By
*Ogheneochuko Emmanuel Arodovwe*
emmaochuko@gmail.com
*January 21, 2022*
In 2017 during a lecture to mark Ohworode's 100th year birthday, Professor Peter Ekeh made this very instructive remark:
" _HRM Richard Ogbon is a wise man. Like Ovedje,_ _he is a great leader of his fellow Traditional Rulers,_ _a sage who has presided over the affairs of the Council of Traditional Rulers with distinction... HRM Richard Ogbon has_ strongly _worked for and has attained the goals for which great kings exert_ _peace in their realms. Olomu has experienced a sway of peace and tranquility during the 29 years of the reign of HRM Richard Layeguen Ogbon as the Ohworode_ _of Olomu. May his peace spread to the rest of Urhoboland"._
The Ohworode of Olomu HRM Dr. Richard Layeguen Ogbon, JP, RDN, Royal Canon, OON, OGONI-OGHORO 1, attained the uncommon age of 105, yesterday January 20, 2022. He was born on January 20, 1917.
He is from the town of Ogoni-Olomu. Ogoni is close to Okpare, one of the prominent inland commercial centres of the Urhobo country in the early 20th century. It hosted the Portuguese _(potokri)_ and the British at different times. The Okpare creek which connects to the Forcados River near Okwagbe was the main attraction. European firms such as John Holt, G.B. Ollivant, S.C.O.A. and C.F.A.O all had trading posts in Okpare. These establishments produced the first merchants in Urhobo history such as Ovedje Sadjere and Mukoro Mowoe.
As was common in an African (Urhobo) family of the early 20th century, Ohworode was raised in a polygamous home. His father, Ogbon, had six wives with his mother as the fifth. Ogbon had 21 children with Ohworode being the 20th. It was a home characterized by a harmonious spirit and sense of cooperation and unity complimented by a high sense of discipline enforced by his father.
Ohworode’s first travel away from home was in 1934 to far-away Agadama to live with an uncle. He joined in all manner of agricultural work until 1935 when he felt the strong urge to go to school. He was 19 in 1936 when he enrolled in Infant One – an unusually old age for beginning school. Tuition fee was one shilling which the family could not afford. In his determination to acquire western education, he found himself in Burutu, a very busy port town in Nigeria at the time to work as a member of a ship crew and to fell timber trees with axe. Earnings from these jobs helped pay his way through elementary school.
He passed out from elementary school in 1943, having had double promotion twice on account of his excellent academic performance. Sadly, he had lost his father in 1942, a year before his graduation, at a ripe old age of 120 years. He was caught between joining the Nigerian Police Force or taking up another career.
While in that despondent state, it seemed providence had already destined him for a long career in teaching. Rev. J.M. Carr, General Manager of C.M.S. Schools based in Oleh sent for him through Rev. (later Bishop) Agori-Iwe who in 1944 was the superintendent of the schools in the Church Missionary Society.
After a very rigorous interview, he was employed as a teacher and posted to Uduophori in Ughelli Island. But just as he was settling down to his new job, news of his mother’s death reached him.
Through Chief Cousin Mosheshe and Rev. Agori-Iwe, he secured special permission to be redeployed to Egbo-Uhurie which was a closer location to his home. His sojourn as a teacher saw him transferred to Egini, Oghwrode, Oginibo and Agbarha-Otor. It was while at Agbarha-Otor he met and proposed to his wife Miss Alice Oboirhohwo of Oteri-Agbarha whom he married at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Okpara Waterside in 1954. Bishop Agori-Iwe officiated the event and drove him (Ohworode) in his personal car to his private residence in Okpare.
A landmark achievement in his career happened in 1961 with his appointment as the pioneer principal of the Anglican Modern School, Eghwu, a position he held till 1965. He was serving in Burutu when the Nigerian Civil War broke in 1967. He moved his family to Ogoni, before taking up a fresh challenge as headmaster of St. Luke’s Anglican School in 1968. It was the first primary school to be established in Urhobo country (1902).
Major Samuel Ogbemudia took over from Lt. Col. Ejoor in the Midwestern state in 1968. One of his first innovations was the restructuring of the educational system. In pursuit of this goal, he established the Headmasters Institute Benin-City, which was affiliated to the University of Benin. Chief E.K. Clark was the Education Commissioner of Bendel State at the time. The best ten graduating students were to be appointed Inspectors of Education.
Expectedly, the Ohworode emerged as one of the best ten and was appointed Inspector of Education in 1969, thus moving him from the service of the Anglican Church to that of the state as public servant in the Midwest Region.
A new adventure began which saw him appointed as Inspector of Education in Ubiaja in Esan, Igueben (Esan), Sapele and then Ughelli up until 1972. In 1974, he was posted to Iguobazuwa in Benin Division of the Midwest to open a new station, which was to comprise Ekhiadolor, Okomu, Ologbo, Siloko, and Okada. It was during this time that he was able to secure a loan to purchase his first car, a Peugeot 404 saloon. After 31 years of active service in the teaching profession, he retired in 1975.
The life of man is characterized by not only victories and triumphs but also struggles and failures, and Ohworode’s life is no exception.
Amongst his struggles were his failed attempt in business after retirement and his inability to push on to becoming an Anglican Priest.
