KNOWING THE MAN KING DR EDMUND

KNOWING THE MAN KING DR EDMUND

Life and times of King Edmund Dakoru                                                                                    MADUABEBE DAUKORU ARSM, PhD, FIC, CON, MINGI XII, AMANYANABO OF NEMBE KINGDOM, BAYELSA STATE

PART 2

7.6 HM’s technical professional publications were a benchmark in the two decades spanning the 1970’s and 1990’s, and remain of historic interest to a younger generation of petroleum geologists to this day. His analysis of the geostatic phenomenon called “Overpressure”; the co-authored papers “ the Geology of the Niger Delta’’, presented at the Tokyo World Petroleum Congress in May,1975; and “the Niger Delta Hydrocarbon Kitchen” continue to be of technical interest to upstream oil sector professionals even of the present generation.8.0 GOVERNMENT APPOINTMENTS 8.1 While still with Shell, HM was singularly opportuned to be exposed to public institutions. He was appointed to the Governing Council of the Rivers State College of Science and Technology and a little later, into the Board of Rivers State Rubber Corporation. At the federal level, he was a member of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) as representative of the Oil and Gas Sector.8.2 In 2003, HM was appointed the Presidential Adviser on Petroleum and the Alternate Chairman of the Corporate Board of NNPC. By mid-2005, he was appointed Minister of State, becoming full minister of Energy (Petroleum and Power combined) by end 2006.HM thus became the only person to have: -become Group Managing Director, NNPC from the private sector.-become Petroleum Adviser, Minister of State and full Minister under the same Administration. - Held the combined portfolios of Federal Ministries of Power and Petroleum. -Held the positions of Group Managing Director, Board Chairman of NNPC, and Minister of Energy (Petroleum and Power) in a career span. 8.3 On the international scene, HM represented Nigeria so effectively that by end-2004, he was unanimously elected by his OPEC colleagues as Alternate President for the year 2005. The next year, he became both President and Secretary General, a combined position, that vested on him the full administration of the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, as well as being the global spokesman of the Organisation. HM maintained immense global visibility, to the pride of both Nigeria and OPEC, to such extent that the hosting of the end-2006 Conference of OPEC was conceded to Nigeria ahead of other claimants whose turn was due. The Conference, the first in a long time, endorsed his key legacies such as: The policy thrust was to create a linkage in which those who were willing to invest in our oil and gas prospects, also had to commit to develop our infrastructure. HM popularized the slogan, ‘we use what we have to get what we want’. In the course of his international assignments he has had direct interactions on energy diplomacy with the following: President Ahmadinejad of Iran, King fahd of Saudi Arabia President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela President Rolite Hu of S. Korea (Late) President De Muezes of Sao Tome and Principe President John Kuffuo of Ghana, President Umar al basher of Sudan, and President Dos Santos of Angola 8.5 These and many more of his achievements in the skillful management of the global energy concerns of the 1st decade of the 21st Century, earned Nigeria immense prestige both globally and in OPEC, and resulted in an award of an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Economics by the University of Seoul, S. Korea and an Honorary Citizenship of the City of Calgary in Canada. As Petroleum Minister, HM was Nigeria’s representative in the following international organizations: - OPEC (already discussed) APPA (African Petroleum Producers Association: President once) - AGPA (African Gas Producers Association) - Nigeria/Sao Tome JDC (Joint Development Commission: Co-Chairman) - WAGPC (West African Gas Pipeline Commission: Chairman once - IEA(International Energy Association - GCERT Gas Consumers and Exporters Round Table - Chaired the two yearly OPEC Seminar that brought together CEO’s of all the Integrated Multinational Oil Companies, Petroleum Ministers of all major producing Countries, Policy makers in major petroleum consuming countries etc. 9. His Majesty has the following Awards to his credit: - Fellow of Imperial College (Only two Africans have been so honoured to date, the other being Dr. Rilwan Lukman). - Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists - Fellow of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society - Fellow of Federal School of Surveyors, Oyo. - Member of the Hall fame, Nigerian Petroleum Sector (highest category along with five others, including Chief Philip Asiodu, Dr Rilwan Lukman and Alh Shehu Ali Monguno. 9.1 In recognition of his professional contributions to the nation in this highly strategic sector, HM was honoured with the award of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2007. 