Benin, Edo, Nigeria – By Oladipo Airenakho .
Edo State Government has immortalized one-time Executive Secretary of the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) and Commissioner for Education in the defunct Bendel State, Chief Tayo Akpata, by renaming the state’s College of Education, Ekiadolor Tayo Akpata University of Education.
At a funeral service in honour of the late Chief Akpata last weekend, Governor Adams Oshiomhole who made the announcement said the College of Education, Ekiadolor which was recently upgraded to a university status would now be known by the new name.
Oshiomhole said, “We feel the pain of the loss of our Elder Statesman, a man whose life symbolizes the fighting spirit, the resourcefulness, the intellectual capacity of the Edo people. One who has shown that the average Edo person is not contented at looking after himself alone but often is willing to carry the burden of others.”
Oftentimes, he said “Nigerians talk of immortalizing people who are rich in naira but the greatest wealth in my view is what contribution one has made to the development of his community and there is no question that Chief Tayo Akpata was a shining example of what we all can do individually to make a difference in our community.”
The Governor told the audience that his administration reflected on the exemplary life and works of the late elder statesman and concluded that he deserved the honor.
That way, he remarked “our young ones will recognize that people are immortalized not because they feature in the list of Nigeria’s richest men or women but on account of their rich contributions and the role they play in the lives of very ordinary people.”
Comrade Oshiomhole recalled having a meeting with the late chief and some other leaders of the state, discussing the challenges of Edo State and how to approach the task of repositioning the heartbeat of the nation, following the election that gave him (Oshiomhole) Osadebe Avenue.
“I can tell you that some of the things God has used us to accomplish in this state were as a result of those conversations that I had with our late elder statesman. So if I say I am indebted to him, I can’t quantify those debts and I think Edo people are indebted to him for making his contributions to the development of our great state.”
He regretted not being able to see him before he passed on. “He was extremely supportive of my intention, of my project that brought me here as the Governor of this state.”
The Governor remembered him as one who was a student union activist at a time when student unionism was for young men of character and courage, at a time when it was about struggle and taking patriotic positions on national issues.
“In Akpata was a man who even outside the shores of this country was an activist. As a young man he was persuaded by the ideals of the Labour Party in Britain. He didn’t see himself as a foreigner who came for the specific purpose to learn and acquire knowledge but we had a young activist who identified with Labour Party and went out to mobilize and canvass for votes,” Comrade Oshiomhole remarked.
Chief Osayande Omotayo Akpata, also first Chairman of the National Youth Service Corps (Mid-West State) in 1975, and acting Registrar at the University of Ibadan, before he retired in 1975, died on October 14, 2014 at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife, Olabisi and children.
He was also the first State chairman of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) during the second republic.
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