It was the dream of every educated Nigerian (nay Urhobo) of pre-independence era to travel abroad for further studies and have a glimpse of the Queen’s land. Messrs McNeil Gabriel Ejaife from Okpara Waterside and Ezekiel Igho of Oghwrode set the pace for the Urhobo people when they obtained degrees from overseas in 1948 and 1949 respectively. Ohworode made attempts to join the league of these tourists to England seeking higher academic qualifications, but they were all unsuccessful.
The story of his ascension to the throne is a very fascinating one indeed. What is most instructive is the revelation that he was the President General of the Olomu Kugbere Union (OKU) from its founding in 1954 to his ascension to the throne of the Ohworode in 1988, a long service period of 34 years. Perhaps, only Chief T.E.A. Salubi who was President General of the Urhobo Progress Union from 1962 to 1982 has held a more strategic leadership position in Urhobo land for a comparatively long period. His leadership of the Union recorded development milestones in road constructions, building of schools, provision of water and the launching of two development funds which drew patronage from sons and daughters of Olomu from far and near, and which supported the provision of major modern facilities.
Ohworode also had a short stint in politics. He was Councilor representing Olomu, Eghwu, Effurun-Otor, Okparabe and Arhavwarien in the Ughelli Council for one year (1987). He used his office to influence the construction of the bridge between Ovwodokpokpor and Umolo, for which the people of Kiagbodo showed high appreciation because it was the access route to their community. Little did he know that the many years of service in different capacities for his Olomu people had been designed by providence as preparatory to his ascension to the highest social-cultural office of Olomu Kingdom – the Ohworode Throne.
The Throne is one of the most revered traditional stools in Urhobo country. It rotates between the Uhurie and Imoghoro ruling houses of Olomu.
It has hosted many exceptional leaders in the past with the highly influential and exquisite HRM Ovedje Sadjere as the quintessential occupant. He was the first Urhobo business tycoon who grew from the commercial opportunities fostered by Okpare, and is now fondly remembered as the elder brother of the late Chief Madam Omotogor, mother of the Ibru dynasty of millionaires and great achievers of Agbarha.
When the lot for the next Ohworode fell to the ruling house of Imoghoro, Dr. Richard Layeguen’s family had no hesitation whatsoever in unanimously projecting him as the most fit for the revered office. His antecedents as community leader, Olomu patriot and leader, as well as development strategist and mobiliser spoke loudly in his favour. Consequently, on March the 5th, 1988, he was crowned as the 12th Ohworode of Olomu Kingdom. He received his staff of office in January, 1998 from Col. J.D. Dungs, the then military administrator of Delta State.
Attaining the milestone of 105 years on earth is a remarkable achievement. But to do so while still physically and mentally alert is truly amazing. Such is the exceptional life of HRM that at 105, he still walks unaided, reads without glasses and in his capacity as both the Ohworode of Olomu and the Chairman of Urhobo Traditional Rulers’ Council ( _Ukoko_ _r’ Ivie_ ), presides over meetings some of which last several hours.
The secret of his long life as he explains it is that he lives a life of total trust and submission to God, loves his family, friends and fellow humans, always contented with what he has and maintains a fear of God; he also observes such simple health tips as abstinence from cigarettes and alcohol, eating healthily, maintaining peace and holiness in his dealings with others as well as a refrain from using abusive words or swearing of any form.
Ohworode is also widely travelled. He has been to most countries of the world. He is a man of culture, history, ethics and values. He recalls the fundamental moral principles native to the Urhobo which guide the conduct of citizens, and which are encapsulated in the concept of the fear of God ( _osho Oghene_ ). It is this character trait that bars one from engaging in oppressive acts _(oshenye)_ , exploitation of others _(oghware)_ , embezzlement _(igho-eku)_ , stealing _(uji-echo)_ , evil acts _(orukuruku)_ and trouble mongering _(ozighi)_ . He also laments the threat of extinction which the Urhobo language faces in light of the forces of globalization and the impact of foreign languages and of the Pidgin English in our times.
He says of this:
“Now in my 100th year, I am sometimes moved to tears to observe the state of decline or death of the language. Some Urhobo adults who try to speak the language mutilate it, often mixing Urhobo with English words and most times Pidgin or broken English. Many of our people in urban centres appear to be as good as lost. The more regrettable aspect is that many Urhobo parents have denied their children the fundamental right to speak their mother tongue… I would like to urge all Urhobo people and organisations to invest effort and resources in the promotion of the language to make it useful in dealing with the challenges of modern living and development.”
In a country where life expectancy is below 60 years, it must be truly outstanding to have lived up to 105. And indeed to do so as a revered monarch in the Urhobo nation is truly remarkable.
The interesting point is that longevity appears to be intricately wired into the genetic makeup of the Olomu people. The Ohworode’s father himself was 120 years when he passed in 1942, and since in Urhobo, a child is expected to outperform his father’s achievements, then life for HRM Dr. Layeguen has only just begun.
May his rule and reign be long. We wish him many more years on the throne.
*AJUWE! AJUWE!!* *AJUWE!!!*
*WOSUTOR.*
This information was sourced from the autobiography of the Ohworode titled _My Memory of 100 Years_ compiled and edited by Profs Michael Young Nabofa and G.G. Darah (2017), launched during the 100th year birthday celebration of the monarch.
*Ochuko Arodovwe wrote in from Urhobo Historical Society Headquarters, Okpara-Inland, Delta State, Nigeria* .
*emmaochuko@gmail.com*
*January 21, 2022*
