Without his sacrificial
effort and writing on Esan history we would not have the detail information in
our disposal of Esan history today. He "laboured for years, collecting and
analysing" the traditions of Esan people, which he published in 1960. The
collection is extensive (338 pages); ten chapters are given over to custom and
laws, and twenty-five to individual histories of the various chieftaincies.
C
H. Okojie has done a remarkable job on
Esan traditions, devoting twenty-four pages to the historical traditions of one
chiefdom group which celebrates annually their common historical origin. Few
African peoples have had their traditions collected in such detail, in such
quantity and with such care, devotion, and intelligence. Today we salute our
hero my hero Dr Christopher
Gbelokoto Okojie, in whose
step I am following.
See
what you can do for Esanland today. Williams Patrick Praise Jr.
By
Mr. Friday Okonofua.
Dr
Christopher Gbelokoto Okojie, who died on October 7, 2006
at the age of 86 years, was one of the most distinguished medical doctors in
Nigeria in the second half of the twentieth century. He graduated from the
medical school in 1947, and immediately began a career in rural medical practice
two years later. He founded the pioneer private medical Centre in Esanland, the
Zuma Memorial Hospital on March 27, 1950, which was the main medical centre
available to the people of the area for the subsequent 40 years.
As the
proprietor of this hospital, Dr Christopher Okojie treated the most bizarre
medical conditions; provided antenatal, delivery, postnatal and family planning
services to rural women; established a pioneer orphanage home for abandoned
children; trained several generations of nurses and midwives; and offered a
channel through which medical students from various Nigerian Universities
gained experience in rural medical practice. Indeed, the editor of this journal
was born at the Zuma Memorial Hospital and delivered by the great sage himself
in mid-1950. It was in recognition of his prowess as a rural medical
practitioner, that the International Federation of Gyne-cology and Obstetrics
(FIGO) offered him the honorary membership of FIGO in 1996. In 2003, he was
again honored by FIGO with the Distinguished Community Service Award, an honor
reserved for obstetricians and gyneco-logists around the world who have
demon-strated great passion and commitment in the provision of clinical care to
neglected popula-tions. Indeed, Dr Christopher Okojie was the first Nigerian to
receive this presti-gious award.
Dr Christopher Okojie was past President of the Nigerian Medical
Association and Past Secretary of Health (Minister of Health) of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. He was a fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical
College of Nigeria, a fellow of the International College of Surgeons and a
member of the Population Council of New York, USA. He led a principled and
simple life dedicated to the service of the people. He never wavered in his
determi-nation to assist the poor and to advice young men and women, not only
in the health-related professions but also in other spheres of life. Thus, he
was a role model, mentor and adviser to successive generations of Nigerian
doctors, a celebrated humanist, philan-thropist, trail blazer, advocate for the
masses and a pacifist.
Apart from
his great achievements in the medical profession, Dr Christopher Okojie
excelled as a writer, anthropologist, defender of the causes of his native Esan
people, and a veritable lexicologist. Surely, it will be difficult to get such
a Nigerian doctor of so many parts so soon in Nigeria. If Dr Christopher Okojie
had lived in other parts of the world, he would be revered in perpetuity as a
hero, a sage and even a saint.
In
recognition of the achievements of this celebrated Nigerian doctor, the
Editorial Board of the Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Research has
decided to immortalize his name, so that successive generations of Nigerian
doctors will learn from his chosen path of wisdom and decide to mirror their
lives after the examples he has set. We therefore decided it was appropriate to
carry the full-length funeral oration delivered by Professor Abhulimen Richard
Anao at the time of his burial. Professor Anao is the immediate past
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, himself a visionary, who achieved
so much as Vice-Chancellor of Nigeria's foremost University. His succinct and
eloquent narration of the life of Dr Okojie is a living testimony of the worth
of the man who worked so hard in his lifetime to lift the image of the medical
profession and to protect the lives of men and women in disadvantaged
circumstances.
May his
gentle soul rest in perfect peace, Amen.
