Melford Obiene Okilo (30 November 1933 – 5 July 2008) had a long and distinguished career as a politician in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
from the start of independence in 1960 until shortly before his death in 2008.
He was a member of parliament (1956–1964) and a Minister in the
Nigerian First Republic
The First Republic was the republican government of Nigeria between 1963 and 1966 governed by the first republican constitution. The country's government was based on a federal form of the Westminster system. The period between 1 October 1960 ...
.
He was the
first elected Governor of Rivers State
The Governor of Rivers State is the chief executive of the Rivers State government and is one of the governors of the thirty-six states of Nigeria. The governor is supported by the Deputy Governor, both popularly elected for a term of four yea ...
, Nigeria (1979–1983) during the
Nigerian Second Republic
The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic.
Background
Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region en ...
.
Later he was Senator for Bayelsa East, in
Bayelsa State
Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yena ...
(1999–2003) during the
Nigerian Fourth Republic
The Fourth Republic is the current republican government of Nigeria. Since 1999, it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Second Republic, which was in place between 1979 an ...
.
Early career
Okilo was born on 30 November 1933 at Emakalakala, Ogbia,
Bayelsa State
Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yena ...
, and was of
Ijaw Ijaw may refer to:
*Ijaw people
The Izon people or Izon Otu, otherwise known as the Ijaw people due to the historic mispronunciation of the name ''Izon'', are an ethnic group majorly found in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, with significant populatio ...
origin.
He qualified as a lawyer, but entered politics at the age of 23.
Okilo was a member of Parliament between 1956 and 1959. In December 1959, he was re-elected to represent the Brass constituency on the
Niger Delta Congress platform.
The Prime Minister, Sir
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (December 1912 – 15 January 1966) was a Nigerian politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria upon independence.
Early life
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in December 1912 in modern-day ...
, later appointed him Parliamentary Secretary and Minister.
He played a significant role in the enactment of the Niger Delta Development Board (1961), which sought to address problems of the neglected Niger Delta region.
While visiting New York in 1965, he came across a book about
Walter Russell, ''The Man Who Tapped the Secrets of the Universe'', which had a profound influence on his thought. Walter Russell's University of Science and Philosophy later published his books, and in the late 1990s, he served as president of the university.
During the military regime of General
Yakubu Gowon
Yakubu Dan-Yumma 'Jack' Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a retired Nigerian Army general and military leader. As Head of State of Nigeria, Gowon presided over a controversial Nigerian Civil War and delivered the famous "no victor, no vanquishe ...
, Okilo served in the government in Rivers State first as Commissioner of Education, and then of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Resources (1971–1975).
[
]
Second republic
During General Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its presid ...
's regime, he was a member of the Constituent Assembly (1977–78) leading to the Nigerian Second Republic
The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic.
Background
Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region en ...
.
He was Chairman of the Rivers State branch of the National Party of Nigeria
The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983).
History Formation
The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian ...
(NPN) (1978–1983), and was elected on the NPN platform as governor of Rivers States in 1979.
As governor, Okilo established the Rivers State University of Science and Technology
Rivers State University (RVSU or RSU), formerly Rivers State University of Science and Technology (UST or RSUST), is a university located in the Diobu (Mile III) area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
As of 2021, the vice chancello ...
. He opened the Independent Power Plant at Imiringi in Ogbia
Ogbia is a Local Government Area of Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Ogbia in the south of the area at .
It has an area of 695 km and a population of 179,926. It is well known for its hi ...
local government area, now in Bayelsa State
Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yena ...
, a major gas turbine power station.[
He created fifty development units for the much neglected rural areas, introducing a policy where local people were given the responsibility and power to govern and develop their local communities. He undertook programs to reclaim land, control erosion, construct roads and canals, and build rural housing scheme and industrial estates.][
President ]Shehu Shagari
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018), titled Turakin Sokoto from 1962, was the first democratically elected President of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by military head of state General Olusegun Obasanjo in ...
awarded him the honour of ''Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria'' in 1983.[
He was re-elected on the NPN platform in 1983, losing office when General ]Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015.
Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 A ...
took power in a military coup in December 1983.[
Soon after taking power, Buhari established military tribunals to try public officers from the Shagari era who had been accused of embezzling public funds.
In July 1986, he was acquitted of his accusations and regained his freedom following a judicial review of the tribunals and later freed by Babangida.
]
Later career
In June 1989, Okilo was a speaker at a conference on World Balance: Action to Save our Planet held in Aspen, Colorado
Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...
.
Writing in 1992 on the question of oil revenue sharing, Okilo referred to traditional morality, saying that "when an individual kills or finds a big fish or animal, the villagers or community expresses their appreciation ... by first giving him or her the best part of the animal or fish before the rest of the meat or fish is shared."[
He served as Minister of Commerce and Tourism during the General ]Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...
regime.
In January 1994, he was a member of a ministerial committee that toured Ogoniland
The Ogonis are a people in the Rivers South East senatorial district of Rivers State, in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria. They number just over 2 million and live in a homeland which they also refer to as Ogoniland. They share common ...
following disturbances by Ogoni protesters against Shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard o ...
activities in the area.
Although the committee's report was sympathetic to the plight of minorities in the oil-producing areas, little was done.
Okilo was dropped from the government in July 1995 as the military consolidated their power.[
Returning to the United States, he became president of the University of Science and Philosophy, which had earlier published his philosophical writings including his 1991 book ''The Law Of Life''.
]
Fourth republic
In January 1999, shortly before the return to democracy and while running for office, Okilo was briefly detained by the outgoing military government following disturbances among the Ijaw in the Niger Delta.
Okilo was elected Senator for Bayelsa East on the People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to:
* People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
*People's Democratic Party (Belize)
*People's Democratic Party (Bhutan)
*People's Democratic Party (Chile)
* People's Democratic Party (Dom ...
(PDP) platform, serving from May 1999 to May 2003, but failed to be re-elected in 2003.[
As senator, he served as vice-chairman of the committee on Natural Gas and chairman of the committee on Identify Card.
He remained a director of the University Of Science And Philosophy, and became a director of the board of Vision In Action, an institute formed in 2003 to share and communicate experience on issues of leadership, creativity, visionary and strategic thinking.
In 2005, he read his own obituary after a mistaken story that he had died. Later he addressed a press conference, saying he was in a coma for four days and was mistaken for dead.][
Speaking in July 2006, in Brixton, ]London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, Okilo called on leaders of the Ijaw Ijaw may refer to:
*Ijaw people
The Izon people or Izon Otu, otherwise known as the Ijaw people due to the historic mispronunciation of the name ''Izon'', are an ethnic group majorly found in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, with significant populatio ...
to take their case over sharing oil and gas revenue to the International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
. At the same time, he asked youths of the area to give up violence, and seek peaceful means to address their grievances.
After a prolonged illness, Okilo was moved back to Bayelsa from his Abuja residence by his Administrator, Hauwa Ogbeide-Ihama. Okilo died at the age of 74 in Yenagoa
Yenagoa is a Local Government Area and capital city of Bayelsa State, southern Nigeria. It is located at the southern part of the country at coordinates .
The LGA has an area of 706 km² and a population of 352,285 at the 2006 census.
Th ...
, Bayelsa State on 5 July 2008.[
]
Bibliography
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okilo, Melford Obiene
2008 deaths
1933 births
Governors of Rivers State
Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria)
Members of the House of Representatives (Nigeria)
Niger Delta Congress politicians
Commanders of the Order of the Federal Republic
20th-century Nigerian politicians
21st-century Nigerian politicians
People from Bayelsa State
Ijaw people