BY RT. HON. OCHOR CHRISTOPHER OCHOR

BIO-DATA

THE late distinguished Senator (Chief) Patrick Enebeli Osakwewas born in the late forties to a deeply cultural Osakwe extended family of Ugili¬-Amai, a prominent member of the Onicha- Ukwuani extended family, made up of Onicha-Ukwuani, AmojiUgili- Amai, lbabu and Ike-Onicha, all in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State.

EARLY EDUCATION

Young Patrick Osakwe loved the quiet world of learning and instruction, and so he was attracted to the classroom early in life at an age when the extended family was deeply obsessed with farming and the endless growth of large barns of yams arranged in a manner that-reminds us of the Okonkwo spectacles in Chinua Achebes ‘Things Fall Apart’.

His love for education made him go through elementary school in Ugili-Amai rapidly, showing signs of a bright mind full of rich potential. In a short time, Enebeli, as he was affectionately called by his doting parents, was admitted to the now defunct Modern School, a post-primary educational facility, established and popularized by the British colonial class which technically came as a temporary stop-gap for admission to an enrolment in the conventional school facility which then was relatively in short supply in the defunct Aboh Division, an administrative arm of old Warii Province.

Young Patrick proved to be exceptionally intelligent modern school pupil, and his genius was clearly attested to by one of his instructors, Mr. Obah of Ugili-Amai.

Incidentally, as the post-colonial social economy created some strains and stresses in a social system that was used to agriculture, choice of occupation gradually shifted to the option of white collar jobs.

A responsive and competitive Osakwe family of Ugili-Amai then opted for the induction of their bright ward in the evolving post-colonial economy, and this, interestingly, was the fateful historical point where a future Mid-West, Bendel and later Delta States, would witness the remarkable rise to business and political fame of a uniquely endowed individual as Chief Patrick Osakwe.

BUSINESS AND POLITICAL CAREER

As young Patrick Enebeli Osakwe left elementary and modern schools, exhibiting glittering academic records, he served briefly as produce clerk in a number of merchandize firms created by the colonial economy, and some of them were UAC, SCOA, John Holt and AT and P. Due to a burning entrepreneurial spirit in the young man, a new commercial ventures, known as Flash Pools, blossomed into bubbling commercial impact, as pools-betting gradually and usefully engaged the growing youths and also added value to the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the then military dictatorship between the Samuel Ogbemudia regime of (1967-1975) and the subsequent dispensations of George Innih, Hussaini Abdulahi and Abubakai Waziri regimes of (1975-1978), steadily onto the democratic dispensation between (1979 and 1983).

In between this rosy spell, a commercial vibrant late Patrick Osakwe brokered a product service distributorship venture with Peugeot Alliance D’ Nigeria (PAN) based in Kaduna, wherein brand-new Peugeot cars and pick-up vans would be distributed to buyers with a facility maintenance clause attached to the distributorship scheme. This was how the great and unforgettable Evidence Motors came into being and gradually made waves into the cyclic eras of military dictatorship and civil democratic leadership Evidence Motors had imposing product and service warehouses in major cities and towns throughout the defunct Bendel State, including Benin-City, Agbor, Obiaruku and Sapele, and it became a sign-post of a fast-growing economy, offering employment opportunities to young, able-bodied men, until the dark days of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), where a rapid fall in the value of the Pound currency, the naira and a general artificial rise in commodity and service prices brought a steep decline in the post-colonial economy.

University Education And The Rise Of Flash Airlines And The Great Flash Flamingoes Football Club

In the full bloom of his bold commercial investments, a positively ambitious late Patrick Enebeli Osakwe swiftly dusted his school books, disposed off pre-university commitments in flying colours and eventually gained admission to University of Benin to read Political Science in October, 1982.

In between the transitory spell, Chief Osakwe established Flash Airlines, a Cargo Aviation outfit which helped greatly to enhance the prevailing import-export economy. Not done with the wonder of Flash Air, an unstoppable Enebeli joined the growing ranks of football proprietors in Nigeria with the establishment of Flash Flamingoes, after a commercially smooth buy-over clause had been perfected between Flash Group and the Nigeria Rubber Board.

The period between 1986 and 1988 was glorious for the vibrant investors known as Chief Patrick Enebeli Osakwe in June, 1986, the late Patrick Enebeli Osakwe was the Political Scientist who had passed out with a first class degree in the discipline, an unprecedented feat in the history of the department, and then in 1988, just two years later, the newly established flash of the 1988 National Challenge Cup where they played lwuanyawu National, another glorious achievement.

THE THUNDERBOLT OF A POLITICAL CAREER

As Chief Patrick Enebeli Osakwe stride from one resounding achievement to another, in June 1999 he was elected and sworn-in as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, signaling a political career that blossomed into a huge success, representing Delta North Senatorial District, from (1999 – 2011).

In the red chamber, a vibrant Evidence was positively contributory to the passage of many bills that impacted on the lives of his senatorial District, including and the Niger Delta Development Commission legal instrument that preceded the landmark infrastructural development project in Nigeria’s number one oil producer.

Personality And Social Life

In as much as the spirit of the bold entrepreneur and investor, Patrick Enebeli Osakwe had appropriately sought induction into the Ugili-Amai Traditional Council, where he became a chief (Onotu).

The late Chief Patrick Enebeli Osakwe, Distinguished Senator, was a lovely and bubbling humourist, whose perception of life was a mixture of realism and humanism. He was jovial, but witty and deeply compassionate, whose open hands impacted on many lives in his native Ugili-Amai, as well as the four walls of his political sojourn, where myself, Rt. Hon. Ochor Ochor is a benefactor, serving as a legislative Aide, from (1999- 2003), The Distinguished Senator was a bundle of humour, good spirit and full of life. The late Senator Patrick Enebeli Osakwe will always be remembered by all politicians in the North, South, East and Western Nigeria because he came, saw and conquered – “Vini Vidi Vici”. His example remains a classic in the narrative on contemporary Nigeria.

May his soul RestIn Peace. Adieu; the People’s Senator.

Rt. Hon. Ochor Christopher Ochor is Deputy Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly

• News

• Editorial

• Business

• Economy

• Column

• Education

• Sports

• Features

• Opinion

• Foreign News

• Entertainment

• Politics

• Crime

• Security

• Agriculture

• Environment

• Human Angle

• Labour

• College News

• Technology/Digital

• Health/Medical

• Interview

• Personality

• Religion

• Judiciary/Law

• Assembly

• Arbitration

• LIFESTYLE

• SOCIAL ADVOCACY CORNER

• Relationship

• SPECIAL FEATURES

• NIGER DELTA

• METRO

• OIL AND GAS

• around delta