A FAREWELL TRIBUTE TO DR. CHRISTOPHER GBELOKOTO OKOJIE
Dr Christopher Gbelokoto Okojie:
April 9, 1920 - October 7, 2006
Former Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Benin, Nigeria 6 Oyaide Avenue, GRA P.O. Box 5993 Benin City,
Nigeria Tel: 08053791619
Richard A. Anao Here lies before us the
earthly remains of a proud and princely hero; one who fought the battle of this
life gallantly and triumphed; one who pioneered and blazed many trials; one
whose light shone so brightly that all around him could see with it. Today,
rather than mourn his demise, we call on you all to join us to celebrate the
life of this great man who was our father, grandfather, great grandfather,
uncle, brother, friend and compatriot _ Dr. XTO GBELOKOTO OKOJIE
- Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Licentiate of the School of
Medicine, Nigeria; Fellow of the International College of Surgeons; Honorary Fellow of the
International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics; Fellow of the Nigerian
Medical Council; Doctor of Science (honoris causa), Ambrose Alli University; Founder and Chief Medical
Director Zuma Memorial Hospital, Irrua; Former National President, Nigerian Medical Association; Patron, Association of
General & Medical Practitioners of Nigeria; Former Member, Board of
Trustees, National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria;Former member,
Nigerian Medical Research Council; Council member, The Population Council; Former Associate Lecturer in
Community Health, University of Lagos and University of Benin; Member of the Honorable order
of contemporary Historians; Former member, Board of Governors, Nigerian Broadcasting
corporation; Former member, Eastern Region
of Nigeria Finance Corporation; Former Chairman, Western Nigeria Development Corporation; Former Minister, Works &
Transport, Midwest Region of Nigeria; Former Honorable Secretary (Minister) of Health & Social
Services, Federal Republic of Nigeria; Former Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, University of
Ibadan; Former member
Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Management Board, Uselu, Benin; Former Deputy President, Boys
Scout of Nigeria; Former Chairman, Nigeria Institute of Oil Palm Research, Benin; Chairman, Esan Orthography
Committee; Former Chairman, Edo Economic
Advisory Council; Writer; Historian; Anthropologist; Ethnographer; Lexicographer;
Born, April 9, 1920; called
away from this earth on October 7, 2006. Dr. Christopher (a name he fondly
abbreviated to "Xto") Gbelokoto Okojie, a dual Prince of Ugboha and
Irrua kingdoms, was from all accounts an intellectual giant, a leading light
not only in his primary discipline of Medicine, but also in the other fields of
learning (History, Anthropology, Ethnography, Lexicography) in which he
investigated and explored. He leaves behind for us a copious body of seminal
knowledge, a solid foundation which future generations of researchers will find
indispen-sable in their further inquiries. He was a devoted servant of his
people, a compa-ssionate provider for the poor and neglected people of this
earth. Dr. Okojie comes in the same mould as the famed Mother Theresa of
Calcutta, of blessed memory, who lived and died for the poor. He is no doubt
one of the greatest sons of Esanland, (nay, of Nigeria) that have ever lived.
Throughout his life, he displayed such love, compassion, commit-ment to his
cause, energy, drive and zeal for knowledge that you do not often find endowed
in one person.
Dr. Okojie definitely lived
ahead of his time in the manner that he came to a recognition of the health
needs of his people and got himself immersed in the arduous task of bringing
relief and succour to them, long before it became the concern of government to
spread this basic necessity of life to all the nook and crannies of the land.
Dr. Xto Gbelokoto Okojie
showed intellectual promise from an early age. Racing through his primary and
secondary education in which he attended some of the best known schools of his
time, including Government College, Ibadan (in which he studied with a
government scholarship), he entered the Higher College, Yaba, in 1941, to
undertake his premedical studies, this time with the sponsorship of another of
our beloved, public-spirited and benevolent uncles, Prince M. E. Osobase of
blessed memory, ("Pa Inono", as we all fondly called him). Dr. Okojie
distinguished himself in the premedical class and entered the Medical School
proper with a government scholarship in 1942, qualifying as a full medical
doctor 5 years later. As expected, he took up employment with the Nigerian
Medical Department immediately afterwards, but this was not for very long; for,
Dr. Okojie took the momentous plunge, just 3 years later, of following the
altruistic and patriotic dictates of his heart which has marked him out today
as one of the most selfless and dedicated Nigerians of his time.
