- Chief Okumagba EbohThe Iyete (heavy weight) of Africa, Olorogun Okumagba Eboh, the patriarch of the Great Okumagba Dynasty of Okere-Urhobo Kingdom Warri of blessed memory fall into the category of great men who achieve their prominence through hard work, honesty, doggedness that is laced with tenacity of purpose.he liberated his Urhobos of Warri from both internal (Itsekiris) and external colonialism (British),he is the progenitor of other great Okumagbas, late Chief Daniel and His Royal Majesty, Benjamin Okumagba 1 of Okere-Urhobo Warri Kingdom and many more names to be called. a lot of us never knew that before the late Mukoro Mowoe, T.E.A. Salubi, Jabin Obahor etc, a great Urhobo and African Nationalist in the person of late Olorogun Okumagba Eboh was that great. Olorogun Okumagba Eboh, who himself was history and titan was born 1853 at a time the colonial masters were yet to colonize Nigeria he was alive and witnessed the resistance to the colonialization of Nigeria and partition of Africa. So also was a living witness to the attacks on various African kingdoms by the British, King Jaja of Opobo 1887, Chief Nana 1897 and the 1897 massacre in Benin against Oba Ovoranmen and his eventual deportation to Calabar by the British imperialist.
He was born in 1853 in Otor-orere, Okere-Urhobo Kiingdom in the present day Warri South Local Government Council in Delta State. His father was Chief Eboh Olodi of Okere Urhobo clan and his mother was Aye-Oluwe Eboh, from Otien family of Edjeba-Agbarha Kingdom Warri. The name Okumagba was gotten from Ekwomagbe (let us come together unity).Oshue of Orhunghworun
He led the Urhobo to mobilise other nations in the western Niger Delta to oppose the tax. In July 1927, representatives of the nations of Urhobo, Isoko, Ukwuani, Itsekiri, and Ijaw held a congress in Igbudu area of Warri Township. The congress passed resolutions, which included a trade embargo on exports to Britain, the abolition of colonial judicial and administrative institutions and declaration of the Warri Province as an independent republic of free nations. Hero Oshue was appointed head of government, addressed as His Excellency and conveyed to rally grounds on hammock to prevent his feet from touching dirt. Severely harmed by the trade embargo and the revolutionary implications of the uprising, the British employed maximum force to quell it. Oshue and other leaders were arrested, tried, and sentenced to hard labour terms of prison. The anti-tax movement was so effective that it spread across the Niger to Owerri Province in 1929 where the women spearheads of it were attacked by colonial troops, leading to the death of 50 protesters. That event is known as the “Aba Women’s Riot” in colonial records. The anti-tax uprising compelled the British to review the Indirect Rule project after a series of Intelligence Reports on the cultures and traditions of the nations of southern Nigeria.
Chief Emuhwomuere Bobson Eshalomi (E.B. Eshalomi),
He was an Okakuro of Agbon Clan, Urhobo Kingdom, in Ethiope East Local Government Area, in Delta State. Chief E.B. Eshalomi alias ‘Igodogo’ was born on 1st March 1889 into the chivalrous Ojarikre family of Urhuokpe in Kokori in-land by Eshalomi who was widely known for his bravery. He lost his father in his early childhood and he was brought up by his parental uncles, Ojarikre and Ahinahwi. As a young man, Bobson was very industrious, adventurous and loved challenges. He took his education seriously and in time he worked variously as a teacher, court interpreter, produce officer and on his retirement after years of meritorious service to government, he established at about 1956, Delta Produce Company Limited which is a flourishing company based at Warri. He was one of the founding fathers of the Urhobo Progressive Union which he served in different positions of leadership in Lagos in 1930’s and 40’s, at Ibadan in late 40’s and early 50’s, Kano/Gagarawa in the 1950’s and Warri late 1950’s until his death in January 1976. He was thus one of the moving spirit behind the founding of the famous Urhobo College, Effurun in 1949 and served as member and later chairman of the Board of Government of the school until his death. In his service to the UPU, he regularly played host whilst in Ibadan to eminent personalities amongst whom were the legendary Chief Mukoro Mowoe, Chief T. E. A. Salubi, Chief Irikefe, Chief Scott-Emuakpo, Chief J. E. Mariere, (first Government of defunct Bendel State), Chief P. K. Tabiowo, Chief Mowaren, Chief Oweh; also in Warri to Chief J. A. Okpodu, Chief Jabin Obahor, Chief (Dr) F. O. Esiri, Chief Ifeta also a produce examiner, just to mention a few. It was also said that he was an ardent Christian of the Roman Catholic Church faith and indeed a school was named after him in Warri in his life-time recognition of his services to the Church. He made friends easily and such friendship blossomed into lasting relationships. In the Benin area where he was popularly known as ‘Tank Benin’, Chief Ize-Iyamu the Esogban of Benin and Chief Okotakon Enahoro readily come to mind. In the Delta area where he was generally known as ‘Igodigo’, one would mention Chief Afejuku and Chief Popo of Warri, Chief Onuvie and Chief Oghene (also of blessed memory) of Sapele, Chief Atagana of Abraka, Chief Udi Jeje and Chief Erhisere of Ughelli, most of whom are also late.