10. Shortly after that HM ascended the throne of the Ancient Kingdom of Nembe as the Mingi XII, in a dynasty founded by Mingi the Great of revered memory, in the early 1700’s after the overthrow of a rival claimant to the throne, already established by their common ancestor, Kala Ekule. The Nembe Kingdom dates back to the 13th Century as established by authoritative historical sources.10.1 The Amanyanabo of Nembe Stool has been a first Class Stool since 1958. In the Eastern Region of that time it was one of only eight stools that were on schedule A (along with the Obi of Onitsha, Obi of Oguta, Eze-Aro of Arochukwu, King Jaja of Opobo, King Amachree of Kalabari, and King Perekule of Bonny). These eight were the only ones recognized as pre-1914 (amalgamation)Teaty Kings. * It is worth recalling that the sack of the Royal Niger Company’s trading station at Akassa in 1895 by King Koko, the 8th Mingi of Nembe resulted in the review of British Colonial policy to the benefit of all other ethnic nationalities, both before and after the 1914 amalgamation. The Stool has been graced by such historically renowned names as King Boy Amain (Mingi IV), who paid the ransome to free the Lander Brothers from King Osai of Aboh; King Constantine Ockiya (Mingi VI) who first accepted Christian missionaries into what is now Bayelsa State; and lately, by the late Justice Ambroce E. Alagoa (Mingi XI), a former Chief Judge of Rivers State.10.2 Since ascending the throne of his forefathers after completing a meritorious service in Government, HM has been involved in various activities, making significant contribution to national unity, peace and progress.10.2.1 He is now for the third year, the Chairman of the forum of senior traditional rulers in the six States of the South-South geopolitical zone, which he helped found in 2009. The membership of over 180, includes such well known natural rulers as the Obong of Calabar, the Olu of Warri, the Orodje of Okpe (vice-Chairman), the Asagba of Asaba, King Jaja of Opobo, King Amachree of Kalabari, the Oba of Benin (represented), and many others. The Forum has one chapter in each State, headed by the Chairman of the Traditional Council of that State.10.2.2 Under his leadership, three very high profile annual retreats have been held (2009, 2010 and 2011) addressing the key national challenges of our time such as security, national unity, grass-root development, and the proper role of royal fathers in a democratic dispensation.10.2.3 Close to the 2011 General Elections, the Forum under his able leadership, undertook an unprecedented first of a kind, national tour to dialogue with virtually all the prominent traditional rulers across Nigeria including , The Ooni of Ife, The Sultan of Sokoto, The Shehu Borno, The Lamido of Adamawa, The Emirs of Gwandu, Zazau, Katsina and Kano, as well as the Obi of Onitsha, and many senior rulers in the South-East, convened by HRM Eze Ilomuanya.10.2.4 His Majesty has equally been at the forefront of the initiative to gain recognition for Traditional Rulers in the Nigerian Constitution. In this respect he led a delegation of South South Monarchs to the National Assembly in 2010 to submit a memorandum, and is presently a member of the Steering Group of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, NCTRN led by His royal Highness Alh (Dr) Yahaya Abubakar CFR - Etsu Nupe, championing a pre-emptive legislation (already through Second Reading) ahead of an anticipated Constitutional Amendment.10.2.5 HM is a member of the National Council of Traditional Rulers, by recognition of the antiquity of his Stool as well as the leadership role he is playing as leader of the monarchs in the South-South geopolitical zone.11.0 Within his own domain, HM has brought enduring peace and stability, where once there was persistent strife occasioned by violent youth activities and primordial rivalries between sub-kingdoms. This is very significant not only for sake of peace, but also for the national economy, to which this kingdom contributes immensely in oil production. The Nembe Creek oil field and others within the Nembe Kingdom boast of over 1 billion barrels of oil reserves and a combined production potential of over 250,000 bbls of oil per day, besides contributing gas to the NLNG. The asset value of the evacuating systems, including flow stations, pipelines, manifolds and flow lines runs into almost a billion dollars in value, all dependent for their protection on his wise and peaceful reign.12.0. His immense life time contributions to the economic development, peace, and harmony of the nation, have kept him in the public eye for almost two decades, and still counting. It is our prayer therefore that the time is ripe now for this towering achiever of extraordinary modesty, His Majesty Dr. Edmund M. Daukoru, Mingi XII, the Amanyanabo of Nembe Kingdom, Bayelsa State, to be honoured with a CFR (Commander of the Federal Republic)