A few moving incidents, we
are told, led to this momentous plunge. In 1949 during one of his visits home,
he was invited to see a helpless pregnant woman in agony; she had been in
labour for more than 24 hours in a small Missionary Hospital. The staff of the
hospital had apparently run out of ideas how to manage the situation. Dr.
Okojie had to do an emergency caesarean operation which saved both the woman
and her baby. During the same visit, Dr. Okojie was again invited to see a
postpartum lady bleeding on a road side, apparently abandoned by her people who
believed that her condition was as a result of an offence she had committed
against the `gods'. Dr. Okojie took the Lady to a nearby dispensary and saved
her life. He also saw many cases of neglected scrotal hernia and hydrocele
during his short stay at home.
These incidents stirred and
agitated Dr. Okojie's compassionate mind, whereupon he decided there and then
to resign his government appointment and return home to serve his people. Zuma
Memorial Hospital, Irrua, was opened on 27th March 1950 in a
private house. Thus, he went into this lofty venture with no money, no
infrastructure, no water in flowing taps, no electricity or telephone; but with
his doctor's certificate, abundant raw energy and dogged determi-nation. The
hospital ward comprised just 12 wooden beds. Thus began a fight which he waged
throughout his life against the forces of ignorance, superstition and disease
in Esanland.
This is the story of the
humble beginning of a medical establishment which has now attained such
maturity and fame that has attracted world-wide recognition and commendation.
Today, the hospital has expanded to become one of the best-known private
medical establishments in Nigeria, comprising some 120 beds; a Family Planning
Clinic that attends to some 41, 000 women; an internationally recognized School
of Midwifery that has turned out well over 1,100 Grade 1 Midwives; and an
Orphanage which has parented over 70 abandoned children, some of whom have
grown up to become professionals and breadwinners in their own right, among
whom there is today a Veterinary Doctor, a Lawyer and a Reverend Gentleman.
The person who brought all
this about has now passed into the great beyond. On this occasion, it would be
inappropriate to mourn but simply to give gratitude to the Almighty Creator for
his life, and to toast and celebrate this life. But, lest we forget, Dr. Okojie
was not just a medical doctor who pioneered in health delivery to the poor and
needy. His total dedication to his calling in the realm of practical medicine
did not quench his quest for greater intellectual attainment. He found time now
and again to travel overseas to update himself in his profession. During one of
such trips, in 1956, he took a specialist course in surgery at the postgraduate
Medical College of New York University and bagged the most distinguished
Fellowship of the International College of Surgeons (FICS). This course of
study was pursued jointly with a Fulbright Fellowship and a Smith Mundt
scholarship.
Yes, our father, brother and
uncle was the very epitome of selflessness, public spirited-ness, compassion
and unflinching devotion to his people. However, besides all this, what is
especially remarkable about this great man was the diversity of his academic
interests. His academic brilliance and unquenchable quest for knowledge found
expression in fields of learning which were very far removed from medicine. So
versatile and multi-talented was Dr. Xto Gbelokoto Okojie that it is impossible
to classify him in any one discipline or calling. His interests spanned
medicine, history, anthropology, literature, linguistics and lexicography, a
very rare combination indeed in any one person. So varied were the fields in
which he applied his mental acuity! He belongs to that select group of persons
who applied their innate intelli-gence, inquisitiveness, energy and passion for
work to numerous fields of human endeavour. In this, he can be likened to such
great achievers as Leonardo da Vinci (1452 _ 1519), who was a painter, a
sculptor, an architect and an engineer, all rolled into one. Or Michelangelo
(1475-1564) who was a poet, a painter, a sculptor and an architect, or the
celebrated Aristotle (384 _ 322 BC) who was a scientist and philosopher and a
mathematician at the same time. These were men who recognized as our own Dr.
Okojie did, that the gift of intellect, if one is endowed with it, can be
applied to limitless areas of endeavour.
It is remarkable that Dr. Xto
Gbelokoto Okojie, besides being a practising medical doctor of great
distinction, also found time to research and document a history of Esan people
as well as Esan customs and traditions; the meanings of Esan names and
proverbs, etc., in all of which he wrote books. In later years Dr. Okojie
turned his attention to lexicography. Only recently in 2005, he published and
launched an Esan Dictionary, the first attempt ever made to produce such a
monumental work. He was also involved in the translation of church hymns into
Esan Language. At the senile age of 86, only three months before his demise,
(August 2006, precisely), when I visited him in the company of his brother Dr.