Aganbi
Another Urhobo patriot who altered the course of local Urhobo history, certainly for the greater good, was Pastor Aganbi of Agbon. Aganbi started initially as an Anglican but had cause to break ranks with the authorities. He then came into the American Baptist Community where he quickly became one the leaders and was instrumental in bringing the Baptist Mission to Eku and with it, the Baptist Hospital. Only an act of dedicated service to and love for his Urhobo people could have achieved this.
Samuel Jereton Marhiere
Chief Samuel Jereton Marhiere, like many a young Urhobo, was a protégé of Chief Mukoro Mowoe to whom he was particularly close. Jereton Marhiere looked up to Chief Mowoe like a son would and was accordingly so regarded. Marhiere got much of his expertise of entrepreneurship and politics from Chief Mukoro Mowoe and became, not surprisingly the sole administrator of his business set-up in Agbor for many years. The shrewd political ideology and other leadership attributes which young Marhiere imbibed from his mentor equipped him for his later governorship role of the Midwest Region of Nigeria in 1964 with headquarters in Benin, the very first person, and Urhobo to that office. Chief Marhiere piloted the fledgling Midwest State up to and through the turbulent years of the Biafran war with great courage and credence until his untimely death. Chief Samuel J. Marhiere brought esteem and honour to Urhobo nation.
MUKORO MOWOE
Everyone agrees that Urhobo political struggle really started with the advent of one man on the scene. This man was Chief Mukoro Mowoe (Oyinvwin) of Evwreni. I am sure no one would be surprised at the constant mention of this name. The reason is simple: “Urhobo as a self-conscious nation began its common existence with Mowoe on the lime light.” These were the words of Senator David Dafinone in his keynote address at the First Annual Conference of Urhobo Historical Society held in Canada in 2000. They succinctly sum up much of what Chief Mukoro Mowoe stood for. As a product of the initial consequence of British colonial history of Nigeria, Chief Mowoe battled hard for the Urhobo voice to be heard and recognized. The need for a united voice to meet the challenges of the time culminated in the founding of the Urhobo Progress Union, a socio-politico-cultural body, embracing, as events dictated, a far-reaching political agenda than meets the eye at the time. This address is not a profile, as such of Mukoro Mowoe. I am therefore resisting the temptation of pretending that it is one, which, in any case would make a poor rejoinder to the brilliant submissions available on the subject by many erudite narrators.
It is also pertinent to know that the UPU of Mukoro Mowoe was the successor of the Urhobo Brotherly Society, an earlier organization set up in 1931 by a group of Urhobo businessmen and workforce, designed also to give the Urhobo a united voice to work for progress. A notable Ovu merchant, Omorohwo Okoro led the formation of this movement and was accordingly the first President of the Society. He soon willingly relinquished his leadership role to Chief Mowoe as the Society gathered momentum. Reorganization under Chief Mowoe saw the change of name from Urhobo Brotherly Society to Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) and Mukoro Mowoe became the first President-General of the new Union and thereafter the Life President-General, the only one on whom that title had been bestowed and probably ever would. From then on, the UPU became the rallying point for the Urhobo nation. With the Union’s President-General fast emerging as the virtual most acclaimed individual in Warri Township and in the entire Warri Province, the stature of the UPU which he headed gained ascendancy and with it, the future and fortune of Urhobo.
T.E.A. Salubi
Chief Thompson E. Adogbeji Salubi was in more ways than one, a remarkable Urhobo son and patriot. He was a self-made man: self-trained historian and writer, self-disciplined and very much self-cultured. Chief Salubi was a prolific writer. His amazing chronicles of the Urhobo nation throughout the colonial era and thereafter are living testimonies of his literary versatility and incomparable flair for literature and the arts. Salubi’s solid publications are many.
