Oyegun’s 76 Years of Rich History
Onyebuchi Ezigbo pays tribute to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress on his 76th birthday
Perhaps, no one adjective can better describe the man, Chief John Odigie Oyegun than the one which aptly describes him as trail blazer. Oyegun was born on August 12, 1939, in Warri, Delta State. He attended St. Patrick’s College, Asaba, and then went to the University of Ibadan, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. He had served in various capacities as a federal civil servant working as a development planner.
For a man who rose through the ranks while in the employment of the Federal Civil Service of Nigeria for 13 years and became a Permanent Secretary at the age of 36 years, the youngest in his generation, nothing could be more outstanding. Or how else could one explain his short sojourn in the business world, where after two years, he became the National Chairman of the Nigerian Trawler Owners Association. Exactly, the same could be said of Oyegun’s foray into politics in 1991, when he became the first Executive Governor of Edo State, having been elected on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party, SDP.
He served as governor under the transition to democracy launched by General Ibrahim Babangida between January 1992 and November 1993. He was removed from office after General Sani Abacha seized power and shortly afterwards, the doggedness in Oyegun was to blossom as he co-founded a platform, the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO to seek the ouster of the military junta. He soon found his way out of the country, where he served as the Secretary NADECO in the Diaspora, a position he used to canvass for a return to democratic rule along with other compatriots.
At the return to democratic rule in 1999, Oyegun joined the then All Peoples Party and later became a leader of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). In 2009, he was made chairman of the Technical Working Committee of the party meant to fashion a way forward in the search for greater political relevance. It was due to his meticulous and non-tribal disposition that saw him being appointed the chair, the convention committee that organised the first non-controversial national convention of the ANPP, which produced former governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekerau as the party’s presidential candidate.
It was not also surprising when the lot fell on the Benin-politician to be elected as the first substantive national chairman of the All Progressives Congress on that fateful night of June 13, 2014. Oyegun had since emerging the chairman of the APC rekindled the spirit of ‘can-do-it’ which helped to galvanize members of his party to an epic victory against a formidable and hard-fighting PDP.
Oyegun exhibited his dogged nature, when at the heat of the struggle for power before the last presidential election, he and other leaders of APC led their supporters on a street protest from the Eagle Square through the Transcorp Hilton junction on Shehu Shagari Way in Maitama, before winding up at the Nigerian Police Headquarters, Abuja.
Just as he doggedly led his party to victory, Oyegun has also worked tirelessly to confront the initial challenges that came the way of APC shortly after the inauguration of the new administration. Although the party cannot be said to have completely emerged from the crisis, a lot of fence-mending measures have been carried out under the supervision of Oyegun and they are yielding positive fruits.
Beneath the soft-spoken gentleman with a smiling face and easy-going outlook is a dogged, determined, principled and hardhitting politician, whose optimism knows no bounds. He never sees any assignment as too difficult to handle neither does he fear challenges. Oyegun will rather confront his fears than run from them.
In politics, he carries with him, the same dogged attitude as he exhibited during the civil service days and he is not known to support oppressive policies. Many have described Oyegun as an exceptionally talented politician, sincere leader, a man of wisdom and vision.
Former vice-president Atiku has said Nigeria’s democratic struggle for good governance will be incomplete without the recognition of the unquantifiable contributions of the APC National Chairman. Atiku also gave Oyegun credit for sustaining the unity of APC family even after the momentary turmoil that hit the party following the crisis in the National Assembly.
In a tribute to the APC National Chairman on the occasion of his 76th birthday, Atiku noted that Oyegun “demonstrated admirable leadership finesse and sagacity that propelled the former opposition to victory during the 2015 general election”. According to him, the story of opposition parties’ merger in Nigeria to oust PDP from power would also be incomplete without recognising Oyegun’s effective leadership.
He explained that holding the opposition partners together despite efforts by the former ruling party was no mean achievement, and that Oyegun deserves credit for being “a capable captain in a rough political sea.” The former Vice President said sustaining unity is one of the greatest tests of any leader, and that Oyegun demonstrated these requisite qualities remarkably.
Atiku described Oyegun as one of the finest and gentleman politicians he has ever known and interacted with, adding that there is a lot of great virtues to learn from the APC National Chairman.
“I will always be proud of our National Chairman who, despite all odds, led a formidable struggle to dislodge the PDP from power after 16 years of political dominance. This is an admirable record for which Oyegun deserves our respect. May God continue to grant him more wisdom, good health and long life in the service of Nigerians,” the former Vice President concluded.
Beneath the soft-spoken gentleman with a smiling face and easy-going outlook is a dogged, determined, principled and hard-hitting politician, whose optimism knows no bounds. He never sees any assignment as too difficult to handle neither does he fear challenges. Oyegun will rather confront his fears than run from them