KNOWING THE MAN DISTINGUISHED SENATOR NIMI BARIGHA-AMANGE

 KNOWING THE MAN DISTINGUISHED SENATOR NIMI BARIGHA-AMANGE

 The man Senator Amange

 Member ofthe Senate of Nigeria

In office
29 May 2007 – 29 May 2011
Preceded by
Spiff Inatim Rufus
Succeeded by
Clever Ikisikpo
Constituency
Bayelsa East
Personal details
Born
10 May 1952 (age 64)
Bayelsa State, Nigeria
Nimi Barigha-Amange (born 10 May 1952) is a former Senator for the Bayelsa East constituency of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. He took office on 29 May 2007 serving until 29 May 2011. He is a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Barigha-Amange earned an HND Petroleum Engineering (1981), LL.B (1993) and BL (1995). He became Head of the Lands and Claims department at ELF Petroleum Nigeria, Chairman of Board of the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority and Chairman of the Board of the Federal Medical Centre.
After taking his Senate seat in June 2007 Barigha-Amange was appointed to committees on Science & Technology, National Identity Card & Population, Interior Affairs and Capital Markets. In a mid-term evaluation of Senators in May 2009, ThisDay noted that he had sponsored bills on Technology Innovation Agency Establishment, Interception & monitoring of Communication and Civil Society Organisation. He had also sponsored and co-sponsored five motions. In an article in the Nigerian Tribune written in January 2010, Barigha-Amange called for full deregulation of the downstream petroleum industry and licensing of small and medium-sized refineries, which would help eliminate corruption and reduce domestic prices.
Reduction of unemployment by employing 55 people in his Farm Project and 33 in the his Hotels - PIXY HOTELS. Rural and Community Development in areas of Scholarship, Free Mobile Boat Clinic, Micro Businesses, Extended Loans to Youths and Women cooperative societies.
He has also build Church halls in several communities, sand filled School fields, Shore line Protection for his rural community.
In fact, his numerous humanitarian contributions to humanity are numerous.
Senator NIMI Barigha-Amange also executed the electrification of Agbakabiriyai community.
We shall bring to you other good jobs he has done for humanity.
Below are photos of some of his contributions to mankind and societies in general

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF KING FREDERICK WILLIAM KOKO (MINGI VIII OF NEMBE (KING KOKO)

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF KING FREDERICK WILLIAM KOKO (MINGI VIII OF NEMBE (KING KOKO)

King Frederick William Koko, Mingi V                                      

Life and Times of King Koko of Nembe KingdomIII of Nembe (1853–1898), known as King Koko and King William Koko, was an African ruler of the Nembe Kingdom (also known as Nembe-Brass) in the Niger Delta, now part of southern Nigeria.

A Christian when chosen as king of Nembe in 1889, Koko's attack on a Royal Niger Company trading post in January 1895 led to reprisals by the British in which his capital was sacked. Following a report on the Nembe uprising by Sir John Kirk which was published in March 1896, Koko was offered a settlement of his grievances but found the terms unacceptable, so was deposed by the British. He died in exile in 1898.

HIS LIFE

An Ijaw, Koko was a convert to Christianity who later returned to the local traditional religion. Before becoming king (amanyanabo), he had served as a Christian school teacher, and in 1889 this helped him in his rise to power. The leading chiefs of Nembe, including Spiff, Samuel Sambo, and Cameroon, were all Christians, and after having ordered the destruction of Juju houses a large part of their reason for choosing Koko as king in succession to King Ockiya was that he was a fellow-Christian. However, there was at the same time a coparcenary king, the elderly Ebifa, who ruled at Bassambiri and was Commander-in-Chief until his death in 1894.
With the settlement of European traders on the coast, Nembe had engaged in trade with them, but it was poorer than its neighbours Bonny and Calabar. Since 1884, Nembe had found itself included in the area declared by the British as the Oil Rivers Protectorate, within which they claimed control of military defence and external affairs. Nembe was the centre of an important trade in palm oil, and it had refused to sign a treaty proposed by the British, opposing the Royal Niger Company's aim of bringing all trade along the kingdom's rivers into its own hands.

