From North to South, East to West, the bells of celebration are tolling to honour one of Nigeria’s most outstanding and venerated statesmen, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark.
Variously known as a teacher, a lawyer, a senator, a cabinet minister, and most significantly as the country’s oldest activist and one that it can still boast of, Chief Clark remains a voice for the voiceless, a defender of the weak and a protagonist of the entrenchment of the values of human dignity and democracy. He is, by all means, a great, good, old man! For his great national service, he has been saluted by President Muhammadu Buhari as well as former Head of State Yakubu Gowan, Ibrahim
Babaginda, Abudusalem Abubakar and President Goodluck Jonathan.
A Word On Great And Mighty Men
Auspicious moments such as this prompt us to reflect on the lives of the great. As a matter of fact, most spiritual leaders in history were not quiet on this matter of greatness. The leading religious faiths, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism, have expressed the belief that greatness in life and the ability to deploy influence in society are supernatural gifts.
This impression heightened with the rise and fall of the French General Napoleon Bonaparte, otherwise known as “Napoleon the great”. At that time, a fresh discourse ensued between scholars, especially philosophers, as to what makes some men great and to become shapers of historical events in their times. That debate in the 1800s came to be captioned “The Great Men Theory.” Thinkers such as the Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle in his landmark work “On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the
Heroic in History, argues that it was the gift of such attributes as charisma, wisdom or the ability to properly navigate through tough political situations that could be used as a yard stick for measuring human greatness.
This implied and approach to interpretation of world history became contentious and drew criticism from other thinkers led by English Biologist and Sociologist, Herbert Spencer, who felt that human society could only be understood by having a full view of history as an aggregate of the outcome of various societal forces. So the contenders argued that the focus should be on how the overall political, economic and social dynamics of society have evolved in the course of time and the roles which the heroism of great men have played in the process.
Looking at the life of Chief Clark, the most rewarding approach will be to adopt panoply of these various tendencies.
A Pedigree Of Heroism And Nobility
At that time when the intellectual discourse in the West was about human bravery, honour and valour, the future bloodline of Chief E. K. Clark was already being formed in that mode. His family background, illustrious and influential like those of some of his great-grandfather’s contemporaries in Europe of the late 1800s and early 1900s, had then begun to take shape. This was in the marshy swamps of the huge delta, which the River Niger drains into from its 4, 180 kilometres journey. Those were times when strong men were rightfully celebrated and genuinely won the hearts of the men and women who adulate and sometimes even idolize them.
It was a time when the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was abolished after 400 years and the present Niger Delta area, which was Europe’s main gateway into Nigeria, was declared “Oil Rivers”, a territory for legitimate trade in agricultural produce. It was a time when that part of Nigeria became dotted with powerful oligarchs, intrepid merchants and astute political gladiators. Among them was Nana Olomu of Itsekiri who controlled trade along the Ethiope River, Oba Ovonranwen of Benin, whose influence was almost universal, but mostly felt from Gelegele Port and upland area into the interior. At farther East and to the south were the domains of the urbane King William DappaPepple of Bonny and King Eyo Honesty of Calabar respectively. Also, there was the legendary King Jaja of Opobo who wielded enormous power over the present-day Sombrero and Cross River State. Not the least was King Koko of Nembe, a great man whose dominance of the areas spanning the whole of Brass Channel and the River Nun estuaries was undisputable.
The list is endless, but often not mentioned and not much recounted in most history books is the next tier of strongmen and economic warriors of that era
In the western delta, some of those who stood out in this category were the great Itsekiri leader, Warrant Chief Dore Numa, and his arch rival, Ijaw Warrant, Chief Bekederemo Ogein, also known as Ambakederemo. Bekederemo was born in the commercial town of Kiagbodo in 1842, and he lived for 86 years, and was known as a frontline political and business warlord. He was the strong man controlling an expansive area around the Forcados River, which washes into the Atlantic Ocean, and its adjoining 190-kilometre sphere of influence. He had a vast business empire, which made him an invaluable point of contact with all the other ethnic groups in the area including the Istekiris, Ndokwas, lsokos, Urhrobos, and Nkwuanis. Being an entrepreneur, he improved his business exploits by spreading his marital tentacles among these peoples, bringing the size of his family to 100 wives and countless children. His entrepreneurial skills, which were smoothened with diplomacy, made him to cut all manner of deals including the gradual increase of his complex family connections. Bakederemo is also recorded to have given out six of his daughters in marriage to his white business partners from UAC and John Holt Ltd, thereby bringing an international dimension to his family structure.