Sonny Elimuan Okojie and his wife, Professor Christie Okojie, he was engaged in
another book project, this time devoted to exploring the phenomenon of
"reincarnation", a widely held belief among us Esan. This uncompleted
work now invites any keen scholars among us to pick up from where he stopped.
I have myself strained my own
imagina-tion envisaging how Dr. Okojie could have managed to combine such
diverse and seemingly incompatible interests. I have tried to visualize a
medical doctor and a consu-mmate surgeon at that, who, having worked
assiduously in the theatre during the day wielding scalpels, forceps or
lancets, settles down in his study at night when he should be resting and
recuperating, or perhaps revising his surgery books in preparation for the next
day's theatre work; but instead, sits down to deciphering his historical
jottings, trying to reconcile ambivalent and conflicting claims of oral
depositions of elders, in order to produce an intelligible Esan ethnography and
record Esan culture, customs and traditions. A unique combination of interests
and virtues indeed!
In reading through his works
one is struck with awe at the degree of his erudition and proficiency with the
English Language. To illustrate the nature of the difficulties which he faced
in his arduous research, consider the following sentence which is taken from
one of his works, entitled Esan Native Laws and Customs with
Ethnographic Studies of the Esan People, first published in 1960, and
later revised in 1994, at page xi.
Addressing his readers, he
says:
"I would want you to
know from the outset that you are about to wade through a mass of history,
tradition and Esan way of life affecting a period of some 500 years. Collection
of materials by one proud to be born and bred in Esanland is easy - but
the sifting of evidence, much of which is not only confused but unbelievably
biased, is not just difficult but requires something more than a deep
sense of responsibility: the fear of God" Yes, the fear of God!
In the forgoing, Dr. Okojie
reveals three key aspects of his personality:
First, a person who is
distinctly proud of his origins. Dr. Okojie was indeed intensely proud of his
Esan roots. This showed up glaringly in his mien, and in his consummate passion
to project, document and preserve the Esan Language for posterity.
Second, his painstaking and
persevering nature. The book in question matured to the present state over a
period of 40 years during which he traveled round every Esan town at least two
times and conducted over 365 interviews. How many scholars of the present
generation would have that amount of patience and perseverance?
Third, he possesses a deep
sense of respon-sibility, which springs from his fear of God. This clearly
attests to Dr. Okojie's unalloyed and unquestioning belief and faith in his
Creator, to Whom he owes a duty to speak the truth always as he sees it. The
authentic nature of his work, his claim to being an authoritative historian in
his own right, is clearly attested to by the fact that the Foreword of this
book was written by a well-known historian of the stature of Prof. S. O.
Biobaku, who was a notable history scholar and one time Director of Yoruba
Historical Research Scheme at the University of Ibadan. In 1959, Dr. Okojie was
admitted to Membership of the
ORDER OF CONTEM-PORARY
HONORABLE HISTORIANS (by Time Magazine).
The above three traits very
appropriately sum up Dr. Okojie's personality. As a proud and patriotic son of
Esanland he devoted himself for 56 years to rendering selfless service to the
poor and needy; yet, also found time to collect and record a history and
anthropology which would for all time portray what we really are Esans people,
how we came to be, and what we can legitimately aspire to become in the general
scheme of things, in this nation and as citizens of the world.
Dr. Okojie was aware of the
seminal nature of his historical and anthropological endeavours and despite his
endless and painstaking toils, leaves room for future contributions by scholars
who would modify or complement his findings. This can be seen from another
excerpt from the same work earlier referred to. He says at page xix.
"I am only constructing
a ladder of encouragement with which future literary brains amongst us Esan
will rise to greater heights; you add another rung to this ladder and you will
be doing your fatherland and country infinite service".
