A governor buries his mother
By Hope Eghagha
AS the whole world now knows, Delta State governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori buried his mother in Oghara between the 8th and 10th of October 2004.
As far as burials go it was a burial of burials. There was glamour, there was panache; there was deep emotional currents too. Adding glamour to funeral rites often reduces the sting and pain of death. The burial therefore was indeed a celebration of life, not of death. For, as those who knew Madam Ibori testified, she lived a fulfilled life. The event was also symptomatic of the arrival of James Ibori as a forceful voice, a politician of considerable stature in the Nigerian polity.
Never before in Urhoboland, I dare say, had there been any crowd so mammoth, immense and diverse as the crowd that descended on Oghara during those hectic days. From a former head of government to serving state officials, the Oghara people stood in awe as dignitaries streamed in in their luxurious cars. The Baptist Church was in its elements. Ola Akande, former Secretary and President respectively, of the Nigerian Baptist Convention preached a sermon, which I think ought to wash away political wax from listening ears. Dexterously dancing around the subject of the day, (burial rites for the governor's and the role which mothers play in our lives), he stressed that mothers never taught or encouraged their children to steal public funds and stash them away in foreign banks. As far as I was concerned, that was the punch line for the day!
In a sense, Chief Ibori made a resounding political and cultural statement both for himself and the Urhobo people. On the personal level, it showed what leverage he now has in the political landscape of Nigeria. For the Urhobo people, it was a source of pride to see one of their sons pulling the makers and shakers of the nation to the hitherto obscure Oghara. Oghara will never be the same again. The sheer size of the crowd ought to send a message to the headhunters of ex-convicts that the man, Chief Ibori, still has immense political support in the state and in the country in spite of the muddied bricks flying around the polity and the judiciary.
Since Mama Comfort Oji Ibori (88) passed away in June, elaborate plans had been on to give the late matriarch of the Ibori clan a befitting burial. Individuals and associations took out airtime and newspaper space to commiserate with the governor. Some of the messages were really ridiculous, saying things they really did not mean, all to get the attention of the bereaved governor, perhaps. Consider for example, 'the state and indeed the Nigerian nation would miss her wisdom, motherly role and...', or 'the mother of the state has gone to be with the Lord'. Of course we sometimes understand these superlatives. Death makes us say nice things about departed people. Like Chief Ojukwu paying backhanded tribute to the memory of the great Chief Awolowo as 'the greatest president Nigeria never had'. It would have made a lot of difference if this compliment were given during the lifetime of Awo. This is not to imply that the governor's mother was not a mother indeed. In fact, ordinary Oghara people would attest to her generosity, philanthropic disposition and kindness long before her son became governor.
The first beneficiary of the elaborate burial plan was the town of Oghara itself. Within months, this sleepy town had undergone rapid structural and social transformation. The main road leading to the town was dualised. Long before this time, the governor had ensured that a standard stadium was built in the town. The town now boasts of some tertiary institutions. Streetlights, which are rare in most Nigerian towns, now brighten the streets. Indeed some of us were envious. How we wished the governor were a son of my town or village or my clan! How we wished the governor was our brother or uncle or cousin! You know, in our country, except a son of the soil speaks on his community or town's behalf, the place would be forgotten. So Ibori has done well by the Oghara people. They will never forget the man.
In the same vein, we also pray that the president of the country comes from our zone, our ethnic group, our state, our town, village or clan. This predisposition is an indication of the deep and sad failure of our institutions. 'Our' president, produced from our family would ensure that the town gets, water supply, airports, banks, and Federal Government presence in such areas as telecommunications, education, sports and perhaps health. We do know that all ministers and legislators are striving hard to attract one project or another to their political base. A politician who fails to play ball will be in soup after his days in office.
It was clear from the chief mourner's speech that he had a deep and strong relationship with his mother. There was a deep connect. In his speech he stressed the onerous role which his mother played in his life. His mother ensured that he went to school. His mother was always there for him to lean on. His mother adopted so many children that at the end of her life, she had helped to nurture over thirty boys and girls into successful men and women. Even while he was governor he communicated with her daily some say. A mother's ever soothing voice can be a balm to the worries of the world. The dark sunshades worn by the governor on Saturday suggested that emotions were taking their toll. As he bade his mother good bye in the speech, the ebullient governor broke down. And the crowd showed sympathy. 'He really loved his mother', somebody muttered.
Any man worthy of honour ought to honour his parents. As we know, this is the first God's commandment with a promise. And there are different was of honouring ones parents. To give a decent burial to ones parents is one of such ways. Unfortunately or is it naturally, not all of us can honour our parents on the same scale as the governor. How many of us ordinary Nigerians have the leverage to construct or expand roads in order to make visitors happy? Very few! In fact, only a negligible percentage! For this reason, we need and do have government institutions. Such institutions ought to provide infrastructure.
So as the governor celebrated the passing away of his mother, when it is the turn of others (for those still in debt) we pray that there would be roads to get to the village or the town. We pray that we do not need to be state officials in order to drive freely to our homestead. The irony was not lost as I returned from Oghara and tried to drive to Mereje where my father's grave lies. Because I could not wade through the flood that had separated my ancestral home from civilisation, I aborted the journey.
In a sense therefore, this essay is much a tribute to the governor and his late mother as it is a call on the government to ensure that all roads leading to towns and villages are made motorable. It is true that since the coming of the Ibori administration, roads have been repaired in the state more than all the military administrators did in the past. However, a lot still has to be done. The government should ensure that three or more towns are transformed into modern cities before the coming of 2007.
In all the Ibori's mother's burial was stupendous and bold in approach. The whole town wore the look of a carnival city. Food and drinks and entertainment were in abundance. As we congratulate the governor on successfully carrying out the rites of passage for his beloved mother, we also call on him to ingrain his name in the memory of Deltans by ensuring that all parts of the state benefit equitably from the oil resources of Delta State. Sapele, Ughelli, Orerokpe, Ogwashi Uku, Warri, Effurun, Kokori, Eku, Abraka are towns which need to be elevated to the Oghara paradigm through the urgent attention of government in terms of infrastructure.