Chief Bakederemo was recorded by British Intelligence Reports of the time as very fierce, dogged and intrepid in business. He controlled all the palm oil trade and rubber trade covering large parts of Burutu, Bomadi and Warri-South areas and extending into the western parts of the present day Bayelsa State.
It is not surprising that a later Intelligence Report by the colonial “Resident” Administrator in Warri, named Chadwick, in 1930, stated that Chief Ambakederemo’s residence was only comparable to the palace of the Oba of Benin which at the time, and until today, is most revered as first of its kind in the South-South of Nigeria. Indeed, as far back as 1918, this warrior-king is on record as being one of the first Nigerians to have bought a steamboat from the English trading company, John Holt Ltd. He named the vessel M. V. Bekederemo and it shuttled between various ports in the Delta area and faraway Lagos. This is the man from whom Chief E. K. Clark derived his genes and the untiring spirit of being relevant.
A Tradition Of Hunt For Knowledge
At a time when European commercial incursions into the Oil Rivers was closely followed with missionary activities, one interest which Chief Bekederemo maintained was in several of his large number of children receiving Western education at various levels. Amongst the brightest and most talented of his children was Federick Fuludu, born 1878, the first son and heir apparent. Though he scarcely had Western education unlike some of his younger siblings, he fulfilled the euphemism, like father like son, as he became a business magnate even before Lord Lugard amalgamated the various parts of Nigeria in 1914. Though coming from such a background, Fuludu, who also became a Warrant Chief, had an elegant disposition. He was suave, elitist, and a gifted entrepreneur who also understood the intricacies of power play.
Warrant Chief Fuludu’s first son, named Clark, did not depart from the family tradition of early access to Western education and became part of the colonial workforce sometime in his life. Indeed, the story has it that Clark got his name by initially being the main bookkeeper for his father, Fuludu, and grandfather, Bekederemo’s business empire. To his credit, Clark Fuludu, the modern version of three patriarchs, is a proud father to some of Nigeria’s most accomplished citizens. These include, Ambassador Blessing A. Clark, fondly known as “BA” in Nigerian diplomatic circles. Amongst other high profile diplomatic engagements, he was a former Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, and the globally acclaimed playwright and poet, Professor John Pepper Clark¬Bekederemo, fondly referred to by friends as “JP”. Expectedly, there are many others serving the country in various capacities, bearing family names such as Ambakederemo, Bekederemo, Fuludu and Akpurugo.
The Clark family maintains a record that almost no other Nigerian family has in terms of achievements from siblings of the same parents. We can therefore say that greatness in this case was already engrained in the family bloodline. But of course, each of these prominent Clarks had to work hard for their own success in life.
Of all these personalities from this lineage or clan, the most outspoken, colourful and representative of the worldview of the original Bekederemo personality is Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, fondly known as just “EK” by his peers. Indeed, some traditionalist would want to posit that he is the forbearer’s reincarnation.
Schools And Early Working Life
As for Chief Clark, his pursuit of education started in 1938 when he enrolled in the African Church School in Effurun-Otor, near Warri. Thereafter, he attended Native Authority School in Okrika, a small town close to Burutu. The rest of his educational journey was transpired between Government College Ughelli, to which he gained admission but never attended, and Government Teachers Training College, Abraka. It is from Abraka that he was able to complete his teachers training in 1950, setting an academic record that has never been surpassed in the school. To pursue further education as a preparation for public service and national leadership, Pa Clark proceeded to the United Kingdom to study law in 1961after passing the General Certificate of Education (GCE) examination. There he enrolled at the Holborn College of Law, and on successfully completing his studies in 1964 was called to practice law as a member of the English Bar and in Nigeria in 1965.
Chief Clark’s working life started as a classroom teacher and produced so many prominent Nigerians. He became a Headmaster of his alma mater, Okrika Central School, in 1951, and held the same position in many communities in the Warri area.