By the 1890s, there was intense resentment of the Company's treatment of the people of the Niger delta and of its aggressive actions to exclude its competitors and to monopolize trade, denying the men of Nembe the access to markets which they had long enjoyed. As king, Koko aimed to resist these pressures and tried to strengthen his hand by forming alliances with the states of Bonny and Okpoma. He renounced Christianity and in January 1895, after the death of Ebifa, he threw caution to the winds and led more than a thousand men in a dawn raid on the Royal Niger Company's headquarters at Akassa. Arriving on 29 January with between forty and fifty canoes, equipped with heavy guns, Koko captured the base with the loss of some forty lives, including twenty-four Company employees, destroyed warehouses and machinery, and took about sixty white men hostage, as well as carrying away a large quantity of booty, including money, trade goods, ammunition and a quick-firing gun. Koko then sought to negotiate with the Company for the release of the hostages, his price being a return to free trading conditions, and on 2 February he wrote to Sir Claude MacDonald, the British consul-general, that he had no quarrel with the Queen but only with the Niger Company. MacDonald noted of what Koko said of the Company that it was "complaints it had been my unpleasant duty to listen to for the last three and a half years without being able to gain for them any redress". Despite this, the British refused Koko's demands, and more than forty of the hostages were then ceremoniously eaten. On 20 February the Royal Navy counter-attacked. Koko's city of Nembe was razed and some three hundred of his people were killed. Many more of his people died from a severe outbreak of smallpox.
Rear Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford, who had led the British forces against Koko, sent the following telegram to the Admiralty from Brass on 23 February:
Left Brass on February 20, with HMS Widgeon, HMS Thrush, two steamers of the Niger Company, and the boat of HMS St George, with marines and Protectorate troops; anchored off Nimbi Creek and seized Sacrifice Island the same afternoon; the approach was obstructed by stockades, which are also under construction on the island; 25 war canoes came out and opened an ineffectual fire; three were sunk, and the rest retired. On February 21 the intricate channels were buoyed and the creek reconnoitred. At daybreak on February 22 we attacked, and, after an obstinate defence of a position naturally difficult, a landing was gallantly effected and Nimbi completely burned. In the evening the force was withdrawn, after King Koko's and other chiefs' houses were destroyed.
Bedford sent a further despatch from Brass on 25 February:
Fishtown destroyed today. Brass chiefs and people implicated in attack Akassa have now been punished. No more casualties. Wounded progressing favourably. No further operations contemplated. Consul-General concurs. I am leaving for Loanda tomorrow evening. Two ships remain in vicinity for present.
On 23 March Sir Claude MacDonald arrived at Brass in his yacht Evangeline towing sixteen of Koko's war canoes which had been surrendered, but the king himself had not been captured. Towards the end of April 1895, the area returned to business as usual, with MacDonald fining the men of Brass £500, an amount which sympathetic traders on the river volunteered to pay. Koko assured the British that his part in the rising had been exaggerated, and returned several cannon and a machine-gun looted from Akassa. There was then an exchange of prisoners. Public opinion in Britain came down against the Royal Niger Company and its director George Goldie, who was seen as having goaded Koko into hostilities. The Colonial Office commissioned the explorer and anti-slavery campaigner Sir John Kirk to write a report on the events at Akassa and Brass, and in August Koko came to Brass to meet MacDonald, who was about to sail for England, but quickly took to the bush again. On MacDonald's arrival at Liverpool he told reporters that the people of Nembe-Brass were waiting for the outcome of Kirk's report.
Sir John Kirk's Report was presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty the Queen in March 1896. One key finding was that forty-three of Koko's prisoners had been murdered and eaten. In April 1896 Koko refused the terms of a settlement offered to him by the British and was declared an outlaw. Reuters reported that the Niger stations were strongly defended in preparation for a possible new attack. However, no attack came. A reward of £200 was unsuccessfully offered for Koko, who was forced to flee from the British, hiding in remote villages.

