{"id":23999,"date":"2014-03-07T22:29:17","date_gmt":"2014-03-07T21:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=23999"},"modified":"2014-03-07T22:29:17","modified_gmt":"2014-03-07T21:29:17","slug":"hon-t-n-paul-birabi-the-forgotten-nigerian-nationalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/hon-t-n-paul-birabi-the-forgotten-nigerian-nationalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Hon T.N. Paul Birabi: The Forgotten Nigerian Nationalist"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Davio Teniente<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I will begin with one of my favourite quotes: “If Nigeria were to be a
\nlimited liability company, Hon T.N. Paul Birabi would have been a major
\nshareholder”.<\/p>\n

Reading through the Biography of Hon. Timothy Naakuu Paul Birabi
\n(1916-1953), member of the Nigerian delegation who attended the London
\nconference of 1953 to negotiate Nigeria’s independence, founder of the
\nfirst secondary school in Ogoniland, founder of the first hospital in
\nOgoniland, the first Ogoni university graduate, the man who was
\ninstrumental to the establishment of over 50 primary schools in Ogoni
\nland, i found the exclusion of this gentleman from the Nigeria’s centenary
\nhonours list as representing the diminishing capacity of our country and
\nthose we choose to make decisions for us.<\/p>\n

Hon. T.N. Paul Birabi’s exclusion from the centenary awards list hurts the
\ntrue spirit of our nationhood. It hurts the efforts of this great and
\nexceptional founding father and nationalist, his friends like Dr Nnamdi
\nAzikiwe who knew him personally and acknowledged his capacity during his
\nspeech at his graveside.<\/p>\n

I am in difficulty of finding the most apt words to describe this
\ngovernment’s decision to exclude Hon. Birabi from Nigeria’s centenary
\nhonours list. I blame not just those who sat to make the selection but the
\nfact that those who approved the selected list could not identify the
\nabsence of Hon. T.N. Paul Birabi is to show the level of depravity we
\naccord to national commitment. I could only reason that those who made the
\nselection were most likely not in right tune with Nigeria’s history, I
\nreason that they were too much in a hurry to do a decent job or they could
\nhave been influenced by the fact that this great nationalist came from a
\nsmall and marginalized community – Ogoniland.<\/p>\n

Hon T.N. Paul Birabi’s achievements are simply staggering and i see no
\npossibility of an Ogoniman who can match the heights attained by this
\ngentleman. Unfortunately, he died in 1953 at the age of 37. May his soul
\nrest in peace.<\/p>\n

Eminent historians, Profs. Tamuno and Alagoa, wrote his biography and had
\nthis to say about him:<\/p>\n

“When Timothy Naakuru Paul Birabi left the safety of his teaching
\nprofession to join the boisterous field of politics his challenges seemed
\nto increase. In 1953 he was fully involved in the crisis that had
\nentangled the National Council of Nigeria and with the Cameroons (N.C.N.C)
\nhierarchy at the Eastern House of Assembly in Enugu. The Council of
\nministers led by Prof. Eyo-Ita had rebelled against the N.C.N.C party and
\nthe Eastern House of Assembly was dissolved just one year after the
\nlegislature had been introduced. This meant that he had to go back to the
\nOgoni electorate to seek re-election. His reputation before his death
\nstretched beyond the precincts of his community and he had acquired
\nnational significance as a member of Nigeria’s highest legislative chamber
\nthe Federal House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

It was as a member of N.C.N.C. team that he went to London in 1953 along
\nwith representatives of Northern People Congress (NPC) and Action Group
\nParty to negotiate with British Government at constitutional conference
\nthat ushered in autonomous Government and subsequent independence for
\nNigeria.<\/p>\n

Although a member of the official N.C.N.C. delegation at that time he was
\nalso the president of River’s association, an organisation set up to
\ncampaign for special treatment in the provision of social amenities for
\nthe Niger Delta people of Nigeria. Timothy Naakuu Paul Birabi championed
\nthe proposal of chief Dappa Biriye for treating the people of the Niger
\nDelta, which include the ogoni people, as unique area requiring a special
\ndevelopment programme. It was these shared view that led the British
\nGovernment to institute the Willink commission of inquiry in 1957 to
\nexplore the demands of the Niger Delta for the creation of a separate
\nstate to cater for peculiar needs of its people was either understood by
\ntheir neighbours in what was then eastern Nigeria.<\/p>\n

The commission headed by British administrator Mr. Henry Willink did not
\nrecommend the creation of a separate state. However, it recommended that
\nbecause of specific challenges of the region and what appeared to be
\nneglect by the Government of eastern Nigeria, the Federal Nigerian Delta
\nDevelopment Authority be established to find solution to address the
\nproblem of the region. These were all the precursors to the establishment
\nof the present Rivers State which was created by the Federal Military
\nGovernment in May 1968. Indeed Timothy Naakuu Paul Birabi M.H.R. (Member
\nHouse of Representatives) had within his short spell with the N.C.N.C.
\nmade such an impact that he was already positioned as Minister for
\nEducation following the 1953 elections.<\/p>\n