In his zeal to further serve his community, he resigned as a Head Teacher to become a Community Development Officer in 1957. This enabled him to play an active role in mobilising the various communities in the whole of Warri Province and also allowed him to work more closely with the Western regional government’s agencies, local authorities. He also worked with development agencies such as the American Peace Corps, to carry out socially impactful projects in the area. His return to Nigeria on completing his legal studies in the UK soon coincided with the great political turmoil in the country then and the ensuing civil war. This was followed by the need to join to work towards keeping the country as one and building a new Nigeria. With his background, it was clear that he would join in that historic endeavour.
Induction Into Statesmanship
It was during this period, that the then Governors of the Midwest State, the remarkable wartime hero, Major General David Ejoor, and later General Samuel Ogbemudia, appointed him as Special Adviser and later Commissioner for Education of the State. The Midwest State which is made up of the present Edo State, Delta State and Bayelsa West senatorial zone were highly impacted by his role as a Special Adviser and Commissioner, especially in rebuilding the war-torn parts of Delta North (the Igbo speaking parts) and was considered as outstanding. This also had a bearing on the neighbouring South¬eastern States, especially Enugu state.
Being a nationalist, he lent his support to rebuilding Queens School, Enugu, and supported the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in its reconstruction efforts. Chief Clark also did something that was unprecedented and is still unknown to many Nigerians. From Midwest State, which had an abundance of manpower, he sent teachers to the then educationally disadvantaged states, especially the then Northwest State (the present Kano, Katina, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States). By coincidence, the teachers were received by his counterpart, the then Commissioner of Education in that state, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, who later became Nigeria’s President. Under him, educational support was also provided to the then Benue-Plateau State.
To crown all these efforts and accentuate his legacy was the creation of the University of Benin. At that time, there were only five universities in Nigeria (University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, lfe, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and University of Lagos). Following the directive of the Governor, the Midwest Institute of Technology which later became the University of Benin was established in 1972 with Chief Clark as the first Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University.
Chief Clark’s sterling quality as a leader and efficiency in the management of resources is what inspired Governor Ogbemudia to transfer him to the Ministry of Finance as a Commissioner between 1972 and 1974 to manage the huge resources related to the post-war rehabilitation and reconstruction effort. It was these efforts of Chief Clark and some of his colleagues in the State’s cabinet that made Gov. Ogbemudia the most outstanding governor amongst the 12 states at that time.
It is said that a gold fish has no hiding place and as such his superlative performance did not go unnoticed in faraway Dodan Barracks, then seat of the federal government. This resulted in his reassignment to a position of higher responsibility as a Federal Commissioner (Cabinet Minister) for Information and Culture by the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon.
His duties as a Minister in Lagos included a great amount of work that involved diplomatic shuttles across West Africa, especially as General Gowon was playing the lead role in setting up the regional body: Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Chief Clark, along with his colleague, Dr. Okoi Arikpo, the then Minister of External Affairs, was responsible for projecting this new body to the entire world and this was carried out proficiently.
Political Activism And Nigeria’s Constitutional Story
Up until the time of his service in the administration of General Gowan as a cabinet minister, Chief Clark had built up for himself a tough and sturdy personality as a statesman. As a matter of fact, the process of acquiring his well-calibrated emotional and intellectual disposition for effectively carrying out political tasks was conscious from his days at the Teachers Training College. It is therefore not surprising that his area of interest in which he recorded highest academic achievement in the institution was Nigeria’s constitutional evolution. Today, at nearly a century old, his memory on Nigeria’s constitutional and political trajectory is as prescient and accurate as if all started yesterday.
He speaks of the various structures as Lord Lugard’s Nigerian Council of 1914, the Hugh Clifford Constitution of 1922, the Arthur
Richards Constitution of 1946, and not the least the John Macpherson Constitution of 1951 and the Lyttletton Constitution of 1954, as if these were still work in progress.
Even more pertinent are his in-depth recollections and analyses of the course of events that kick- started the march towards independence from the days of the Ibadan Conference in 1950 and thereafter up to the unending intra-Nigerian political horse- trading leading to the attainment of independence in 1960. Even more profound is his broad knowledge of the details of the 1960 and 1963 Constitutions as well as the 1979 and 1999 Constitutions.
In terms of actual participation in all these efforts, Chief Edwin Clark had played various backroom roles in the constitution conferences and the proceedings of the Willink Commission on Minorities, which were on course in 1957 and 1959.
Shortly after his return from the UK, Nigeria found itself engulfed in a bloody military coup on 16th January 1966, which produced General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi as Head of State.