My earliest memory of him was during some of his visits to my father many years ago. He was a labour man, a civil servant, working in the “Labour Office” as we knew it then. In these present times, the Labour Office would be called the Ministry of Labour where he was much involved with employment issues. Chief Salubi’s interaction with people and his ability to offer solutions to problems in the Labour Office made him a consummate leader of men and matters which prepared him for his subsequent successful tenure as the President-General of the UPU. Chief Salubi cherished the UPU, tended and sustained it over many years. To my mind Chief Adogbeji Salubi stands high with the greatest patriotic minds in Urhobo history.
Chief Omorohwovo Okoro
a notable successful businessman from Ovu and others who constituted the core members of an emerging political union, called the Urhobo Brotherly Society. This society was the forerunner of the now familiar Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) as I stated earlier.
Ayo Irikefe
Justice Ayo Irikefe was an Urhobo who exemplified the courage and stark determination to achieve and so he did. He rose from the ranks and proceeded to the United Kingdom in those earlier years when just “going overseas” was a feat and an achievement in itself. Justice Irikefe achieved far more than that. He returned with a law degree, the first Urhobo to do so. He opted for the bench after a flamboyant stint at the bar and soon became the Chief Justice of the Nigerian Federation, needless to say the first Urhobo and the only one so far to occupy the highest legal position in the land. Justice Ayo Irikefe was thus an eminent achiever.
There are other legal luminaries both on the bench and at the bar. We had Justice Aghoghovbia who was the first Urhobo judge in Warri and for a long time, the only one. Then came Justice V.E. Ovie-Whiskey followed by Justice (Mrs.) Marceline Okungbowa (nee Menta), both of whom rose to the enviable height of Chief Judge of the old Midwest (Bendel) State and Delta State, respectively. Justice Ovie-Whiskey was also appointed chairman of the Federal Electoral Commission, the famous FEDECO of 1983.
Late Chief T. Ogagan
He is historically credited for being the individual who helped to acquire the Uvwie lands on which Urhobo College was built in the 1940s. He served as the first Bursar of Urhobo College. He is credited with helping the admission of many Uvwie young boys, including the late Professor Omafume Onoge, into Urhobo College. He is a hero of the Uvwie people and Urhobo at large.
Chief Gordon Mukoro of Ughievwen
He began his early working life in the early 1950s as a court clerk. Irritated by policies which he thought were harmful to his people, Mukoro left Government service to work for Urhobo Progress Union where he was employed as for many years as Under-Secretary. He worked directly with Chief T. E. A. Salubi, then President-General of the Union. Chief Gordon Mukoro had a large reputation for keeping records and for producing excellent minutes of the UPU’s affairs. He later became President of Customary Courts in several Urhobo districts. He helped to codify Urhobo customary laws. Chief Mukoro was said to be born in about 1919
moghwaren
Chief Moghwaren (Mowarin, to the British colonial administrators) was a businessman, politician, and statesman from Agbara-Otor. In an era when it was almost an anathema for Urhobo elite to belong to a political party other than the NCNC, Chief Moghwaren had the courage of his conviction to go against the popular grain to declare himself an Action Group member and represented his Urhobo constituency in the Western Region legislature. Chief Moghwaren’s only motivation was to put a break to the seemingly self-inflicted disservice (so he saw it) by the Urhobo nation whereby Urhobo continued to play the role of the underdog, marginalized, sidetracked and starved of amenities by the party in government. Rightly or wrongly, he saw little sense in Urhobo backing the wrong political horse all the time. In throwing his weight behind the Action Group, the party in power in the Region, he succeeded in paving the way for development near to Urhobo homeland of the Midwest Region. Marketing Boards for rubber/palm produce were established in the Midwest Region which paralleled the Cocoa Marketing Board set up in the Yoruba West. Government-run rubber and palm oil farms were established for a start in Uronigbe which employed many Urhobo youths. Chief Moghwaren was progressive in his thinking. He was almost completely self-educated and self-made like many of his generation. He understood the cravings of the Urhobo for advancement and recognition and his patriotic actions were designed to actualize this desire.
It is not going out of step to mention that Chief Moghwaren’s wise counsel was always in demand by young entrepreneurs like the late Barrister Chief Ogbemi N.Rewane, the co-founder of Hussey College. Incidentally, Ogbemi Rewane was the maternal nephew of Chief Moghwaren. The uniqueness of Hussey College, the first indigenous secondary school in Warri and second only in inception to Government College Warri/Ughelli, owed its success and fame in part, to directives as provided by Chief Moghwaren and his kind. Such was the man’s progressive judgment as an Urhobo patriot.