On 11 June 1896, in reply to a question by Sir Charles Dilke in the House of Commons, George Nathaniel Curzon, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, said

The Commissioner has in his possession a plan prepared by the chairman of the Royal Niger Company for the admitting of the Brass men into markets hitherto closed to them on the Niger. It was, however, subject to acceptance by King Koko, which it has been impossible to obtain as, since the attack on Akassa and subsequent cannibalism of captives in his capital, he has declined to meet any of the British authorities, including Sir John Kirk. In consequence of this behaviour he has been deposed. The settlement is now dependent upon the organization of a new native government in Brass, and will, it is hoped, very soon be arrived at.

Koko fled to Etiema, a remote village in the hinterland, where he died in 1898 in a suspected suicide. The next year, the charter of the Royal Niger Company was revoked, an act seen as partly a consequence of the short war with Koko, and with effect from 1 January 1900 the Company sold all its possessions and concessions in Africa to the British government for £865,000, considered to be a very low price.
In popular culture

In his Doctor Dolittle books, Hugh Lofting (1886–1947) created the West African kingdom of Fantippo, ruled over by a king named Koko. Before his encounters with Dolittle, the fictional King Koko had sometimes made war on others and had sold some of his prisoners as slaves. The main stated purpose of the British in the Anglo-Aro War of 1901–1902 was to suppress the slave trade still being carried on by some African states in what is now Nigeria.
Further reading

* Ebiegberi Joe Alagoa, The Akassa Raid, 1895 (Ibadan University Press, 1960)
* Ebiegberi Joe Alagoa, The small brave city-state: a history of Nembe-Brass in the Niger Delta (Ibadan University Press and University of Wisconsin Press, 1964)
* Ebiegberi Joe Alagoa, Beke you mi: Nembe against the British Empire (Onyoma Research Publications, 2001) ISBN 9783507567
* Livingston Borobuebi Dambo, Nembe: the divided kingdom (Paragraphics, 2006)
* Sir John Kirk, Report by Sir John Kirk on the disturbances at Brass (Colonial Office, 1896)

See also

* Benin Expedition of 1897
* Nigerian traditional rulers
* Scramble for Africa

NEMBE CITY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION HOLDS MULTI-STAKEHOLDERS' ENGAGEMENT FORUM ON CONFLICT PREVENTION AND SUSTAINABLE PEACE FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

NEMBE CITY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION HOLDS MULTI-STAKEHOLDERS' ENGAGEMENT FORUM ON CONFLICT PREVENTION AND SUSTAINABLE PEACE FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

Conflict prevention and sustainable development

forum was used to sensitize participants on what has been done by the foundation so far over the years and where it is and where it is going our the 'project of Conflict Prevention and Sustainable Peace Initiative.

The forum was also intended to harvest ideas on the best options in tackling the issues of insecurity, sustainable peace and development in the state.

Resource persons include the following
1. Love Korfa who handled Health, Safety & 
Environment
2. Taritein Boco handled Peace and Security: 
Panacea for Community Development
3. Jim Dorgu handled Conflict Prevention: The 
Need for Community participation/Stakeholders
comments
4. Tari Johnson handled 'Sustainable Peace in 
State: The need for effective legal framework/
Stakeholders comments
5. Dave Asei handled the wrap up

Some key points handled in the forum were
1. That in the new model people should not use violence to achieve what they want
2. That people should be conscious to address conflict
3. Militancy,
a. Military invasion, like the one we see in our land
b. Pollution such as we have in our environment
c. The solidarity people have in form of militancy 
Should be used for peace
d. Use of local refinery, breaking of pipelines
and other vices should be avoided as our 
Environment suffers from these pollution acti-
cities as the Niger Delta home to these activities 
Should stop.
e. The need to fund media activities deliberately to 
Spread the message of peace
f. That corruption is the bane of the country
g. That there should be value re-orientation to our
People and community

