Erudite professor of management and management consultant and administrator, Prof David Iornem has said Wantaregh Paul Unongo’s fundamental question: Where do we go from here?, was a conscious attempt by the deceased second republic politician, to correct the injustice in sharing allocation of resources.
Prof. Iornem, haven recounted the achievements of Wantaregh Unongo, described him as a charismatic leader, whose philosophy in life was oriented towards the people so that everything he wanted to do was for the people. These and more, he told The New Times’ Editor, Denen Achussah, in Gboko. Excerpts:
How did you meet Wantaregh Paul Unongo?
I met Wantaregh (Paul Unongo), first time at a distance. What do I mean? I had not seen him in person, but I read a very important document that he produced. It was a subject of debate everywhere there was a population of Tiv people in Nigeria and abroad. What was this document? This was the famous “Where do we go from here?” At that time, I was in Form Four at Government College Kaduna, and I used to be interested in current affairs. Wantaregh produced this document, and it was cyclostyled and was distributed massively all over Nigeria, among Tiv communities. So in Kaduna too, this document was there, and I saw it with Aper Aku, who was then the principal of Federal Training Centre Kaduna. So I took it and I read it. The first thing I liked about the document was the English, and I resonated with him; that is, we became one. The document is circulated at this time of his death. If you go to the internet you can find it. It was written in a very sophisticated way. The psychologist that he is also showed in how he tailored his argument to link to the conclusion that he wanted.
Now, how did I meet him in person and when? In 1973, I was a field sales manager with Lever Brothers. So when I travelled to Jos I stayed at his hotel, which was very close to our office. And I learnt that he was around and he was going to be at the hotel in the evening. So I laid there in waiting and behold, he came and then we met in person. I introduced myself that I was working with Lever Brothers. And he said wow! That he is impressed that a young man such as myself was working with an international group. Lever Brothers, by the way, is a branch of Unilever, a global company, making soaps and detergents and foods as well. He encouraged me, saying I should work hard on my job because I had a good job. It was very encouraging. That was how I met him, both at a distance where I said I read his document and then when I finally met him in person. And the conclusion was clear that he is my type of man.
What did Wantaregh Paul Unongo believe and how was that instrumental to Tiv development?
He made a declaration: His document, “Where do we go from here?” was a declaration of his belief. For those who are not familiar with why that question was posed, I would like to go back to history. When northern states were created by our Head of States, General (Yakubu) Gowon, there was Benue-Plateau State. That is, Benue province was combined with Plateau province to form a state.
The British colonial masters created native authorities based on tribes. And there are many tribes on the Plateau. So the native authorities on the Plateau were quite small, but there were several. They they were combined with Benue, and in Benue Tiv was a major Native Authority. Some local governments or native authorities on the Plateau could go into Tiv land as many as ten times, and there will still be space. But because every one was a native authority, they were working on the assumption of equality. That is, a small native authority on the Plateau is equal to the (big) Tiv native authority. So resources were shared equally: The same thing that is shared to the big Tiv native authority will be given to the small native authority on the Plateau. This was quite unfair. Paul Unongo observed this. Mark you, he didn’t stay up to two years, on his arrival from Canada before he observed this. He immediately wrote that document. It was submitted as a proposal to the authorities.
First of all, some people in authority, especially from the Plateau, would think that oh! if we follow Unongo and create six local government areas out of Tiv land, fewer resources would come to them. So they were opposing it on that basis. In the end, all said done Tiv Native Authority was divided into three. There was more justice in this, one would say. That was the central thing that I said he made a declaration; that is, he was fighting for the minorities in Nigeria, not only the Tiv minority. And anything Paul did, you will see that it is oriented towards the people. His philosophy in life was that everything he wanted to do was for the people.
How would you describe the achievements of Wantaregh Paul Unongo?
Paul achieved a lot. Even as a young man in secondary school, he spearheaded the creation of Community of Tiv Students (CTS). He, Aper Aku, Akiga and several others, came together to form Community of Tiv Students and Paul used that as a platform to make presentations to the Tiv Native Authority on what needs to be done, he used that to represent the Tiv at the national level, he used that to conscientise Tiv people wherever they are- that is students – that they should come together and form a community and speak with one voice. That’s an achievement.