L.E. Scott-Emuakpor
Nigeria had a man who was instrumental for the introduction of the maxim “War against Indiscipline” (WAI) which constituted the famous code of conduct in Nigeria during one of the phases of military administration. The same man was a major drive in Nigeria’s change from a “Left-Hand-Drive” to the more compliant “Right-Hand-Drive” tradition. Previous to this, in his position as Deputy Federal Director of the Nigerian Information Service, he was in the forefront of publicity for the Nigerian Federation unity-call and war effort during the Biafran war years. He had a knack for organization and a love for taking initiative. These were two assets which were in urgent demand at the time when he had to be summoned urgently to the Nigerian High Commission in London as Minister Counselor of Information and Culture in the immediate aftermath of the civil war in order to revamp the information machine of the High Commission. Chief Lawrence E. Scott-Emuakpor enlivened and gave value to the Mission in London. On his watch as Federal Director of Information, the creation of the National Theatre was conceived and built and he became a member of the Executive Committee which planned and administered the day to day running of the establishment. He led several delegations to a number of African countries to participate in Festivals of African and Negro Arts.
David Dafinone
Senator David Dafinone is a renowned accountant, an outspoken politician and a respected Urhobo elder statesman whose successful accountancy firm can be said to be one of the first large corporate accounting partnership in Nigeria. Many Urhobo youths’ professional aspirations have taken off from the auspicious soft pad of this accounting firm success story, presided over by the ever supportive, highly motivated gentle elder statesman. A man of very clear view and undisputable patriotism, Senator Dafinone has deliberated upon and written accounts on a number of issues affecting the Urhobo nation. His achievements are Urhobo achievement.
Demas Akpore (1928–1993)
He was the first elected Deputy Governor of Bendel State (1979–1983), the Principal of Government College, Ughelli, and the Founder and Principal of Orogun Grammar School.
Chief Demas Onoliobakpovba Akpore was born on August 4, 1928 at Warri, Nigeria into a Christian Family of Mr. Itedjere Akpore of Unukpo, Orogun in Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State of Nigeria, and Mrs. Etawhota Akpore (née Agbomiyeri) of KokoriAgbontanren Udih
Besides those who held high national positions in the UPU, there were others who quietly laboured behind the scene, everyone playing his own little but significant role in the early development and growth of the UPU. One such worker was Chief Agbotanren Udih, one of the earliest national Trustees of the UPU at its incorporation. Chief Udih’s patriotism extended outside the confines of Urhobo country. He lived and worked in Benin and was a source of help and succor to many fellow Urhobo compatriots who also lived in these environs, far from home. His generous disposition was a rallying call to all Urhobos abroad to stand together to champion the UPU cause and spread its ideology outside Urhoboland. Befittingly, Chief Agbotanren Udih was President of the Benin branch of the UPU for a long time. I call this an achievement and a service to Urhobo.
David A. Ejoor
General David Ejoor belongs to the onset of an unsettled era in the politics of Nigeria. As Lt. Colonel, David E. Ejoor was one of the four military governors appointed by General Aguyi-Ironsi to take charge of the four region components of Nigeria. David Ejoor was assigned to the Midwest Region, following the first military take-over in the country. Lt. Colonel Ejoor who later became General Ejoor was of a quiet, unassuming disposition, perhaps a little too trusting and gentle for an army man. All the same, he was a forthright and an astute administrator. This won him a general approval of the many different ethnic groups of the Midwest Region, regarded as a microcosm of Nigeria. His was an administration that required a careful balancing act to keep the various groups together and united at a time of great civil stress and mutual suspicion in the Region and the entire country. General David Ejoor did boost the profile of Urhobo in his own gentle way. He stooped to conquer.
M.G. Ejaife and E.N. Igho
The challenging role of administering and running the new college was undertaken by the very first and second Urhobo graduates, Messrs M.G. Ejaife and E.N. Igho, in that order. They became the principal and science teacher of the college, respectively. Between them, together with other teaching personnel like Chief Daniel Okumagba, Urhobo College attained the position of academic and sport excellence.
Chief Ejaife contributed to Urhobo achievement in another area. Not many know that he was also a shrewd politician. He was and became the first Urhobo senator in the Nigerian Upper Chamber during the First Republic.
