| Urhobo Historical
Society |
Mrs. Victoria Oti Akpobome [n�e Ighoyivvwi]
(1942-2012),
Heroine of
Education and Development, Dies in Quiet Dignity
By Professor Peter
Ekeh
Chairman, Urhobo
Historical Society
A major casualty of
the current cultural crisis in Nigeria is the shrinking space
that we have devoted to the work of heroes and heroines among
us. (Henceforth, I will not separate, grammatically, good men
from good women, heroes from heroines.) By heroes I refer to
men and women whose life works have lifted others from
disadvantaged circumstances in their own lives. Heroes go out
of wonted and customary paths of self-preservation and
self-interest to help others. Heroes make a difference in the
welfare of their communities.
By these standards,
Mrs. Victoria Oti Akpobome,
who died in quiet dignity at Delta State University Teaching
Hospital at Oghara on Saturday, June 2, 2012, is fully
entitled to wear the badge of a hero. I knew Oti well because
we were first cousins who were close to each other for most of
her life-time. Teeming thousands of people from her hometown
of Uhwokori in the Urhobo heartland respected this woman who
worked hard to improve their community. Her former students
and colleagues, who encountered this lady of many gifts,
admired Oti�s extraordinary achievements. On my part, I am in
awe of her accomplishments, first, because she overcame great
odds to attain them and, second, because she helped others to
reach higher than their limited circumstances would allow them
to dream.
Mrs. Akpobome�s
achievements are remarkable because they had improbable little
beginnings. Oti herself told the story of how she accidentally
began school. It is a story whose genre belongs to colonial
times; it is worth retelling it to a younger generation of
post-colonial Nigerians. Although her father, Ighoyivwi
Eriomala, was literate and was well schooled in the ways of
colonial education, he was nonetheless a traditionalist. He
had no plans to send his first daughter to school. On the
other hand, even before his first son came of school age, he
pushed him to be enrolled at the Catholic School, Kokori
Inland. The problem was that little Henry was often beaten up
by some troublesome boys on the way to and from school. Oti
was therefore assigned the responsibility of protecting her
kid brother by escorting him to and back from school.
One day, the school
Headmaster, Mr. Obi, an imposing Ukwuani man, saw Oti playing
in the schoolyard. He asked her why she was not in class. Oti
told Mr. Obi that she was only there to take care of her
little brother. The Headmaster narrated this incident to his
wife, also an Ukwuani woman. It so happened
that Oti�s mother too was an Ukwuani woman. Mrs. Obi then paid
a visit to her fellow Ukwuani woman in order to prevail on her
to try to persuade her husband to let Oti enroll in school. As
it turned out, Oti�s father had no objection. And so she began
attending classes in her own right. Then, to her father�s
amazement, Oti was brilliant beyond comparison in her school
work � beating her classmates in school exams.
Thereafter, Chief
Philip Ighoyivwi Eriomala, Oti�s father and my uncle, became
his daughter�s greatest supporter in her pursuit of education.
Fearing that the school environment at Kokori might not fully
support his daughter�s abilities, he brought Oti to me at
Ibadan in March 1957. She enrolled in an elementary school in
Mokola, Ibadan. Despite being a new girl in her school, she
again excelled. In late 1958, Oti followed me to Irrua in
Ishan Division where she had the balance of her elementary
school education. It was from Irrua that she entered St. Maria
Gorreti Catholic Girls� Secondary School in Benin City in
January 1960. Eventually, she transferred to Owerri Girls�
Secondary School, moving to Eastern Nigeria with our uncle,
Samuel Awhinawhi, who was the pioneering Managing Director of
Kwa River Rubber Station in Calabar Province of Colonial
Nigeria.
This complex series
of relocation for a young girl is worth recalling because it
demonstrates an abiding aspect of Mrs. Akpobome�s character.
For many, such frequent movement across the sub-cultures of
colonial Nigeria might have been a source of instability,
leading to crushing failures. Instead, for Oti, each new
challenge was an opportunity to compete and excel.
Mrs. Oti Akpobome
carried that element of character to her adult work
experiences. Following a stint of post-secondary school
education at Adeyemi College of Education in Ondo and a
teaching spell in Bendel State, Oti left for the US with her
husband in 1972. Characteristically, she took full opportunity
of her five years in the US to attain a good amount of
education, acquiring an excellent first degree in English and
a Master�s degree in Education from the University of Kansas.
Mrs. Akpobome�s
gifts and talents blossomed into the public domain when she
joined Bendel State Teaching Service on her return from the
United States in 1977. Her administrative prowess was fully
recognized by the Ministries of Education in Bendel State and,
later, in Delta State. There are probably very few teachers
who ever attained Mrs. Akpobome�s standards of serving as
Principal of so many secondary schools with such enviable
results. In doing so, she touched the lives of many young
women. The list of secondary schools where Mrs. Akpobome was
Principal is impressive: Okpara Girls� Grammar School, Okpara
Inland, Delta State (1983-86); St. Ita�s
Girls Grammar School, Sapele (1986-1993); Our Lady�s High
School, Effurun (1994-97); St. Theresa�s Grammar School,
Ughelli (1997-2001); and Girls� Model Secondary School,
Evwreni (2002-2004). Remarkably, in the last two instances at
Ughelli and Evwreni, Mrs. Akpobome served at the highest rank
of �Principal Merit Grade.�
Without doubt, Mrs.
