Distortions to historical facts about the creation of Rivers State in the historical publication put together by the Nyesom Wike led administration to celebrate the state’s 50th anniversary is generating reactions.
A legal practitioner, Zubi Nwuke, has written to Wike to condemn the flaws in the historic perspectives, which he described as “deliberate omissions”, capable of causing serious alterations to historical facts.
He stated that “the claim that Chief Dappa Biriye was part of the official delegation of the Eastern Nigeria Regional Government to the Lancaster talks as well as the allusion that Chief Emmanuel Aguma was the first Administrator of Port Harcourt Province were all false.
“Whereas Chief J.H.E Nwuke from Okomoko Community in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State was the only Rivers man who was part of the official delegation of the Eastern Region to the talks which gave birth to the Macpherson Constitution, Chief Nwuke was also the first black after the British handed over power to serve as an administrator of Port Harcourt Province.
He said it was irresponsible for politicians to distort facts because of their ” narrow, parochial and sectional interests “. Reiterating that Chief Nwuke played host to the British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II when she officially visited Nigeria after independence.
Below is a full text of the open letter:
Full Text Of The Open Letter To The Executive Governor
Of Rivers State, Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike
4th September, 2017
His Excellency,
Nyesom Ezenwo Wike CON,
The Governor of Rivers State,
Government House,
Port Harcourt.
Your Excellency,
Re: THE PUBLICATION “EXCELLENT ACHIEVERS, GOLDEN JUBILEE STATE AWARDS, MAY 27TH 1967 – 27TH MAY, 2017 – REQUEST FOR REFLECTION OF A HOLISTIC HISTORIAL PERSPECTIVE AND CORRECTION OF NEEDLESS DISTORTIONS.
May I join numerous Rivers’ people to congratulate your Excellency, your administration and the entire Rivers State on the effusive celebration and grand marking of the golden jubilee of the State.
In the course of the celebrations, I stumbled on the above mentioned document which in a foreword penned by Dr. Abiye Sekibo as Chairman, Honours/Awards Sub-committee stated its main objective thus:
—————– imperative to recognize and honour the founding fathers and other leaders who have either piloted the affairs of the State or projected the image of the State nationally and internationally by their individual attainments ——————“
Realizing therefore, that the subject document would contain a historical account of Rivers State, I proceeded to voraciously peruse the contents particularly the citation and “principal reason for nomination “of most of the honorees including but not limited to HRM Ashirim Unosi, Chief P. G. Warmate, Chief Harold Dappa Biriye, Chief A. D. William-Jumbo, Chief Emmanuel N. Aguma, Chief E. J. Oriji, HRM E.M.B. Opurum, Chief Sampson Igobo Adoki and Dr. Josiah Jamabo but was quite shocked to observe grave omissions, embellishments of the citations of some of the honorees, grave distortions of historical facts and deliberate or inadvertent obliteration of certain personalities and their contributions towards the development and overall wellbeing of the geographical, administrative and political entity now known as Rivers State.
For instance, I observed that the authors of the aforementioned document commendably in my view went all the way back to 1869 to deservedly remember and recognize Hon. Chief Sampson Adoki but somehow omitted on the way back to the present to pause even briefly and ponder on the period from 1951-1960 which period was the most politically active period in our history as a nation. This period threw up the Macpherson Constitution, the experimentation with “self-rule” the constitutional conference of 1956 which culminated in the London Constitutional conference of 1957 and ultimately independence of emergent Nigeria on 1st October, 1960. This was clearly an omission of monumental proportions for without an independent Nigeria there probably would have been no Rivers State to celebrate now.