SOME ISSUES ARISING ARE
1. People tend to forget the the matters discussed
after the forum
2. People encouraging wealth regardless of how
the money was gotten.
3. That the process of making peace and security
should start from us
To solve the problem of peace and security people
should turn to trading in palm oil, engage in fishing
farming legitimately
The need to have sustainable peace and security through legal framework was emphasized because, using force or use of militancy could lead to
1. Terrible loving condition like what is happening in 
the North-East as a result of Boko haram
2. It could lead to rape cases
3. Oppression of our people
4. Lack of freedom
5. Abuse of human rights
6. Peace brings comfort
7. La k of food and other essential things in life, i.e.
food, clothes, medical facilities
8. Cultism
9. Pipeline vandalism
10. Sea piracy
11. Politically motivated killings and attacks
12. Corruption and other vices.

The need for training and retraining our military was emphasized.

The event was brought to a wrapped up by Dave Asei

The event was wrapped up by Dave Asei

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DANIEL OGIRIKI OCKIYA OF NEMBE KINGDOM

                                                                                                          T

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DANIEL OGIRIKI OCKIYA OF NEMBE KINGDOM

Daniel Ogiriki Ockiya was born in Nembe, in the present Bayelsa State of Nigeria, on May 7, 1874. His parents were King Josiah Constantine Ockiya, Mingi VII of Nembe, and Queen Trosi. At birth Ogiriki was named Reremnde-bo, a shortened form of Amanyanabo-amase-rere-mnde-bo, meaning "the king is the servant of the whole community."

Ogiriki started primary school in 1884 at St. Luke's School, Nembe, under the supervision of the Rev. J. Daniel Garrick. S. L. Peter (who later became a reverend) was then a catechist and schoolmaster at the school. Ogiriki graduated from school in 1888. One year earlier, Garrick, his guardian, had baptized him and given him the name Daniel-his own Christian name. Bishop Isaac Oluwole of Asaba confirmed Ogiriki in 1897.

Ogiriki followed his guardian Garrick to trading posts in Ogbeya (present-day Ogbia) and other places in the hinterland. In this way, he learned to cut palm fruits and earned money trading with them.

At first, he declined his call to be a missionary when certain Christian chiefs asked him to take up this vocation. However, God's time came for him to accept his call when H. H. Dobinson, C.M.S. secretary of the Niger Mission, Onitsha, approached him with the same request in 1891. This time, he accepted because this gave him prospects for further education funded by the mission authorities at the Asaba Institute. In History of Christianity in Bayelsa State, Obuoforibo quotes Ogiriki explaining his decision:

Hearing of the prospect of further training, I willingly accepted the offer at once and commenced work on April 4, 1912 under Catechist Allen. This was how my missionary career commenced. I was trying to evade the missionary work but when God's good time came, I gladly accepted … I was then only eighteen years of age, and my salary was twenty-five shillings per month.
He eventually got his theological training at the Asaba Institute in 1895 while Rev. J. A. Spencer was principal. Others in the institute with him were J. C. Obianwu, Abel Ekpunobi (who later became a pastor), Jonathan Oranya, James Perry, S. Carney, J. C. Gustavas Wright, Elkanah of Osomari in the present-day Anambra state, Bako of Lokoja (who later became a pastor) in present-day Kogi state, Nathaniel Oblou, Alphanso Onyeabo (who later became assistant bishop), and Samy and Julius Spencer. The last two were the principal's sons.

Apart from basic theology, Ogiriki was also exposed to the art of cloth weaving and music at the Asaba Institute. In music, he was able to further the skills he had already gained in contact with Archbishop H. H. Dobinson before entering the institute. He was a very good cricket player and later introduced the sport to his home school after leaving Asaba.

He married Dora Eteteraba Aporekuma (born April 11, 1882), also of royal lineage, whose great grand father had been King Forday Kulo. Ogiriki and Dora had two sons and three daughters whose names were Ayeba-Ibirimate (born August 27, 1900), Victor Constantine Yedigimieghbofa (born August 27, 1902), Lydia Beatrice Ayebanongimate (born December 1, 1910; married Rev. J. F. O. Ockiya), Henrietta Comfort Ayebatonabara (born October 24, 1912; married T. A. Francis), Edith Hevengho-Puyafa (born March 31, 1916).