In those days, studying in school was very difficult; it required commitment, for one to succeed. So for him to rise from humble beginnings at the Tiv native authority school, where Government College Katsina-Ala, is located today, means he studied very well and passed common entrance which was usually organised for the whole north and then people will be selected to attend Government Colleges and Provincial Schools. He did well enough and was admitted to Government College Keffi. That was an achievement. Then, at Government College Keffi, he again did very well and was given admission into Nigeria College. That’s quite another achievement. At that time, only three (Tiv) people were in that college: Paul Unongo, Aper Aku, and Aker Akiga. Nigeria College was where you study and get an advanced level certificate of the University of London or the University of Cambridge. He went there, did well, and moved to Canada while Aper Aku went to Fourah Bay (University, Sierra Leone), and Akiga went to the University of Ibadan. That was another achievement.
He was prominent among Nigerians in Canada. He was even given a government appointment. I have forgotten exactly what it was, but he was working with the government of Canada. In 1968, when General Gowon visited Canada to explain the Nigerian position on the Biafran War, after meeting with government authorities, he met with the nigerian community in Canada. That’s where Paul was and the way he spoke; that English, which affected me, also affected General Gowon. I think Gowon asked, “Who is that young man?” And he discovered that the young man was from his own state of origin – that is Benue – Plateau. He (Unongo) invited Gowon to his lodge, where he was kept by the government of Canada. When they met it was there Gowon was able to convince Paul to come back to Nigeria. Position yourself as an international expert of repute; it’s an achievement. He was an intellectual to the core. Whenever he spoke or wrote, it was clear that he was a material; it’s no mean achievement. Gowon, too, discovered this talent and invited him to Nigeria. When he arrived; of course, there were not many people trained like Paul was trained. So it was easy for him to join the University of Lagos. Again, an achievement – the first Tiv man to be a lecturer. I wish I were him. He was the first Tiv man to be a university lecturer. He founded the Department of Experimental Psychology and headed it. When he was teaching there, he was an unofficial adviser to General Gowon on matters relating to the war, and he was even travelling to many countries to help explain the position of Nigeria. There was one particular country where they were having the view that the war was against Christians and so on and so forth. Paul Unongo travelled to that country with a Reverend Father from the north and introduced themselves as people from the north, so the war can not be against Christian. It was a sound message that was well received, and the opinion of that country was turned from favouring Biafra to favouring Nigeria.
In politics, when the ban on politics was lifted, some parties were formed. But before that time, there was the constituent assembly. Paul went there, and he mobilised Tiv intellectuals to participate, so you have people like Mvendaga Jibo, Paul Belabo, Justice Utsaha, Barr Gbihi Vembe and others. He mobilised these intellectuals and sponsored some of them for the election. They went to the constituent assembly, did very well, fought for the position of the minority and establish a federal republic that was not based on religion because Sharia was to be written into the law for everybody and he fought against it. That was an achievement.
When the ban on politics was lifted; it’s a struggle. So even in political parties, to find a position there, it’s not something you get on the platter of gold. I have been the National Publicity Secretary of SDP, so I know what it takes. Paul was influential enough to grab the position of the National Secretary of Nigerian People’s Party (NPP) and worked hard in that position. When (Shehu) Shagari won that election, Paul led NPP to meet with Shagari. He canvassed the formation of the government of national unity. That’s how a government of national unity was formed, and Paul got the position of Minister of Steel Development from NPP. There were two ministers given to Tiv people in the Shagari party; that is, NPN (National Party of Nigeria). You can see that because of Paul’s work and influence, Tiv people, for the first time, had three ministers in a federal cabinet, and that is the only time it happened. We can credit that achievement to Paul.
What did he do as a minister? First of all, he worked for this nation as a minister, and there is credible evidence. For instance, Ajaokuta Steel Mill, by the time Paul was leaving as a minister, was 82 per cent completed. After Paul left and the military took over, a lot more money was voted for that industry, far more than was voted when Paul was minister. And what happened? The company never took off. Paul did 82 per cent, and Nigeria was to do just another 18 per cent, and nothing happened. This steel company can never come back because today, these machines are out of date. If anybody had followed up on Paul’s achievements, it could be a different story today.
And then, for his own people – he doesn’t forget his tribe too. He helped people nationally. He used his position and gave appointments to Tiv people within that ministry that he headed, prominent among which you can mention (Engineer) Tachia Jooji, who was Manager of Aladja Steel Rolling Mill at Warri.
