TRIBUTE: Edwin Kiagbodo Clark: A Lesson in Lofty Courage and Conduct

If you were a peripatetic journalist or an itinerant political reporter in 1991, there is the likelihood that you would have encountered Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, elder-statesman, senator, former minister of information, nationalist, erstwhile commissioner for education, and later Finance in the old Midwest region, PANDEF leader, and above all, leader of the Ijaw, who passed away peacefully on 17 February 2025 at the ripe old age of 97.

Deeply vocal, collegial and astute, he will be missed by many, including an astounded nation, family, and associates in grief, and a community reeling in shock that the Iroko whose resilience, courage, intellectual acuity, infectious steadfastness and love ramified both triumph and happiness, has departed. Pa Clark was, without doubt, one of the most pragmatic, dogged and courageous fighters for justice, equity and parity in Nigeria and the Niger Delta, whose contagious voice resonated with many across various settings. Indeed, his personality sprawled across the broad spectrum of politics, leadership, national service, community ministration, and peacebuilding.

I met him for the first time in late 1991, 34 years ago in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Capital. I was then a politics reporter, and later head of the Politics desk at Classique magazine. He was exceptionally attired in a quintessential traditional Niger Delta luxurious clothing. A wrapper, an elegant customary long-sleeved brocade shirt, a dark-coloured bowler hat, decorous beads necklace, and an ergonomic wooden-cane walking stick to match. He stood out from the crowd of politicians who had assembled at the Hall in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Capital that afternoon to determine the political future or direction of the then National Republican Convention (NRC). The NRC and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) were the two political parties midwifed by General Ibrahim Babangida’s military regime, at the time.

Because Classique magazine was focusing more on SDP apparently on account of the fact that the SDP chieftains including political stalwarts like late General Shehu Musa Yar’adua (Rtd) (whom I had interviewed exclusively in his Ikoyi, Lagos home, having announced his intention to vie for the Party’s Presidential ticket), appeared to make more headlines, and consequently, many reporters delight. There was therefore a conscious effort to address this editorial gap!

Thus, an encounter, and later an interview with Chief Clark, who was a chieftain of the NRC at that time, naturally filled the void. Also, his capacity for being ‘brutally frank’, drew me to him, while my ability to report factually, as proceedings truly happened, I think, drew him to me. There were no frills, neither were there any acts of flounce around him that afternoon as I approached him, introduced myself and handed him my complimentary card. “Oh, Oma Djebah! You are the journalist. I read your interview with General Yar’adua. I also read that of Umaru Shinkafi. You reported them verbatim. I will speak to you in the evening…” Then he switched to Urhobo, my ancestral language. Surely, he spoke Urhobo more than many.

And because news is typically what most journalists yearn for, as it constitutes that sparkle that animates awesome public readership, Pa Clark was naturally a sought after subject as he was always “brutally frank” while weighing in on various subject matters. So began a relationship that thrived for over three decades. He later introduced me to both Ambassador Akporode Clark, a doyen of the Nigerian foreign Service and former Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and Prof John Pepper Clark, iconic poet, foremost playwright, erudite novelist and literary giant of the noblest tradition. The former attended my team’s post-graduate lecture in International Law and Diplomacy at the University of Lagos while Prof JP Clark graciously graced my wedding in Lagos.

After our Port-Harcourt meeting, I went on to interview Pa Clark again. This time around, it was in his residence situated on Swamp Road, Warri, Delta State. I was working with The Guardian newspaper at the time, having left Classique magazine. “Oh, Oshare (meaning man) from Okwagbe, please come in…’’, he ushered me into his sprawling living room in impeccable Urhobo, where we had what turned out to be a marathon interview. He spoke Urhobo more fluently than Ijaw, regaling me with accounts of his growing up years, his lineal connection with the Urhobo. I think this partly accounted for his broadmindedness and symbiotic niceties. There were so many people in the living room, which was more a less an emblem of his selflessness and leadership. They came from various Ijaw communities in Bayelsa, Ondo, Rivers, and Delta. Consequently, I asked him if I could address him as national leader of the Ijaw, to which he concurred. In this way, I became one of the earliest persons to ascribe to him the title of national leader of the Ijaw. Throughout the interview, what struck me about him was his resilience, adroitness, courage and incredible sense of history. His sharp intellect, sure-footedness and rich historical insights were delightful. I recall he never prevaricated. Occasionally, he would adjust his sitting position, while I held my small tape recorder, not far from his mouth, to capture the full conversation. The interview focused largely on issues central to resolving the Niger Delta quandary.

Chief Clark brings to my mind many connotations; courage, steadfastness, leadership, and commitment to peacebuilding and stability of the Niger Delta region. He was a purposeful, mediatory voice on the thorny Niger Delta subject. In reality, most scholars on the unsettling, and sometimes, escalating tensions in the Niger Delta region, saw him, and rightly so, as a reconciliatory voice crucial to addressing the bristly, spinose Niger Delta question-encompassing environmental, economic, socio-cultural and political dimensions since 1960.