When Ogiriki returned to Nembe after his studies at Asaba, he used his gift as an organist to teach music. His students were people who had at least passed their standard six government examinations. Ogiriki stated, according to Obuoforibo, "Therefore, I would boldly say that all those who know a little bit of music in Nembe got their musical education either from me or from those whom I had taught."

In 1900 Ogiriki successfully passed the written examinations in all the subjects set for him by Bishop James Johnson. Diocesan Bishop Herbert Tugwell eventually admitted him into the diaconate at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Bonny, on March 10, 1918. He was priested by Bishop Tugwell on November 26 that the same year along with Rev. M. Davidson Showers.

Being a lover of Christianity as well as a patriot, Ogiriki's motto in life was Pro Dei pro patri (For God and for the fatherland). Although he was offered the kingship of Nembe twice, he rejected it both times. He was also offered the chieftaincy of his father's house, Ockiya House, four times and each time he rejected it. Ogiriki preferred to seek greatness solely in doing the Lord's work.

Although very patriotic, Ogiriki always put God first and, as a result, he said, "I found all things become easy for me" (Pa Teiteyai Decorse, oral interview). His love for Nembe was so widely recognized by his countrymen that he was often called "teacher." In fact, his patriotism led him to translate the Scriptures into Nembe. Indeed, he was the first Nembe Bible translator, schoolmaster, organist, and catechist. Besides being a pioneer in many fields, Ogiriki should also be given credit as the first ordained priest in Nembe even though his elder brother, Rev. Anthony O. Ockiya (later Mingi IX), and M. A. Kemmer were ordained before him. They were regarded as strangers in Nembe because of their long absence from the town.

Ogiriki's most impressive legacy is the translation of the Bible into Nembe. Elsewhere, under Bishop Samuel Crowther's leadership, Rev. Carew and Rev. Taylor reduced the Ibani and Akassa languages into writing. Ogiriki also took up this challenge and translated the Scriptures into Nembe. Thus, before his demise, when manuscripts of the Bible in Ibani and Akassa were just being sent in for review, the Nembe Bible had already been published and was for sale. Ogiriki even began translation work into Ijo. Rev. M. Proctor, G. E. Sagbo, and D. C. Spiff contributed immensely to the work of translation. Ogiriki's translation work was a source of pride for the Nembe community and the Anglican church because, at the time, Nembe was the fifth Nigerian language into which the Bible had been translated after Yoruba, Efik, Ogoni, and Igbo.

On March 11, 1936 Ogiriki lost his wife Dora in automobile accident in Aba while he was doing pastoral work at Umueme (now renamed Rumueme District) in Port Harcourt. Rev. James Claudius Ikalama led the funeral service at St. Luke's Church, Nembe but Dora's remains were removed to Basambiri for interment. At an all-day memorial service held at Nembe on July 12, 1936, Rev. G. I. Amangala preached on a text taken from Ezekiel 24:11-18 in the morning and Rev. D. C. Spiff spoke on 1 Sam 20:8 in the afternoon.

Ogiriki sometimes left the city of Brass either for his studies or for leisure. He traveled to the northern provinces in 1934 and to Lagos in 1939 and was warmly received everywhere. He also traveled indefatigably for the propagation of the gospel. For instance, his pastoral mission took him from Nembe to Twan Brass in 1924, to Bonny in 1928, to Akwete in 1919, and to Umueme-Diobu in 1934. He left a rich legacy of his diligent work in all these places.

After Dora's tragic death, Ogiriki decided to remarry in 1939. His wife, Felicia Nnenna Omunake, was from Rumueprikom, Port Harcourt, in the present Rivers State. As she had not had any education, Ogiriki sent her to study at St. Agatha's Women's House at Umuahia, the capital of present-day Abia State. The marriage was solemnized at Umuechiam on Tuesday, April 7, 1940, with Rev. M. H. D. Abaye, superintendent of Umuahia parish, performing the ceremony. The couple was blessed with four boys and three girls.

