think anyone who is going to lead this country should try to embark upon”.
Besides Cardinal Okojie, calls on Odili to consider replicating his Rivers wonders on the entire country as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, poured in torrents. Not one who would block his ears and heart to the genuine yearnings of fellow Nigerians, Odili yielded to the pressures and on Monday, November 27, 2006, at a colourful world press conference he formally announced his intention to take a shot at the presidency of Nigeria. He also at the event unfolded his blueprint for the country, including his Marhal Plan for his home region, the restive Niger Delta where the bulk of the country’s oil wealth is derived.
And thus began the dazzling Odili campaign to grab the PDP presidential ticket. Armed with his vision and mission for the nation, which included building a truly united Nigeria through providing requisite leadership by action, he transversed the entire country, meeting party faithfuls, opinion leaders and monarchs. Following his trail were tremendous expression of goodwill and a plethora of endorsements never before witnessed in the history of political aspiration and campaign for office in Nigeria’s history, an elegant testimony to the fact that Odili had erected strong bridges of friendship and understanding across the country’s diverse socio-cultural and political spectrum.
The blitz which Odili’s entry into the 2007 presidential race brought to bear on the country’s political arena and the intense passion and interest it generated was so overwhelming that in all his country-wide consultations, he received a clear-cut and express commitment of support by stakeholders, irrespective of region and religion. Perhaps, the greatest surprise of the Odili presidential aspiration was that a melange of political activists, opinion leaders and politicians in the North were fanatical about an Odili presidency, not minding agitations by some elites in the region that power should rotate back there, so much so that they somewhat became frontline Odili-for-President campaigners.
For example, Alhaji Mijinyawa Kiogama, at that time Adamawa State PDP chairman, emphatically declared that party delegates from the state had resolved to vote for Odili en masse during the presidential primaries. His brother-governor at that time, Jolly Nyame of Taraba State succinctly pledged his support for Odili thus: “Your track records mark you out as an explanary leader of our time.” Co-ordinator of Human Rights Groups based in the North, Shehu Sani on his part made case for an Odili presidency this way: “ If what we desire is a national leadership in 2007, then there is no one we can support other than Governor Odili, that has defied all odds and has brought out his head and has laid out his programmes.”
Besides this, the calibre of personalities across the six geo-political zones who witnessed the unveiling of his mission and vision for the presidency clearly attest to the former Rivers state governor’s national acceptance. For one, Odili’s decision to embark on massive and broad-based consultations as a form of consensus building and participatory democracy is about one of the few instances in Nigeria’s chequered political history that a presidential hopeful would bother to undertake a detailed tour of the country – long before the presidential primaries of his party – to personally reach out to diverse stateholders.
And the result was victory waiting to be clinched. Indeed, had the series of vagaries on the part of the powers-that- be in the PDP in the build-up to the December 16, 2007 presidential primaries of the party not ensured that Odili stepped down from the race, what would have taken place at the Eagle Square, Abuja venue of the event, would have been a mere crowning of the former governor as PDP’s presidential flagbearer as thousands of delegates across the country had arrived Abuja with just one aim: To formally hand Odili the PDP ticket.
So sure of Odili’s triumph at the primaries was many PDP chieftains, nay eminent Nigerians, that one of them, the late strongman of Ibadan politics, Lamidi Adedibu, emphatically declared in 2006: "come next year, (2007), Odili will be president... Everybody wants to be president but God has chosen Odili. Come next year, he would be sworn in but I would not attend. However, I would come to see him in private on May 30th, 2007.” The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade was also sure of an Odili presidency when he declared that “God loves Nigeria and for this simple reason, Obafunminyi (Odili) will not fail. Everything about you is just superb. This is why you will not fail because God will not allow Nigeria to fail.”
Though he left office 18 months ago, Odili despite not making it to the Persidency, remains a potent political force, not only in Rivers but throughout the country. In his home state, virtually all seasoned politicians in the state have remained loyal to him. The roll call include Abiye Sekibo, former minister for Transport, Austin Opara, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Celestine Omehia, immediate past governor of the state, among others.
Even some of his trenchant critics during his reign have now realised their error of judgement. For example, one such person, an Ijaw leader and spokesman of the Ijaw Elders Forum, Anabs Sara-Igbe, featured recently in a Silverbird Television (STV) programme. “Head to Head” where he poured encomiums on the administration led by Odili.
Odili, a Knight of the Catholic Church, was severally accused by largely sponsored charltans of nurturing the reign of cultism in Rivers State while his reign lasted. But the question his accusers, including the incumbent governor, Chibuike Amaechi who was speaker of the State House of Assembly when Odili as governor sent a bill to the House and later assented to the bill outlawing cultism in the state, have so far failed to answer is why the intensity of cult-induced violence has rather increased in the state when their supposed godfather and sponsor, Odili, is no longer on the scene! As a human-being, Odili appears pained by these reckless allegations but like the good Christian that he is, he has one prayer for his accusers: “I pray the kind of prayer our Lord Jesus Christ prayed. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Born on August 15, 1948 at Ndoni in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area Rivers State, Dr. Odili has continuously walked the journey of life as a star, always shining brightly in all his endeavours. The young Odili had his primary education at St. Michael’s School, Oguta II in present day Imo State and Sacred Heart School Onitsha, Anambra State. For his secondary education, he was at the famous Christ the King College (CKC) also in Onitsha where he obtained his West African School Certificate in Division One in 1965.
With age, time and intellect on his side, Odili proceeded to the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) to study medicine, graduating in 1977 as a young medical doctor. Not done with knowledge, several years after leaving UNN, he enrolled into the School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK to pursue a post- graduate study and train in Tropical medicine and venerology.
The experience which Odili as a young medical doctor doing his Housemanship at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) garnered was in later years to go a long way in preparing him to face challenges as the Chief Medical Director of PAMO Clinics, Port Harcourt.
Odili’s foray into politics began in 1988 when he was elected into the Constituent Assembly. His political exploits got a big boost in 1992 when he was elected Deputy Governor in the aborted Third Republic on the platform of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC). In 1999, after a very testy and tense guber contest against his main opponent, the All Nigeria People’s Party’s (ANPP) candidate, Ebenezer Isokrari, Odili emerged victorious and thus began his eight-year systematic but steady transformation of Rivers state.
A grandfather of three, Odili, as a young Medical Student in UNN met and fell in love with a campus beauty, a law student named Mary. The sizzling romance was to culminate in marriage in 1977 and is blessed with four children.
A destribalised Nigerian, Odili has garnered chieftaincy titles from across the six geo-political zones of the country. For example, he is the Sodangi of Gwandu, Kebbi State, Shettima of Damaturu, Yobe State, Shettima of Borno, Obi Nwanne of Mbaise, Imo State where Mary, his adorable wife who is now a judge of the Appeal Court, hails from and Ebunle of Owu kingdom, Ogun State, among others.