Though, often times, he was outspoken, it was also true that his voice of reason, wise counsel, and peacebuilding engagements helped nurtured sustained peace and dialogue amongst diverse ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta region. The formation of PANDEF which he led faithfully was equally a testimonial to his commitment to the Niger Delta. In fact, his leadership of PANDEF demonstrated his love for the people of the Niger Delta.
PANDEF benefitted richly from Pa Clark’s wealth of knowledge and experience.

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His career trajectory was impressive and salutary. He was not just an accomplished leader, titan of the old order, he was a hybrid personality whose rich public service engagements traversed the intersection of both the executive and the legislature, at different times. He was variously a Senator and a minister of Information. Not many were able to effectively sprawl through both arms of government. His rich insights and lofty conduct evidently proved pivotal in many ways. Little wonder, Chief Clark’s firm grasp, perspicacity and rich sense of historical records were admirable! He was brainy, cerebral, deeply analytical, scholarly yet easy-going. An incredibly audacious, resilient, tough-talking personality with a baritone voice; you were never in doubt where Pa Clark stood on any issue, notwithstanding its controversial colouration. Perhaps, this explains why his political trajectory straddled the gamut of law making, public administration and leadership.

Pa Clark’s early life, like an elastic, elaborate geometry, revolved around three communities, namely Eruwanrhien, where he was born, (Not Kiagbodo), Okrika, where he attended Native Authority Council School, in the old Midwest region, and Abraka where he attended Government Teachers Training College (in present day Delta State). Thereafter, he proceeded to Holborn College, in the United Kingdom, where he earned his degree in Law. Upon his return from the UK, he launched himself into politics where he thrived and excelled. He was one of the Midwest delegates to the 1966 Conference on the Structure of Nigeria. Between 1966 and 1975, he held various positions including, Commissioner for Education (Midwest Region), and Minister of Information (Federal Commissioner for Information). As Commissioner for Education, he played a leading role in the establishment of the Mid-west College of Technology, which became the pillar upon which the university of Benin sprang.

As an avant-garde, a collegial, industrious political titan, Pa.Clark led by example! His life was like a study in courage and a lesson in excellence, to borrow the hackneyed phrase of James Grunig. Pa Clark’s life was a classic session in high conduct, courage, fearlessness, contention and capacity. It was not accidental. These qualities seem to be products of his upbringing. His invectiveness, brilliance, capacity to dare where others oscillated appeared to have shaped his life from his adolescent years. For instance, he once narrated how he was penalized by his college authorities for daring to ask the then visiting expatriate Governor of the Western Region, Sir John Dalzell Rankine, a question.

He recounted: “In 1952, I think the Governor of Western Nigeria, Sir John Ranking,(sic) visited our college at Abraka, Government Teacher Training College, Abraka, and so we all gathered, he addressed us. Then he said “any question from anybody?” I stood up, our principal was a white man; he wanted to stop me. The Governor said “let him ask his question”. I said, “Your Excellency, I wanted to know from you why only some traditional rulers are given the knighthood of the British Empire and our people are not given and politicians like Azikiwe, Awolowo are not being given?” But as he wanted to answer, the principal intervened and, at the end, the man left; in the evening, we were to have dinner, we were gathered in the dining hall with the monitor or the prefect, Asagboyin, from Ubiaja, in Edo State today. Then a military man who had gone into the college to be a teacher called my name, so I stood up. He said, “You come out and there was a table in the front and he said I should mount the table. So, he asked me why I should ask the question I asked the Governor. I said “what is wrong?” He said everything was wrong. So, they punished me, they asked that I should wash plates of all the students every evening for five days, which I did. But one of the senior teachers, Isekwe, from Inla, who was our physical education teacher, called me, gave me palm wine, he said I should drink it. I said I did not know what it was; he said, “Drink it. You will be a great man”. I said “how?” He said, “What you did two days ago pleased many Nigerians who were in that hall.…So I’ve always been very active. “

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The Niger Delta region, and indeed Nigeria will dearly miss Pa Clark for his sagacity, rich sense of history, courageous leadership, exceptional foresight, unending advocacy for the rights of the peoples of the Niger Delta region and his uncommon perspectives on thorny national issues. As Abraham Lincoln once remarked: “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” And Maya Angelou, one of America’s foremost civil rights activists and poets, agreed: “ Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” Pa Clark lives on in the hearts of humanity. Good night, Pa Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, OFR, CON.

NB: Ambassador Oma Djebah, Journalist-Diplomat, Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Delta State Honourable Commissioner for Information, and previously Nigeria’s Ambassador to Thailand with concurrent accreditation to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific(UNESCAP), Bangkok, is the author of the book, Niger Delta: Media & Peacebuilding Options.