With the Northern part of the country feeling alarmed by its lopsided nature, a counter coup occurred on 29th July 1966 producing the then 32-year-old General Yakubu Gowon as Head of State. In the effort by General Gowon to keep Nigeria one, Chief Clark soon found himself elected into the short-lived Constituent Assembly which was set up in 1966.
Furthermore, as a prelude to the military’s exit from power, a 49- man team of wise men was selected under the chairmanship of Justice Billy Dudley to fashion out a new constitution by then Head of State General Murtala Mohammed. General Olusegun
Obasanjo who succeeded the later as Head of State put together a Constituent Assembly in 1978 and produced a new constitution in 1979.
In the political dispensation, which followed the 1979, Constitution and the democratic elections, which came after 13 years of military rule, Chief Clark earned for himself a seat in the newly established Senate in the second elections held in 1982. In this upper legislative chamber, the dogged Bekederamo gene in Chief Clark came to the fore.
He repeatedly led the people of the oil producing communities and other disadvantaged and minority groups in Nigeria to cry out over various matters bordering on equity, fair play and justice.
Chief Clark’s sustained cry was a result of his anguish and frustration over the different standards which some of his political peers from the larger ethnic groups tried to lay down for smaller groups. These words of his would reverberate long after he said them: “There are no second class Nigerians”. For example, he repeatedly questioned the reason for the refusal of the new political process to annul the obnoxious laws made during the years of military rule, which converted Nigeria from a federal to a unitary state. In particular, were the sections, which abolished fiscal federalism by which regions were expected to retain 50% of resources, produced by them or found on their land.
It can easily be recalled that, drawing inspiration from the American federalists’ thoughts of that country’s founding fathers such as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, George Washington, the 1960 and 1963 Nigerian Constitutions also made ample provisions fora center that was less concentrated, less interventionist and less overburdened. This the
military reversed. This has been Chief Clark’s political mantra and he has re-echoed it during subsequent efforts at constitutional amendments in1989 by President Ibrahim Babangida, after the setting up the Constitution Review Committee in 1987 and a 567-member Constituent Assembly in 1988. Gladly, his efforts, along with those of his other senior activists from the Niger Delta, succeeded in securing a 13% as derivation in the 1999 Constitution. When immediate President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014 followed earlier efforts made by President Olusegun Obasanjo through the National Political Reforms Conference to convene a national conference, Chief Clark as a member again championed the restructuring of the country’s governance for a return to the originally negotiated terms for independence. This he insists is the only panacea and anecdote to dousing the plethora of expressions of disaffection by various groups across the country and breed an atmosphere of healthy competition.
A Veritable Peace Ambassador
Not only Chief Clark but most leaders of the Niger Delta from the legendary Chief Harold DappaBiriye, to whom he was a deputy or the iconic Chief MelfordOkilo, had continuously warned that the wanton exploitation of the resources of the area and the spate of environmental despoliation were sure to breed an atmosphere of despair and revolt. This had come up earlier in some form at the dawn of Nigeria’s independence in February 1965 when the youthful Ijaw activist, Major Isaac Boro, from the hitherto sleepy town of Kaiama in BayelsaState took up arms against the Federal Government in what has now become known as “The Twelve Days Revolution”.
Ironically, Major Bora and all his comrades-in-arm all died fighting for Nigeria’s unity in the ensuing Nigerian Civil War. Boro himself, who had been a policeman and pioneer student union leader at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was only 30 years of age when he died from “friendly fire” by Okrika in Rivers State.
But, increasingly, militancy and revolt become uncontrollable and unstoppable from the early 2000s as matters came to a critical point in which the national economy of Nigeria was on the precipice.
Despite the cat and mouse or better still, the love hate media war relationship between Chief Clark and President Obasanjo, his erstwhile cabinet colleague under General Gowan, the Federal Government easily found an ally in him to personally lead teams through the creeks of the Niger Delta in search of peace. On several occasions, during the height of agitations led by the fiery Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), he helped in securing the release of kidnapped oil sector workers from various foreign countries.
Such agitations eventually led to the declaration of the Presidential Amnesty by President Musa Yar’Adua in 2009, which has so far given Nigeria some respite to allow billions of petrodollars to resume flowing into the nation’s economy.
