A Hamper for Julius Ihonvbere

I knew him in 2005 when I accompanied the then Etsako Central Council boss, Pascal Ugbome, on a visit to his Asokoro District, Abuja, residence. He was then President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Special Adviser on Project Monitoring and Evaluation. That first meeting, as brief as it was, made a lasting impression on me as he came across as very simple, humble, intelligent, accommodating and rather too friendly for a man of his stature and status. I thought it was uncommon to find such a complete gentleman as Prof. Julius Ihonvbere among the very high in our society where barely concealed arrogance of power reigns supreme.
A couple of years later, I was to become his admirer and supporter when he ventured into the murky waters of politics in the quest for the governorship of Edo State. For me, Prof. Ihonvbere was a fit and proper person to occupy the highest political office in our state judging by his antecedents. He had been invited by President Obasanjo from the Ford Foundation, New York, to join and bring new impetus to his government.
With a war-chest no other aspirant could put together, Ihonvbere prosecuted his ambition with the full support and backing of the people. He was, however, to receive his ‘baptism of fire’ in the hands of the rulers when, on the eve of the 2006 gubernatorial primaries, a candidate was handpicked by his party leaders leaving him in the lurch.
Undaunted, Ihonvbere continued to win the hearts of the people through his care for both old and young, male and female, market women, youths and farmers. Most people had thought that the governorship ticket which eluded him in the past would be taken for granted in 2012. It was not to be. And the man changed platform. As it is usually said, all that is now history.
When Comrade Adams Oshiomhole appointed Ihonvbere as Secretary to the Edo State Government in November 2013, many people at home and abroad hailed the appointment. Those who knew Ihonvbere well said he would bring to bear his vast wealth of experience as an intellectual and leader of men.
I do not think Prof. Ihonvbere has disappointed anyone. Up until he resigned his appointment last week, Ihonvbere proved to be a caring boss and father to his staff and all, humble and accommodating.
His office door did not have a lock, something quite uncommon in bureaucracy. The issues which led Prof. Ihonvbere out of office are very well known to be recounted here. However, someone has asked me if I thought he took a good step by resigning his appointment.
I am, just like anyone else, not in a good position to say whether or not Ihonvbere did the right thing. I think that whatever a man does is in his best interest.
Recently, I came across a gift of a book which I had received from Prof. Julius Ihonvbere at our first meeting in his Abuja residence in 2005 but which I was unable to read until now. The book, titled ‘’THE BEST IS YET TO COME:
Portrait of a Scholar-Activist’’, is edited by Kayode Fayemi (former governor of Ekiti State) and Pita Agbese and contains essays in honour of Prof. Ihonvbere. Many of the essays eulogise Ihonvbere’s scholarly achievements not only at the University of Ife and University of Port Harcourt but also at his alma mater, University of Toronto, Canada and in the USA, especially at the Ford Foundation. Dr. Fayemi said of Prof. Julius Ihonvbere: ‘’Julius Ihonvbere is a born leader of people. In his quest to improve the human condition, his life has been nothing but a dedication to people of all races, genders, classes, creeds and religions, and the defence of humanity and the common good.’’
But for Dr. Fayemi, not many of us who lived in Nigeria in the era of military dictatorship would have known the role Prof. Ihonvbere and Dr. Fayemi played in the fight to get the late Gen. Sani Abacha to jettison his transmutation ambition. These two academics, in collaboration with a few others, organised pro-democracy movements abroad, set up and ran Radio Freedom which was later renamed Radio Kudirat in the aftermath of the gruesome murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola. While working at the Ford Foundation, Ihonvbere facilitated access to grants by pro-democracy groups in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.

*this was published in the Daily Times dated Tuesday, December 23, 2014