On his return to Nigeria in October 1953 from the Constitution Conference,
\nhe found his wife had fallen ill. Sadly Mrs Paul Birabi never recovered
\nand later passed away from acute malaria shortly afterwards on 11th
\nOctober 1953 at the age of just twenty two. This tragedy left Timothy
\nNaakuru Paul Birabi broken-hearted and with two small children. He fell
\nill himself shortly afterwards and was taken to General Hospital in Bori.
\nHowever on the 23rd November 1953 Timothy Naakuru Paul Birabi passed away
\nat the age of 37 throwing the entire Ogoni community into mourning.
\nLegacy<\/p>\n

Timothy Naakuru Paul Birabi path to greatness is connected with various
\nactivities and achievements during the last five years of his life. These
\nwere so profound that the history of the change which occurred in the
\nsocial, educational and political history of Ogoni read like the history
\nof the life and achievements of Timothy Naakuru Paul birabi. He was a
\nleader and motivator and his personality was embossed on the mode of the
\nvarious changes that occurred within Ogoni between 1948 and 1953. Never
\nbefore or since has such a profound, lasting and momentous change occurred
\nwithin Ogoni. Even if one concedes that the changes were bound to occur,
\nthe timing and style of these changes were certainly attributable to his
\nleadership and sheer force of personality. Furthermore, he was the first
\nOgoni man not only to obtain an academic degree, but to critically use his
\neducation as an instrument to better his people by addressing fundamental
\nissues of development.<\/p>\n

Socially the Ogoni community into which Timothy Naakuru Paul Birabi was
\nborn was essentially an illiterate one. Engrossed in agricultural
\npursuits, the Ogoni appeared to be under the yolk of their more civilized
\nneighbours. As such the Ogoni nationality owes her exposure in educational
\npursuits and achievements in the 1950s and 60s both to his personal
\nexample and his mission. The success of Timothy Naakuru Paul Birabi the
\nfirst Ogoniman who rose from humble beginnings to frame through the
\nattainment of University education – is still a shining beacon of what can
\nbe achieved if one applies oneself to academic pursuit for the benefit of
\nthe community.<\/p>\n

For a man from one of the smallest tribes in Nigeria to have been held in
\nsuch high esteem by colleagues from all parts of the region in the
\nNational Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (N.C.N.C) was proof of the
\nrecognition of Timothy Naakuru Paul Birabi’s qualities and abilities among
\nhis party members. Although death deprived the nation of exploiting his
\nfull potential, it is a tribute to his memory that his potential was
\nacknowledged by the party hierarchy.<\/p>\n

His unrelenting representation of his people is still, to this day
\nunparalleled. He pressured the N.C.N.C government of Eastern Nigeria to
\ngrant scholarship to qualified sons of Ogoni to study abroad. Two
\nprominent beneficiaries were Messrs Monday Danwi (Medicine) and Ignatius
\nKogbara (History and Political Science). By spearheading the establishment
\nof post primary schools in Ogoni he sought to bring education nearer to
\nhis people. Amongst all his achievements and contributions to his
\ncommunity, one intangible but immensely important milestone stands out and
\nhas lived on long after his death. Administratively, the Ogoni were
\ntreated as an appendage of the Opobo and administered as part of the
\nCalabar province. Indeed it is due to Timothy Naakuru Paul Birabi and a
\nsmall number of other Ogoni leaders that Ogoni has its separate identity
\ntoday. He preached the unity of the Ogoni and the right to equality with
\ntheir neighbours. To the Ogoni, maligned and treated with derision by
\ntheir more educated and wealthier neighbours, Timothy Naakuu Paul Birabi’s
\nabilities and achievements stood unparalleled and helped to promote the
\nconfidence and pride of the people. As such the Ogoni have since held
\ntheir own, politically and socially.<\/p>\n

Dr. Azikiwe’s funeral service tribute at the grave side of the late
\nTimothy Naakuru Paul Birabi, MHR., B.A., F.R.G.S. still remains the most
\napt description of this general, charismatic son of Ogoni:
\n“Nigeria has lost a worthy son and the Ogoni nation has lost a sun “.<\/p>\n

He is well and truly established as the father of Modern Ogoni.”
\nT.N. Paul Birabi is accepted as the greatest leader the Ogoni community
\nhas ever had. He is yardstick against which subsequent leaders had been
\nmeasured and his name still conjures amongst the Ogoni a reverence and
\ncall for unity which no other leader before or since has been able to
\nachieve.<\/p>\n

Nigeria did not deem it fit to honour this great gift to our dear country.
\nAn action that over 1,000,000 Ogoni people will consider a continuum of
\nNigeria’s oppression of the Ogoni people. An action that could evoke the
\nperception of Ogoni oppression as a state policy. An action that could
\nhurt Ogoni patriotism within the Nigerian state and move our society
\nsignificantly backward as one where achievement and excellence are never
\nrewarded.<\/p>\n

An apology for this grievous mistake will not be enough. The remedy will
\nbe a national honour in recognition for this man, an exceptionally
\nbrilliant personality whose exit affected Nigeria’s future in a way only
\nthose who understand, his capacity and the educational revolution Nigeria
\nforfeited by his not mounting the office of a federal minister for
\neducation, can appreciate. If for nothing, he deserves to be honored for
\nhis role in the negotiation of Nigeria’s independence and for the
\neducation and care he gave to a section of this country – the Ogoni
\npeople.<\/p>\n

Author: Fegalo Nsuke, founder of Ogoninews.com. For comments, email to:
\nfegalo@ogoninews.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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