Hardworking Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State is one man that easily identifies with the poor because of his humble background. In this interview, the medical doctor turned politician talked about his life in the village and private life. It’s a readers’ delight and collectors’ item. Read on…

Infancy (His Birth)

My birth was not really extraordinarily eventful; my grandmother took me when I was really young, about two years of age. I lived in Mosogar till my Primary Five, when I left for Oghara to complete my primary school education. While growing up in Mosogar, under the tutelage of my grandmother, she inculcated in me the sense of discipline. A typical day, for us, was waking up by the first cockcrow. The second crow was for us to get ready and the third crow was for us to go to the farm.

My Grandmother, Nene Abode

I was always the first to get to school. In a way, that put the responsibility of holding the keys to what you can call the staff room, the headmaster’s office and some other rooms that had locks then, on me. This routine shaped my sense of punctuality and dedication.

An Unusual Enrolment Into School

I was really interested in education at early age. The enrolment was not based on age but whether or not your hand fingers actually can touch your ear on the other side of your face. So, being very small, and obviously with short limb reach, I was not admitted because my hand could not touch my ear. One day, a teacher called Emmanuel met me still crying as he came to greet my grandmother. He asked me to stop crying and assured that he would take me to school. In school, he would ask me to sit by the door, as he taught the Primary One pupils and that was how I got involved in the learning process, even though I was not part of the school’s official process. So, by the next term, I was already part of Primary One and eventually became part of the next class at the end of the academic year. Luckily, that year was not lost for me.

Mosogar: A Lost Paradise?

The early part of my life at Mosogar was great fun; unlike today, we had clean, pure air, rich soil and clean water. The usual breakfast was at the farm; lunch can mean putting your palm fruits on the fire and rushing to the river literally to catch fish and rushing back home to use the fresh fish for your Banga soup. The water was so clean that, if you could get to the bottom of the river, you could scoop the white sand and use it to wash your teeth; the same water was clean enough to drink and for other household uses.

Behold The Mail Runner and Stamp Collector

I was made the mail runner for my school when I was in Primary Four. I had to take mails fro Mosogar to another community called Jesse, where there was a local postal agency, and take back mails for my school.

In the course of doing this, I developed an interest in stamps. So, I started collecting stamps. As my curiosity and the collection increased, I started writing to the addresses, without necessarily expecting any replies. I was just fascinated by the stamps and their importance. Soon, some of the international companies, to which I was writing, became interested in my collection and started writing back to me, indicating their interest to collect my stamps. Some of their letters contained information about their outfits, which then, did not make any meaning to me, but which, with the benefit of hindsight were, infact, some kind of proposal. Then, my young, innocent mind did not tell me the seriousness of what I was doing.

Lashing The Teacher: A Grandmother’s Unusual Fury

One of the letters came on the day I was not the one who ran the mail errand, which was then given to my headmaster, who opened it and found that it contained a catalogue of a particular outfit. Raging at his shock, he sought to know what a Primary Four Pupil was doing with a catalogue of an international organization. Then, without any investigation, he announced I was going to be sorely punished publicly for doing that. Consequently, he put me on a flat table, before the entire school community, and caned me. When I got home, I told my grandmother. Surprisingly, she kept quiet. Later, when my father visited, my grandmother showed him my stamp collection and the catalogue sent to me. My father calmly explained that I had not committed any offence. The next morning, my grandmother took her long whip and her chair and sat by the corner of a long narrow footpath that served as a thoroughfare for both pedestrians and those who rode motorcycles and bicycles. Nobody actually knew what my grandmother was up to. In no time, however, the cat was let out of the bag. The teacher stopped to offer her greetings.

However, Nene was in no mood for his pleasantries. In a jiffy, she reached for her cane and, in a sweep of breeze, lashed him as many times as hard as she could muster. Satisfied, she went home. She had repaid the teacher in equal measure for the needless punishment of her grandson for the offenses of collecting stamps and writing to international organizations. Infact, she insisted on the headmaster apologies for unjustly punishing me.

20’s Dad’s Greatest Gift To Me

My dad told me I should try and read Psalm 23 every morning. That, to me, remains the greatest gift he gave to me in life, and that, I believe, is part of what has helped me to be where I am today. Psalm 23 says ‘The Lord prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies’.

