The Colossus Lives On: A Tribute To Chief Festus Sam Okotie- Eboh, CMG, MP
• The Pioneer Federal Minister Of Finance
PREAMBLE
BORN in 1912, this year ( 2022) makes it 110 years ago. Assassinated in 1966, this year makes that to be 56 years ago. He lived for only 54 years ( 19121966). That means that a child born when he was assassinated would today have lived longer than he did.
It could easily be surmised that his life was short, albeit only in relative terms. The essence and significance of life here, however, is neither the longevity nor the brevity of it but the quality of that life, as defined by the value( s) it contributed to the improvement of life and living for all and sundry in the course of the said life.
THE COLOSSUS
The impact of Chief OkotieEboh’s life was so widely pervasive that the effect on our national life remains very visible today. OMIMI is the Itsekiri word for Waves. One can vividly recall that in the early 1950s, his car in Sapele was known by most people that when the horn was sounded, people ( especially children) would chant OMIMI in excitement and admiration. It was because of the massive impact he was known to be making on people’s lives in those days. He was just about 40 years old then. . Although he was assassinated 56 years ago when he was only 54 years of age, he is still alive and by the grace of God, will continue to be while Nigeria remains. This is because of the undeniable contributions he made in the founding and building of this nation.
They are pillars that have remained and on which the country stands as a modern and developing economy.
They are legacies which cannot be ignored. We remember him today and always in order to draw inspiration not only to confront the challenges of the present but also to have an expanding vision that stretches far beyond the moment and our immediate surroundings.
As we back- tract a little for us to see something of the profile of this man, we will better appreciate that politics and being in government did not make this man but that he already had a lot which he brought into politics and being in government. He was an added value to our politics and national development.
AN ASTUTE BUSINESSMAN AND INDUSTRIALIST
Before he became a front runner and an outstanding contributor in Nigerian politics, he was already a flourishing businessman, industrialist and benefactor to many. He already had long- standing business contacts and associates at home and abroad. That far back, his vision was already bigger than just Nigeria. His was the dream of the Nigeria with a pride of place in Africa and on the global scene. No wander he named his company AFRONIGERIAN EXPORT AND IMPORT COMPANY LIMITED. Africa was very much in his vision. That was the company by which he exported RIBBED SMOKED SHEETS ( RSS) rubber to several places in Europe, Canada and the United States of America. He later expanded that to include the production of processed rubber crepe as increased valueadded product from otherwise rubber scraps and lumps which were previously only wastes to be thrown away. He later added a shoe production factory. Apart from providing employment for Nigerians, he was contributing to the Gross Domestic Products ( GDP) of the country. He was a net exporter. What he imported were only industrial machines and spares and some industrial inputs for what would be produced and exported afterwards. The only expatriates he employed for the factories were engineers from the builders of the machines and they were to train Nigerians on the job to eventually replace them. Apart from raising the country’s GDP as already indicated above, his business helped to tilt the balance of trade in favour of our country. He also generated revenue to government coffers through the payment of Export and Excise Duties.
AN EARLY PROVIDER FOR MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT
Before he went into politics at the national level, he also had founded schools for the education of Nigerians. He had primary schools at two separate locations, and at the secondary level, he had two as well. His vision was for the Nigeria and the Africa to be proud of. When apartheid was the political system in South Africa, he made his contribution towards dismantling it by offering employment to indigenous South Africans to teach in his post primary schools. He also gave employment to African Americans when racial discrimination against them was still rife in their country. One has to say here that Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was his mentor particularly in his dream to see sons and daughters of Africa everywhere to stand tall and strong. No wander that he named one of his post primary schools after him. This was ZIK’S COLLEGE OF COMMERCE ( ZCC) which later became ZIK’S ACADEMY ( ZA) when he upgraded it to a co- educational secondary school. The other one was the ACADEMY GRAMMAR SCHOOL which was later renamed OKOTIE- EBOH GRAMMAR SCHOOL long after he was assassinated. If he were alive today, he would, no doubt, have beamed with joy and pride to see the several national and international notables who came from his schools and have risen to prominence in the professions, academia, the business world and in politics.
Read the remaining part of this tribute on wwwguardian. ng