On embellishments and grave distortions, I would like to highlight just a few as follows:-
At page 19 with regard to Chief Biriye’s citation, it was therein stated that he was “a member of the Eastern delegation”. This is inaccurate. Chief Biriye was in London as a representative of the Rivers Congress Movement on the invitation of the British Labour Party not on the invitation of the British Government. For the avoidance of doubt, Chief Biriye was never a member of the Eastern Region government delegation to the London Constitutional Conference of 1957. The only Rivers’ person from Port Harcourt Province with an electoral mandate, who attended the Lancaster House, London Constitutional Conference of 1957 was Chief Hon. J.H.E. Nwuke MP. in his capacity as member, Eastern Region House of Assembly representing Ahoada N/E Constituency and concurrently provisional Commissioner for Port Harcourt province. In that capacity, Chief J.H.E. Nwuke participated in the framing and promulgation of the 1960 Constitution and attainment of independence for the federation of Nigeria.
2 At page 77, with regard to Chief Emmanuel N. Aguma’s citation, it was therein stated that “in 1967 following the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil war, he was appointed the administrator of Port Harcourt province, again the first Rivers’ man to be so appointed”. This again is inaccurate as the first Rivers’ man to be appointed in that capacity was Chief Hon. J.H.E. Nwuke MP of Okomoko, Etche who was appointed Provincial Commissioner for Port Harcourt Province as far back as 1956 by Rt. Hon. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Premier of Eastern Nigeria and served in that capacity till 1961 when he was elevated to Minister of State for Works, Eastern Region by Rt. Hon. Michael I. Okpara, Premier, Eastern Nigeria. As provincial Commissioner for Port Harcourt Province, Chief Hon. J.H.E Nwuke’s office was situate at the “Resident’s House” now called “Brick House”, Government House, Port Harcourt and his official residence was situate at No.2, Harley Street, European Quarters now called Old GRA, Port Harcourt. It is instructive to point out that the then Port Harcourt Province consisted of the City and Municipality of Port Harcourt, Ahoada Division, Brass Division, Ogoni Division and Degema Division, hence the acronym “PABOD”. Chief Nwuke was not only the first Rivers’ person to be appointed Provincial Commissioner for Port Harcourt province, he was the first Nigerian to be so appointed as all his predecessors in that position were British.
As regards deliberate or inadvertent obliteration of certain personalities, I would like first to state that it is simply atrocious that the highest ranking political office holder from the Port Harcourt Province, pre-independence and up to January, 1966, Chief Hon. Ezekiel Papa Okoya MP of Brass Division was not remembered , recognized or even mentioned in passing.
Chief Hon. E. P. Okoya MP was full cabinet Minister for Establishments Eastern Region from 1960-1966. The next highest ranking political appointee from the province during this period was Chief Hon. J.H.E. Nwuke MP of Okomoko, Etche in Ahoada Division of the Port Harcourt Province who was Minister of State for Works, Eastern Nigeria.
I have carefully looked at the citations of most of the honorees particularly the dramatis personae during the period of self-rule from 1951 through independence in 1960 and up to the termination of the first republic by coup deta in January, 1966 and I am strongly of the view that the Honours/Awards Sub-Committee of the Golden Jubilee Committee did Rivers State great disservice by deliberately or inadvertently omitting to recognize certain personalities who loomed large during the aforementioned period. These personalities were indeed pioneers and pathfinders who I dare say have remained irreplaceable.
Since May 27th, 2017 when the subject document was published and widely circulated, I have patiently waited hoping to see comments, reactions and contributions from distinguished Rivers’ intellectuals and historians that would ensure a fuller, consistent and holistic historical account but unfortunately there have been none so far which is clearly suggestive of a conspiracy of silence of some sort. As a responsible Rivers’ indigene with a deep sense of history, I am of the view that the people of Rives State deserve to know and are entitled to an unbiased and full historical record.
It is therefore out of a sense of duty and a desire to ensure that the historical record is fuller, concise, consistent and authentic and that Government is availed more detailed information on the political history of the Port Harcourt Province of Eastern Nigeria now known as Rivers and Bayelsa States that I now share an abridged account of the life and times of one of the more enduring personalities of the old Port Harcourt province who in my humble view equally played a pioneering role in the emergence and development of the entity now known as Rivers State.