Dr. Okojie was of course the
archetypical scholar who expected that seminal works such as his always tended
to generate contro-versies, and like the scholar that he was, he did not shirk
this, but instead he invited it. At page xiv of his book, he states:
"For months after the
publication of this work I expect an avalanche of historical fire-works! I
expect abuses, praises and arguments _ if fact the hornets nest will be
thoroughly stirred but in the midst of this our people will ask more questions
about their origin, traditions and custom which were being indiscri-minately
labeled as PRIMITIVE and better forgotten. If I succeed in creating that amount
of stimulus and self examination I will consider my labour in the last forty
years amply rewarded."
Ladies and gentlemen, such
was the modesty and openness of this man who has now departed from us.
But, we may well ask: why do
we deem it necessary to survey Dr. Okojie's life, as we are doing here? Is it
just to sing his praises, to eulogise him for his great achievements, or is it
for the pride of those of us that claim to be his relations? No, it is none of
these. It is simply to hoist aloft for all to see, we the living, the virtues
of goodness and diligence, of patriotism and devotion, of compassion and
selflessness, so that we can all try to follow his footsteps. Only through such
emulation can we have derived full benefit from Dr. Okojie's life. Indeed the
likes of Dr. Okojie provide us a unique opportunity to examine our own lives in
order to recognize those aspects in which we can learn from the departed and
take steps to reposition our own lives. His life indeed provides such immense
references as can be beneficial to us all in such a soul searching exercise.
In the words of Henry
Wadswarth Longfellow, that great American poet, who lived between 1807 and 1882:
"Lives
of great men all remind us
We
can make our lives sublime.
And,
departing, leave behind us
Footprints
on the sands of time
Let
us, then, be up and doing
With
a heart for any fate
Still
achieving, still pursuing
Learn
to labour and to wait".
Our father, brother, uncle,
devoted his entire working life from 1950 to 2006 (56 years) to serving
humanity, ministering onto their health needs as well as cultivating their
cultural awareness without demanding or expecting any earthly reward for his
services. He left indelible footprints on the sands of time. We should try to
be motivated by such an example of nobility and selflessness! We will of course
all feel his absence from our midst, for it is truly a great loss. Especially
so for us the members of his family. To us, our pillar of support and beacon of
light has been uprooted.
As I reminisced over this
great life I wrote down a poem which I will now read:
Ode to Dr. Xto Gbelokoto
Okojie
The
great Iroko has fallen,
It
now lies prostrate on the ground,
The
stanchion on which we all leaned.
What
shall become of the lesser trees of the forest,
The
ferns, the shrubs, the creepers,
Which
sheltered erstwhile in its folds?
Our
great sage has passed away
Taking
with him his peerless wisdom,
And
his endless quest for knowledge.
We'll
certainly miss him, but we will not mourn;
We'll
feel his loss, but not cry.
Instead,
we'll rejoice that he lived among us,
A
glorious and fulfilled life,
That
enriched each one of us,
And
blazed the trial we now must follow.
We
will give praise and glory to the Lord
Who
gave him to use the Esan people,
And
made him a citizen of the world.
We
will thank the Lord who endowed him
So
loftily, ….. from which fountain
He
gave abundantly to humanity;
From
which his light shone with rare brilliance,
A
light that will continue to illuminate,
Long
after it was extinguished.
And
so to you our beloved sage,
Our
devoted father and uncle,
As
you depart this toilsome earth,
As
you give up your mortal cloak,
Which
every one must do in turn
In
obedience to the Will of God
Remember
what you always taught us
That
there is another life, not here.
That
all does not end on earth.
May
the beautiful seeds you sowed
Now
blossom forth with pleasant fruits
For
your delight in the worlds beyond.
As
you savour God's rich blessings,
As
you bask in the resplendence of heavenly light
Remember
to give praise and glory to Him
Whose
love and grace gave you life.
Now,
go forth and stride with vigour
Along
the path which leads to Paradise
We
pray the Lord will open to you
The
gates to His eternal Kingdom.
Where
there's no more death,
No
pain, and no sorrow;
Where
all is peace and bliss!
Amen!
© CMS
UNIBEN JMBR
Mr. Friday Okonofua.
"Members, Nigerian
Reproductive Health Research Network, c/o Women's Health and Action Research
Centre, 4 Alofoje Street, off Uwasota Road, PO Box 10231, Ugbowo, Benin City,
Edo State. Nigeria.”