Even when the governments of the day have failed to heed his now sagely counsel, having been an octogenarian for the past ten years, he has never stopped to make himself available for service when they run into trouble. This happened recently in 2016 when government’s policies, especially the underfunding of the Amnesty Programme and the stalling of the take-off of the Maritime University provoked sections of the Niger Delta youth population to declare themselves as “Niger Delta Avengers”. It was this grand old man that again took on the task of persuading the militants to declare a ceasefire. His efforts in September 2016 again increased Nigeria’s oil production from 900,000 barrels per day in June/July 2016 to the present two million barrels per day, raking in additional revenue of at least $20m daily to the Nigerian government.
It is perhaps known to only few Nigerians and indeed the international community that Chief Clark was one of the most troubled minds with the escalation in violence and insecurity perpetrated by the Boko Haram sect. At great personal risk and cost, he undertook all manners of initiatives to get acclaimed leaders of the group to the negotiation table. Of even
greater vigour, which he personally deployed to securethe timely release of the abducted Chibok girls.
Today, he remains one of the loudest voices for the rebuilding of the North East. No wonder, a major a major activity of his 90th birthday celebration is his planned visit and interaction with Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
Warri Area’s Bridge Builder
Chief Clark’s fence-mending and mediatory role in the very complex inter and intra-ethnic politics, rivalry and squabbling in the present-day Delta State have often been misunderstood. Contrary to what some people believe, he has been one of the main architects of peace and harmonious inter-ethnic and inter-communal existence in the Warri area of Delta state.
The complexities of the city called Warri are rather like those of Jerusalem with many different groups laying all manner of claims to the city. Interesting, though, for a period dating back to when the first European visitors arrived in the Niger Delta area in the 17thCentury, the contentions between such ethnic groups as the Ijaws, the Itsekiris, the Urhobos, and to a lesser extent the Isokosas to the ownership or ancestral claims to different parts of this city have persisted. This has been the subject of a series of administrative and judicial interventions in the search for peace. In all these, Chief Clark has found himself in the middle, a man whose paternal lineage is Ijaw, of which twelve generations had moved into the western delta from Oqoubiri town in present day Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. No less pertinent is the fact of his having a strong Itsekiri descent, as his progenitor, Bakederemo Ogein, was the grandchild of an Itsekiri woman from one of the yet- thriving powerful families. Added to this, his maternal grandmother is Isoko while his mother is Urhobo.
Furthermore, he has countless cross cousins and kinship relationships with persons from all these and other groups such as the Ndokwas and the Ika Ibos on account of the fact that his forebears intermarried with the peoples.
Being the typical African, such filial relationships are never forgotten for countless generations. It is interesting to note the composition of his household, where there are relations from all these ethnic groups living with him and speaking the various languages interchangeably. Added to that, in each of these places where his ancestry can be traced, he holds very high and respected traditional titles.
It is in this context that Pa Clark has continued to combat every seeming expression of injustice coming from any of them against one another. His role is therefore that of the ultimate mediator and conciliator. But like most peacemakers, his roles and efforts are sometimes misunderstood.
Against this backdrop, when the South-South People’s Assembly (SSPA) and now Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) were respectively formed in 2004 and in the third quarter of 2016 as vehicles for Peace, Integration and Deployment in the Niger Delta, the decision to adopt him as the Leader and Grand Patron was unanimous.
Conclusion
This father of 13 children most of whom are of Oxbridge educational formation and some of whose mothers are of different ethnic stocks, including Ow, Fulani, lgbo, Urhobo and Yoruba is a totally detribalised Nigerian, happily married and devout Christian.
This community leader and activist of diverse tendencies, has no doubt touched the heart of the country called Nigeria. At 93, he has broken the family record of 86 years exit timeline. However, with an eclectic mind and a great stamina to bark, this man appears totally unyielding to being shuffled to the backseat of irrelevance. Although he claims repeatedly as having his “boarding pass” in his hands, many are of the view that he is completely on his own as his relevance and worth to the common good of Nigeria increases by the day. This explains why he worked so hard towards establishing the Edwin Clark University, Kiagbodo, from almost every drop of personal savings during the past two years. And daily follows up on events there.
So, it is better to put everybody on notice that the more active days of Chief Clark seem just about to begin.
– Igali, PhD, is former Nigerian Ambassador and permanent secretary in the ministry of power