Akpobome�s record in the field of education was rare and
praiseworthy. However, in her hometown of Uhwokori and in
significant areas of Urhoboland and Western Niger Delta, Mrs.
Akpobome is much better known for her other services. First,
the history of this region will correctly record that Oti
introduced modern fish farming industry to Uhwokori and
neighbouring towns in northeastern Urhoboland.
Mrs. Akpobome
narrated with great delight the story of how it all came to
pass. In her capacity as Principal, Mrs. Akpobome attended an
advertised seminar on �Fish Farming.� She came back from that
seminar convinced that this new industry would benefit the
Delta areas, certainly her own home community of Uhwokori. But
what she did afterwards to achieve that goal was not the stuff
of academic seminars. Until the 1980s, the northern outskirts
of Uhwokori had rubber plantations that were water-logged for
much of the year. Their rubber trees were no longer as
valuable as they were in the 1950s when rubber products were
economically profitable. Thus, the value of these rubber
plantations had become badly depressed. In a move that
initially baffled the townsfolk, Oti purchased these
water-logged terrains. Then, to the curiosity and amusement of
many in the town � and, truthfully, to the initial agony of
her immediate family � Oti brought tractors and bull-dozers to
clear away the aging rubber trees and to prepare fish ponds in
their stead. The rest was history for the entire town to see.
Fish was plentiful and Oti�s venture was a financial success.
Significantly,
others now joined this new modernized fish industry. Hundreds
of townsfolk were employed in the new industry. Oti named her
enterprise VOTIA:
an acronym coined from Victoria
Oti Akpobome. VOTIA remains one of the largest fish
farms in the Niger Delta. For her ingenuity and spectacular
achievements, the Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON) awarded
Mrs. Akpobome and VOTIA its prestigious �Corporate Award of
Excellence, 2001.� FISON characterized its 2001 award as
follows: This
Certificate of Merit is awarded to Votia Fish Farm for First
Female Commercial and Promising Fish Farm [in Nigeria].
More importantly, VOTIA brought good economy and great pride
to Uhwokori. It made Oti a hero of her people.
The people of
Uhwokori will remember Oti for another achievement that has
benefitted them enormously. Although Uhwokori could boast of
many accomplished and educated people � Rex Akpofure, the
first African Principal of Kings College, Lagos, is readily
and often cited as an example � the town itself lacked great
educational institutions, especially ones that the townsfolk
can afford. Many patriotic Uhwokori people are aware of this
deficiency, especially in respect of the education of women.
Oti decided to use her good fortunes to do something to remedy
this handicap.
Providing an
affordable private education in a rural environment is
difficult, especially in view of the high cost of
infrastructure that would be involved. Oti saw a solution. The
late Chief Justice Ayo Irikefe, who hailed from Uhwokori, had
in his native town a sprawling house that was largely unused.
Mrs. Akpobome rented Irikefe�s massive building and turned it
into a flourishing private secondary school. She named it: All Saints College,
Kokori. Today, All Saints College has matured into a
credible secondary school with a number of its early alumni
already enrolled in Nigerian universities.
Mrs. Victoria Oti
Akpobome�s other projects and charities, big and small, are
legion. For her efforts, achievements, compassion, and
patriotism, Oti received numerous awards in her lifetime.
These diverse tokens of recognition came from a wide range. To
cite two notable examples: Mrs. Akpobome received from Abuja,
�Development in Nigeria
Merit Award, 2008.� In 2009, she received from Urhobo
Historical Society its prestigious 10th
Anniversary Service Award, particularly for Mrs.
Akpobome�s passionate campaign for the preservation of Urhobo
language.
By modern
standards, Mrs. Victoria Oti Akpobome died young. But her life
was one of great fulfillment. Especially after retirement from
public service, Oti spent an inordinate amount of time
promoting causes that benefitted the Catholic Church, her
beloved hometown of Uhwokori, Urhoboland, and indeed the
Western Niger Delta. She came to this earth and made her
corner of our planet a better place for others. For that she
will be remembered by many as a hero. It is only fair and
truthful to add that Mrs. Akpobome disdained the villainy that
has besmirched Nigeria�s political affairs in recent decades.
That was perhaps why she chose not to seek political office,
despite several attempts to push her into doing so. She
preferred to serve the people�s interests in ways that would
not demean their lives.
Chief Samson
Akpobome, Oti�s husband, died less than a year ago. It was a
painful loss for Oti. Now, their daughter, Miss Okiemute
Akpobome, will once again grieve the loss of a beloved parent.
She should be assured that she will have a throng of mourners
who will grieve with her. The people of Uhwokori loved her
parents as a couple devoted to the welfare of their common
hometown. Okiemute should be proud that her mother was a hero
for so many. Oti was certainly my hero.
MAY HER SOUL REST IN
PERFECT PEACE
Buffalo, USA
June 8, 2012