HRM CHIEF HON. JONAS HAPPY ELEMUWA NWUKE MP, OGBUZO II, ONYISHI ETCHE (1921-1970)
Chief Hon. J.H.E. Nwuke, Pharmacist, Politician, Chieftain of the NCNC, Natural Ruler and first ever Onyishi Etche was born in 1921 into the Royal Family of Nwuke Ekenulo, Ogbuzo, Paramount Natural Ruler of Okomoko, Etche. He attended Yaba National College, Lagos and qualified as a Pharmacist in the late 1940s and was on the verge of proceeding overseas for higher educational qualifications when he was prevailed upon by his people to enter the murky waters of politics. Under the platform of the NCNC, he was elected into the Eastern Region House of Assembly in the early fifties to represent Ahoada N/E Constituency and won all subsequent elections until the first republic was toppled by coup deta in January, 1966. He was very astute in parliament and a master debater and before long he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary. In 1956, he was concurrently appointed into the executive branch as Provincial Commissioner for Port Harcourt province by the Rt. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Premier of Eastern Nigeria, the first Nigerian and first person from Port Harcourt province and Rivers State to be so appointed. He served as Provincial Commissioner till 1961 when he was appointed into the cabinet of Eastern Nigeria as Minister of State for Works by the Rt. Hon. Dr. M. I. Okpara, Premier of Eastern Nigeria.
In his capacity as Provincial Commissioner for Port Harcourt Province it was his singular honour and privilege to play host to Queen Elizabeth II of England on her maiden visit to Port Harcourt in 1956. Also during this period, he acquired on behalf of the Government of Eastern Nigeria, the vast parcel of land now known as Trans Amadi Industrial Layout from the Elekahia Community of Rebisi, Diobu and established the Trans Amadi Industrial Estate thereby ensuring that Port Harcourt became the commercial and industrial power house of Eastern Nigeria. The Trans Amadi Industrial Estate attracted multinational companies to Port Harcourt including Shell B.P. which located its headquarters in Port Harcourt making it the headquarters of the Oil and Gas Industry. In 1959, still as Provincial Commissioner for Port Harcourt province, Chief Nwuke on behalf of the Government of Eastern Nigeria oversaw the acquisition of the large swathe of land known as Greater Port Harcourt on part of which the Aerodrome, later called Port Harcourt Airport and now known as NAF Base was built.
Chief Nwuke as Provincial Commissioner for Port Harcourt Province was a member of the Eastern Region Government delegation to the to the 1957 Lancaster House Constitutional Conference in London representing Port Harcourt province. In that capacity, he participated in framing and promulgating the 1960 constitution and attaining independence for the Federation of Nigeria thereby becoming one of the founding fathers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Chief Nwuke was the only Rivers person who attended the conference as a member of the official Eastern Region government delegation. Also as Provincial Commissioner for Port Harcourt Province, Chief Nwuke had the honour of lowering the Union Jack British flag and hoisting the Nigerian flag at the independence celebration at Bernard Carr field, Port Harcourt on 1st October, 1960. Chief Hon. J.H.E. Nwuke together with Chief M.T. Mbu, Michael Ogon, Eyo Ita, S. E. Imoke, Margaret Ekpo and a host of others lawfully and peacefully advocated for the creation of Calabar/Ogoja/Rivers Region (COR) in the early fifties. Chief Nwuke held the view that the COR region would be more politically feasible and economically viable under the existing constitutional and political arrangement at the time. Though the request did not materialize, it is instructive to point out that the first proclamation on state creation by General Yakubu Gowon, Military Head of Sate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1967, created the COR state but after further representations by Rivers elders and leaders of thought, General Gowon relented and broke the COR state into two thereby creating Rivers State and South Eastern State.