He also supported good candidates in elections. I was a candidate in the election into the constituent assembly of 1988, 1989. I am sorry to say that my own people who invited me to come and contest in the end didn’t back me. It was Paul’s votes that made me a member of the constituent assembly. How did this happen? Ushongo had ten councillors, and Kwande had 14 councillors. And even though Ushongo went and invited me from Kaduna to come and contest, they turned against me and for a very curious reason; maybe, due to my naivety in politics at that time.
Why do I say I was naive? When they invited me, I made an analysis of how the votes stood because the councillors were the ones to vote in that election. I saw that Kwande had 14 councillors, and Ushongo had 10 councillors. I said good: I need all the 24 votes. And I said since Ushongo had invited me, it means I have those ten votes, but let me go and see my friend and mentor (Paul Unongo) and explain to him. So I passed through Unongo’s house, and I told him that my people have invited me to come and contest for the constituent assembly election, and I know that he has the votes. So I want to ask him if I should contest for the election because if he doesn’t give me the go-ahead, I will not contest because I know I will not have a chance. Paul was almost dancing! He said ah! sometimes he helps people and they turn around to say that he is a useless man, he had not help them and so on and here is me, an educated person, coming to him in humility to say that he is the person that can make me a member of the constituent assembly. Paul brought out wine , opened the wine, killed a goat, and we ate. He said he was celebrating my election. Unfortunately -this is where I was naive -, when I got to my people in Ushongo, I accepted their invitation and then went ahead foolishly to tell them that I passed through Unongo’s house and I got his blessing as well. You know, even when you are invited, there are always some people that will not like you. So they now used that to influence all the others that look, Aper Aku has died, his bones are not even rotten yet (laughs), and I had gone to kneel down before the archenemy of Aper Aku. So they will not agree. So, the campaign at Ushongo was against me, but they had only ten votes. At the end of the day, it was Paul that gave me his 14 votes from upper Kwande, and I went to the constituent assembly on the strength of Paul’s votes. That’s an achievement. Not many people are generous to do a thing like that.
When I was running for the National Publicity Secretary of the SDP, he also backed me. He travelled all the way to Kaduna to speak with General (Shehu Musa) Yar’Adu, who was influential in that formation. On the day of that election, Yar’Adua directed his followers to vote for me. I was the only person from the People’s Solidarity Party (PSP) in that group who won the election because of Paul Unongo’s influence. And my Senatorial District election, he supported me, and I won. I am using myself just as an example.
Many people are testifying that Unongo influenced their election. Professor (Mvendaga) Jibo is very open about it. He even wrote about it. He described Unongo as a very generous person and that he can back you, not minding what; he doesn’t care. He backed people like (retired Justice APB) Utsaha, who is from a far away local government area, Gbihi Vembe, another local government area, and many other people like that. He doesn’t discriminate. He is a people’s man through and through.
Wantaregh Paul Unongo, during his lifetime, articulated the Tiv cause and was touted as the spiritual leader of the Tiv and giving out all to humanity. What sort of leadership vacuum has his demise created?
I don’t agree that he was touted as a spiritual leader. I am hearing that for the first time. I am one of his followers. I believe in his politics and leadership style. Those of us who followed him, we didn’t follow him like he has a religion, and we are following to worship. I didn’t associate myself with that, and I didn’t see him push something like that. But he was a very, very charismatic leader. God gave him the power of speech. He could speak for an hour plus, and he will still be interesting. I joked with him one day; there is a book: How to put your point across in one minute. I bought that book (laughs) and came and gave him. He laughed (laughs). He got the joke that he keeps us for so long in a speech. He was somebody like that – he had the courage to laugh at himself. If for instance he wanted to do something and we are against it, arguing with him, he will make this joke, which he does very often: He says do we think that he is our mate? Is it because he is handsome that we think he is young? It is his own way to shut us up that look, I have had enough of this your talk (laughs).
There was a time I was working with Aper Aku; I was an adviser of the sort with Aper Aku and Paul was a minister and he resigned from the position of minister to come and contest for governorship. Meanwhile, Paul Belabo was the one who was the candidate in 1979 election, and he was still hoping to be a candidate in the 1983 election. So Paul (Unongo) came and used his power of speech and convinced everybody, and they took the position and gave it to him. So, I wrote an article in The Voice, and I titled it: Robbing Paul to pay Paul. You know, there is something like robbing Peter to pay Paul. So this one, it was robbing Paul to pay Paul. I said NPP robbed Paul Belabo to pay Paul Unongo.