Feud Over Course Of Study

My father wanted me to study Medicine, but I wanted to study Accountancy. So, I went to the University of Ibadan and applied to read Medicine but stuck to my plan to study Accountancy.

The Runaway Accountant

As I never paid any attention to any of the universities to which I had applied to study Medicine, when my result came out, that I was nowhere to be found.

However, an aunt of mine found out where I worked through my boss. She told my father who came to the office and spoke with me after which, we both went home. There was a window of opportunity open for Microbiology in UNIBEN. I was admitted. The next year, I switched over to read Medicine. That was how my father’s desire was eventually fulfilled.

Role Model

I never really had a role model. As a child, I wanted to please my grandmother and not disappoint her as she was very dear to me.

Now, I have people I admire a lot, for various reasons and attributes. One of them remains Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Though, I never got to meet him in life.

Another person is Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria and, undoubtedly, one of the country’s statesmen and most knowledgeable Nigerian on the country’s affairs.

Some Of My Happiest Moments

I have had many happy days, that I cannot recall them all. My first day in the university; my first bursary; the day I got employed as a house officer at the UBTH, Benin. Owning my private clinic, named Nene Abode, after my beloved grandmother. How I met and married my wife, when we had our children and grandchild.

30’s My Contact With, And Marriage To Roli

By now, I was working as a resident doctor at the Delta Steel Complex, D.S.C,

Ovwian Aladja, Delta State, when I heard of my ‘wife for the first time. Then, I had this friend of mine who was always harassing me to get married. He later told me that he had a niece who was ‘wife material: Eventually, when Roli came in, I went to see her. Like someone who was meeting the person God designed for him or her, I got attracted to her. So, we talked; later, I went back to my house, though, right inside of me, I knew then that I had seen my wife. Her father had served as a Military Administrator. What I saw was a woman I could stay with as husband and wife. And that is why I would always advise younger ones planning to marry to not expect a perfect partner; once you are able to get much of the value you are looking in your partner, there is no point hesitating. This is because, with time, as both of you live together, the other things will, quite naturally, fall in place.

Today, I have what you can call a small family; a lovely daughter, a son, a son in-law and a granddaughter; of course, that is aside of myself and my beloved wife.

My wife and I started raising a family in what you can call stages; we passed through various stages in our marriage. When we started, things were not as they are now. So, it will not be right to say that we have had it rosy from the start. We have had our fair share of the difficult times, too.

My Wife And My Beetle Car

From when I met my wife till the time we had our daughter, Orode, I had a Volkswagen Beetle car. When I met her, she looked like a tomboy, and was always smart like a boy. So, each time I carried her in the car, because a Beetle car has no back door, she would adjust the front seat backwards and place her legs on its dashboard, and adjust the small side mirror of the car to let in air directly to her. Thereafter, she would start her then favourite concocted song ‘Give me an air conditioned car, a car with an air conditioner like the one in the Mercedes Benz, not like the one in the Volkswagen Beetle: That was her popular song each time she came into the Beetle car.

Luckily, when we got married, after some time, things got better; eventually, she got her Benz, and today, that song is popular in my household. Looking back now, I will say that God had granted her much more than she sang and yearned for.

40’s My Family Size

My family is really a close-knit one; my wife is what you can call, by the grace of God, a perfect home-keeper. So, raising the kids with her is one of the sweetest things that ever happened to me. I enjoy my family a great deal. To me, there were no hard parts, only challenges that can come up with raising kids in a society that can influence children negatively, if adequate care is not taken. Fortunately, God has given us children that, I am proud to say, are generally well-behaved and who are not generally negatively influenced by the society or even the position of their parents. I have great joy watching my children grow up.

My Defence Mechanism

Talking less and listening more is my defence mechanism. My response to issues, even nagging ones, can be silence. Though I cannot say exactly if I was born with this silent trait, since my grandmother, who raised me, was quite harsh. I know I also have the tendency to be harsh but I have been able to suppress it, and the result is what you can see today.

50’s Toughest Decisions Taken As Governor

The toughest decision I have had to take as governor did not necessarily have to do with popularity. Governance is not about popularity. I have had to take decisions which sometimes were not quite popular, but which, over time, proved quite beneficial for everyone.

Family Values And Cultures

We have many family cultures: we always pray together. We remember birthdays and anniversaries. Children, character and love cannot be measured by wealth which is the meaning of my name Uduaghan.

– Courtesy: THISDAY Style