Michael Ibru
Happily, there are today’s parallel runners-up in this area of entrepreneurship. Chief Michael Ibru, the doyen and present patriarch of the Ibru family is one. Michael started small alone on leaving Igbobi College in Lagos. He was a brilliant student and could have easily gone to university like many of his contemporaries, but opted instead into the business world. By sheer pluck, driven by grand lofty vision, he has been able to build and sustain a chain of business which today employs many hundreds, if not thousands of people from our own Nigerian ethnic divide and from abroad. Many an Urhobo youth is known to be beneficiaries of the hard work of this astute Urhobo business tycoon.
It runs in the family. Chief Michael Ibru roped in virtually all his siblings into business pursuit, thereby making it a bigger family business conglomerate. One of these siblings is Olorogun Felix O. Ibru, a prolific writer, consummate politician and of course, a businessman. We all know that the Nigerian Guardian newspaper is the brain child of Felix Ibru who, as its Managing Director, with ardent organizational prowess made the Guardian newspaper the outstanding quality newsprint that it is, in Nigeria.
Chief Felix Ibru is an intrepid politician and a wise administrator, qualities which have endeared him to the upright and best and also earned him envy and bigotry from the sick and disgruntled. All in all, his excellent record of diligence and love for selfless public service earned him the exalted position of the first elected governor of Delta State and now the position of the President-General of the Urhobo Progress Union. Olorogun Felix Ibru, like his elder brother, Chief Michael
Ibru deserves a place of honour in the list of Urhobo achievers.Peter P. Ekeh,
The dynamic organizer and prolific chronicler of many a historical profile of men and founder and coordinator of the study group, Urhobo Historical Society. There is need to mention Professor Andrew Onokeroraye, Professor of Geography and Town Planning in the University of Benin and later becoming the University’s Vice Chancellor. Andrew is the third ever Urhobo son to rise to the enviable academic pinnacle of vice-chancellorship of a university, coming behind Professor Phillip Kuale, the first, and Professor Frank Ukoli, the second. Professor Phillip Kuale was the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering in the University of Benin prior to his appointment as Vice Chancellor of the Bendel State University Ekpoma, now Edo State University.
Professor Matthew B. Scott-Emuakpor,
Another Urhobo son could be said to share a parallel scientific inventiveness with Professor Frank Ukoli. Matthew became the second Urhobo PhD holder in the pure sciences. He held the Chair of Botany in the University of Ibadan and was the first Nigerian plant geneticist with a flair for, and subsequent specialization in microbiology. Through example, Matthew B. Scott-Emuakpor helped to trigger interest in genetics and its widespread introduction as a serious discipline IN THE university curriculum. We are talking of Urhobo achievement and this is one.
M.O. Ighrakpata
Let me return to the 40s again to find another veteran Urhobo educationalist, elite among a few of his time. He is Chief M.O. Ighrakpata of the era of Chief Mukoro Mowoe, Chief Scott J.M. Emuakpor, Chief Jabin A. Obahor, Chief Okpodu and others. Chief Ighrakpata was a traveling teacher in the government service, a position that equates today with that of inspector of schools. Such was the standing of the man and his passion for learning and excellence that made him the vanguard for the establishment of the first standard Urhobo orthography.
F.M.A. Ukoli and contemporaries
Let me now bridge the generation gap by stepping into the present and this is taking me straight on to other stalwart educationalists like Professor Frank M.A. Ukoli, the first Urhobo PhD holder and the first to have attained a professorial rank. A gifted scientist, Frank Ukoli (FSA) was Head of the department of Zoology in the University of Ibadan for many years. Frank later became the first Vice Chancellor of the Delta State University in Abraka. On his watch, the university was organized and placed on a sound academic footing, enabling it to take its place of eminence alongside older institutions of higher learning in the country.
Late Chief T EBrokake (Broka)
A Notable Urhobo historian. although there was no clear documentation of is academic life but history recorded it that he was formerly educated and a successful man he had close contact with the white traders but always against the white supremacist . he was a close associate to Chief Gordon Mukoro of Ughievwe, Jabin Obahor, and lot of them. also he was among those who stood with Omentan during the case of Agbasa,Rex Akpofure
Chief Rex Akpofure, the articulate debonair school master and accomplished sportsman, was an Urhobo through and through who lost nothing of his native Urhobo airs and culture despite his exterior “oyibo” trait. Dr Akpofure could be said to be a bridge between what was virtuous in British colonial administration in Nigeria and the post colonial era. All his life, he strove by example to inculcate what was frankly the best into the psyche of the students in his care. He stood out as a proud role model to his mentors, a number of whom radiated years later, the refined confidence and total commitment to duty of their school teacher and master in colonial Nigeria’s most prestigious secondary school, King’s College Lagos. Rex was himself a student of the school and returned to it after his graduate and postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom, later to be its principal, the first ever indigenous Nigerian and for that matter, Urhobo principal of KCL. Chief Rex Akpofure’s characteristic achievements did Urhobo proud. The list of Urhobo achiever academics is a long one and I am going to avoid making this brief an exercise in roll-call.