For purposes of brevity, I would in a nutshell highlight some of the other contributions of Chief J.H.E. Nwuke as follows:-
Founded and established the Ogbakor Etche in the early fifties and served as its first Secretary General. The Ogbakor Etche was very vibrant then and engaged in extensive consultations by which it gauged the pulse of the Etche people and fully articulated their socio-cultural and political aspirations. It is also instructive to point out that the Ogbakor Ikwerre convention was founded almost ten years later.
Fought for the establishment of the Ikwerre/Etche County Council and later the Etche County Council with headquarters at Okehi.
Established Country Grammar School Ikwerre/Etche which school trained the bulk of Ikwerre and Etche intelligentia including one of your predecessors, His Excellency, Sir Celestine Omehia.
Established St. Joseph’s Secondary School Umuaturu and Etche Girl’s Secondary School, Umuola to deepen secondary education in Etche.
Fought for and achieved the return of the Omuma clan of Etche to Port Harcourt Province from Owerri province where they had been balkanized and marginalized.
Built the bridges over the mighty Otamiriochie River at Chokocho and Ogu-Etche River at Umuaturu to ensure contiguous Etche territory and enhance movement in the vast Etche territory.
Established the first Police Station on Etche territory at Okomoko and donated his personal building to accommodate the police station in order to cater to the security needs of the people of Etche.
Petitioned the Eastern Region government in the mid-fifties and made representations that led to the classification, recognition and ranking of the chieftaincy stool of Onyishi Etche as second class in the whole of Eastern Nigeria and he was subsequently crowned the first Onyishi-Etche by elders and king makers of Etche ethnic nationality after a keenly contested selection process. He reigned as Onyishi-Etche until January, 1970 when he was abducted from the military hospital, Port Harcourt in the dead of night and cowardly murdered by political enemies who procured some misguided Nigerian soldiers to carry out the dastardly act.
Established the joint hospital Okomoko to cater to the health needs of the Etche ethnic nationality.
Fought for the establishment of the Delta Rubber Company at Okomoko by the Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation (ENDC) which company provided jobs for the teeming youths of Etche. This led to the setting up of several rubber plantations thereby stimulating the local economy of Etche.
Mobilized the Etche ethnic nationality to support and vote Chief Akor of Ozuzu clan, Etche into the Federal House of Representatives thereby ensuring Etche representation at the Federal level. Chief Akor was subsequently re-elected in the 1964/65 Federal elections and his opponent lost so woefully that he also lost his election deposit.
Provided needed leadership for Etches and other ethnic nationalities of the old Port Harcourt province caught up in the Biafran enclave during the Nigerian Civil War that raged from 1967 to 1970. He fought for needed relief materials and medicines from the humanitarian agencies and regularly distributed same to Rivers people trapped in several refugee camps in the Biafran enclave assuaging their condition and encouraging them to persevere and be ready for the eventual return home.
It is instructive to point out that Chief Hon. J.H.E. Nwuke MP spent a total of fifteen years in politics and did not hold any other political office after the first republic was toppled by the coup deta of January, 1966. He remained a natural ruler and Onyishi Etche until he was murdered in January, 1970 and so the above highlighted contributions must be viewed in that context. Equally important is the fact that the said contributions were achieved with a lean budget as the economy of Eastern Nigeria was driven largely by agriculture and export of cash crops which required efficient allocation and management of very scarce revenue. When the above abridged citation is juxtaposed with the citations of most of your honorees, it becomes quite evident that a big chunk of history has been omitted.
In closing, I would crave your Excellency’s indulgence to advise that assignments such as this, should not be handled by partisan politicians who are prone to acting in self, group or sectional interest but should be reserved for competent apolitical intellectuals and historians many of whom abound in Rivers State. Finally, permit me to repeat that the essence of this correspondence is not to seek conferment of any award on HRM Chief Hon. J.H.E. Nwuke MP, Ogbuzo II, Onyishi Etche but to provide in line with the objective of the subject publication, a fuller, more authentic and consistent history of our people as we press on to forge a more perfect and just State.
Yours Sincerely,
ZUBI NWUKE ESQ.
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