At this time, apparently, Ogiriki's relationship with church authorities was strained and a misunderstanding among the local people surrounding his second mariage cast a bad light on his ministry, though it was unwarranted. Obuoforibo quotes Ogiriki as he describes the incident:

Because the people of her town failed to see her [Ogiriki's second wife] as usual in the town during this period, they took for granted that I had already married her in accordance with their native law and custom, and had sent her to my people at Nembe. Consequently, they wrote an anonymous letter to His Lordship, Bishop L. G. Vinning at Port Harcourt to report that I had married a girl from their town in accordance with their native law and custom. This, the authorities themselves took as a Gospel truth without first hearing from me. This occurred after I had tendered my resignation and the diocesan bishop, Bishop B. Lasbery, had duly accepted it.

Not only was Ogiriki's resignation a direct result of his meager salary but it was also a reaction to the fact that Bishop Gelsthorpe had given orders not to pay the arrears of his salary (amounting to f313: 10p). Furthermore, in spite of his extraordinary track record, Ogiriki had never been offered the position of superintendent in the church and, having no prospects for future promotion in other areas, this was a source of deep frustration for him. His letter of resignation dated October 30, 1939, was duly received and acknowledged on November 10 by Bishop Bertram Lasbery-Bishop Vinning's successor-who approved it on December 4, 1939. Ogiriki later expressed his gratitude to Lasbery in a letter dated May 23, 1940.

In retirement, Ogiriki continued the Lord's work at his home church. He was a source of inspiration to all until his death on August 29, 1954. He was buried in Saint Luke's Church compound, Nembe. His family has since erected a statue on his grave. Requiescat in pace (May he rest in peace).
Kemdirim O. Protus
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Sources:

B. A. Obuoforibo, History of Christianity in Bayelsa State (Port Harcourt, Nigeria: C.S.S. Press, 1998). 
Pa Teiteyai Decorse, 89 years old, one of Ogiriki's uncles, interviewed by O. Anne Alagoa, a research assistant at the University of Port Harcourt in 2004.
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This article, received in 2005, was researched and written by Dr. Kemdirim O. Protus, a senior lecturer in the Department of Religious and Cultural Studies at the University of Port Harcourt, aDACB Participating Institution. Dr. Kemdirim Protus is also the DACB Regional Coordinator for Nigeria

SENATOR NIMI BARIGHA-AMAGE'S SELFLESS SERVICES

Senatoramange selfles
                                                                                                                                                          SENATOR NIMI BARIGHA-AMAGE'S SELFLESS SERVICES

If all our leaders were like the Distinguished Senator Barigha-Amange, the people of our zone would have moved further than as it is today.

Here is a man who has touched so many lives within the short period he served as a Senator representing the Bayelsa East Senatorial zone. He willingly gave up after serving for just one term in the Senate unlike others who would not be satisfied even after serving for 2 terms.

During his short stay in office as Senator he used his position to bring several projects to his zone among which are the Otuagila bridge linking several landlocked communities like Otuagila, Amurekeni, Amago, Akani etc to the Ogbia-Yenagoa road, the Agbakabiriyai Health Centre, building of a Church, Shore Protection, the foot bridge, the sand filling of road linking Agbakabiriyai to Nembe road, sand filling of School field, building of a 500 capacity Church hall at St Luke Anglican, Ogbolomabiri in Nembe, just to mention a few.

The bridge which is 90% completed was abandoned immediately after SenTor Amange left office. His successor could not push for the completion of the bridge.

But thank God for this dynamic son of the soil. Despite not being in the Senate, he is making efforts to make sure that the bridge is completed.

This icon of our time is passionate about helping the needy. He has not only empowered hundreds of people from all over the country in terms of employment , but he has also provided other Philanthropist services, such as running motherless babies home, provision of materials like wealth-creation and other community development programmes such as the ones below.

Let us pray for a man that is passionate about the good of the society so that he will do more.

God bless Senator Nimi Barigha-Amange.

 s serviceAmangeselfless services