PROFESSOR SAM IBODJE
Sam E. Oyovbaire
At this point, I would like to mention the later contribution to the publicity efforts of the Federal government to project its international image. The man, appointed to do this was Professor Sam E. Oyovbaire who was a professor of political science in the University of Benin. Before his appointment, Sam acted as special political adviser to the then military Vice President and Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Aikhomo. He then became the Federal Minister of Information, the only Urhobo person, on record to occupy a federal ministerial post.
Bruce Onobrakpeya
Speaking about arts and culture, mention should be made of Bruce Onobrakpeya, a reputed Urhobo visual artist. It is fair to say that Bruce ranks with the best artists on the African continent and his works are attracting a clientele that stretches beyond Africa. His purpose-built Cultural Centre in Agbara-Otor is a further mark of his craftsmanship and professionalism. He is an achiever.
Moses Mowoe
Dr Moses Mowoe, the second son of the evergreen Urhobo leader Oyinvwin, Chief Mukoro Mowoe and the second Urhobo Medical doctor completes the list of first generation doctors in Urhobo country. Dr Mowoe was the first Director of Medical Services in the Midwest State.
Gideon M. Urhobo
A few years before all this, the introduction of Christian literature and the bible to Nigeria by various missionaries from abroad was fast fanning the enquiring mind of another Urhobo man whose family had earlier embraced the Roman Catholic faith in Agbarra (Agbassa) in Warri. This man was Gregory Mogboruko Ukoli who had already risen to the position of a catechist in the Warri Roman Catholic Church in preparation to the pursuit of a career in the church. Gideon Meriodere Urhobo (G.M. Urhobo) as he came to be popularly known later, saw spiritual light in a completely different setting, a non-conformist setting that flew in the face of the general direction of foreign-based Christian teachings, dogmas and practices.
Professor Onigu Otite
Professor Onigu Otite was educated at the University of Nigeria and the University of London. He is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Ibadan. He is the Author of Autonomy and Dependence (1973), editor of Themes in African Social and Political Thought (1973), co-author of An Introduction to Sociological Studies (1979), co -editor of Readings in Nigerian Rural Society and Rural Economy (1990), editor of Sociology, Theory and Applied (1994), Ethnic Pluralism and Ethnic Conflicts in Nigeria (1991) as well as numerous chapters in books and articles in learned Journals. Professor Otite has also served as adviser to numerous companies such as Shell Nigeria, to mention a few. He served as Head of Department of Sociology in the University of Ibadan from 1978- 1984.
Besides being on the Editorial board of born black magazine, Professor Otite also serves on a vast number of magazines and journals such as: Political Anthropology, (Netherlands)- Member of the Editorial Board, International Journal of Political and Military Sociology- Guest Book Review Editor, African Journal of Behavioural Sciences, an international inter-disciplinary publication- Associate Editor, Pan-African Social Science Review, Journal of the Department of Sociology, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria- Editorial Consultant, Social Science and Medicine an international journal, Scotland- Advisory Editor, Nigerian Heritage, Journal of the National Commission For Museums and Monuments, Lagos, Nigeria.- Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation- Editor-in-Chief.
Peter P. Ekeh,
The dynamic organizer and prolific chronicler of many a historical profile of men and founder and coordinator of the study group, Urhobo Historical Society. There is need to mention Professor Andrew Onokeroraye, Professor of Geography and Town Planning in the University of Benin and later becoming the University’s Vice Chancellor. Andrew is the third ever Urhobo son to rise to the enviable academic pinnacle of vice-chancellorship of a university, coming behind Professor Phillip Kuale, the first, and Professor Frank Ukoli, the second. Professor Phillip Kuale was the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering in the University of Benin prior to his appointment as Vice Chancellor of the Bendel State University Ekpoma, now Edo State University.
Culled from Esan people blog