By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
POLITICAL affiliations and sentiments were, on Friday, set aside, and perhaps, interred as former general secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Chief Frank Ovie Kokori, was laid to rest at his country home of Oviorie-Ovu, in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State amid fanfare and gun salutes.
Breaking down the walls of partisanship and its attendant shenanigans were prominent political leaders like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, Senator Ede Dafinone and Chief Great Ogboru, at the burial of the foremost unionist at St James’ Anglican Church Oviorie-Ovu on Friday morning.
Stonix News reports that while Governor Oborevwori belongs to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), President Tinubu, Senator Dafinone who’s representing Delta Central Senatorial district are of the All Progressives Congress (APC), just as Chief Ogboru is of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
For the hero of democracy and the arrowhead of the struggle for the revalidation of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Chief MKO Abiola, the sleepy Agbon clan stood still for the last respect and final rites to their illustrious son, Kokori, who passed on December 7, 2023.
Underscoring the essence of flattening the walls of political differences among political leaders and politicians, especially Christian politicians,
the Bishop of Warri Diocese, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Rt. Revd. Christian Ide, said the presence of Governor Oborevwori, who was sitting side by side with Chief Ede Dafinone and Chief Ogboru, was a message that politicians, especially those who profess Christ, should be one in Christ.
“The death of Chief Kokori has created a vacuum that can hardly be filled in the family. He was an illustrious son of the state and you can see the presence of Gov Oborevwori. We cannot, but remember him for good.
“We have political enemies not biological enemies. We are one in Christ. We should learn this,” Bishop Ide admonished while urging Christians to have hope in God to overcome their life challenges.
Bishop Ide, who spoke extensively on ‘Hope’, taking his text from I Thessalonians 4:13-18, reiterated that when life seemed impossible, God ushered in eternal hope to those who believed in Him, adding that without hope, people would give up in life.
Amid the congregation in their number, the Anglican Bishop said the late Kokori was a devoted Christian, lived in hope that the country would overcome its challenges until the last day of his life, and commended Governor Oborevwori for identifying with the deceased despite their political differences.
Gov Oborevwori had earlier broken the walls of political jingoism when he visited the ailing octogenarian at his hospital bed in Warri on November 7, 2023. He had shown good conscience by not only paying him a visit, but footing his medical bills in spite of Kokori being an APC chieftain.
In his eulogies, Oborevwori averred that Chief Kokori’s life values “modelled for us the principles of courage, determination, resilience, sacrifice and selflessness,” adding that he cherished the moments he had with the octogenarian when he visited in hospital on November 7, 2023.
“Even on his sick bed, Chief Kokori remained his sharp, witty and passionate self who took time to counsel me and prayed for me to succeed in my assignment as governor. It was quite an emotional one for me,” Oborevwori recollected his encounter with whom he described as “a unique statesman and an icon of democracy.”
In his tributes at the church service shortly after the message, President Tinubu condoled the government and people of Delta State and members of the Kokori family, describing the late labour leader and elder statesman as one of the foremost nationalists Nigeria had ever produced.
Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said the “Abacha nightmare ” had left behind an indelible mark in the sand of time.
Hear him: “Chief Frank Kokori was one of the foremost nationalists Nigeria has ever produced. He was a man of uncommon courage, a selfless leader who put the interest of Nigeria first before his personal interest.
“Kokori was a man of proven integrity and a democrat who fought the dreaded military regime for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria.
“Even when top leaders were afraid and running away, Kokori stood and was the voice of the voiceless people; he was the voice of the underprivileged people and was the voice that was heard both locally and internationally.
“The legacies of your father cannot be surpassed by anybody because in life, it is not when you die that matters, but the legacies you left behind.
“Frank Kokori has left indelible marks in the history of this country and what is left for the children is to carry on with the baton.
“Kokori has done his own and it is left for the children to leverage on the outstanding legacies of their father to continue to render outstanding services to humanity.”
It’s interesting to note that the late Kokori had wished, as one of his last testaments on his dying bed, that his children, some of whom are abroad, should return home to contribute their quota to the country’s development with the assistance of the government. Perhaps by this, the children will be able “to leverage on the outstanding legacies of their father to continue to render outstanding services to humanity.”
At the burial reception held at Ovu Grammar School, Ovu-Inland, labour leaders and indigenes of Ovu, the country home of Chief Kokori, called on the Federal Government to immortalise the late NUPENG scribe. They said although Kokori spent most of his lifetime in Lagos, Ovu remained his home that must have a legacy project to immortalise him.
Comrade Joseph Akinlaja, who was Chief Kokori’s deputy as General Secretary of NUPENG and the current president of NUPENG, Williams Akporeha,also called on the President Tinubu to immortalise the foremost unionist with post-humous national honours. Is it not rather paradoxical and somewhat disheartening to the world that while sportsmen and women, who donned the national jerseys, corrupt politicians who milked the country blind, some pop stars who have perverted the youth with their rotten lyrics could be considered for national honours, ahead of one of the heroes of democracy, who was incarcerated for four years in the gulag of Bama prison in Bornu State for daring to force a military junta to de-annul the June 12 1993 presidential election via industrial action? A man who abandoned every pecuniary gain and suffered for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria to die with no single national honour? A food for thought for Tinubu’s administration.
Kokori was and still remains a man of the people. For this reason, officials and members of the NUPENG, including staffers of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and labour leaders, some from far away Abuja, the seat of federal power, flooded the reception ground where giant billboards, expressing the life and times of Chief Kokori were mounted. The giant canopies at the reception field were testaments of the making of who Kokori was. A man of many parts. If he aligned with the mighty, he did more with the lowly. If he fraternised with the rich, he did more with the poor. He was a man of the ordinary masses and a man of the lofty aristocrats as exemplified in his total loyalty to the cause of Chief Abiola, the June 12 winner. So, canopies for the poor, the underprivileged, the rich and the noble were all placed side by side for the entertainment of everybody without discrimination. Everyone was fed from the same ration.That was the life Kokori lived.
Several speakers during the reception ceremony all testified of his milk of kindness, generosity, humility, ready-to-help disposition, large heart and courage to fight for social justice and the common cause of the people when the need arose.
For instance, Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, in his condolences and tributes, said Kokori “gave up many things to see that democracy was fully entrenched in the country. He would rather spend four years incarcerated than keep mute or succumb to the powers that wanted to upturn the will of the people.
“He was fearless, bold, courageous, unwavering in convictions and a great force to reckon with in anything he sets his heart on. Indeed Nigeria has lost a rare gem, an icon and a compatriot in him.”
Deputy governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shuaibu, in his condolences, sang a similar song. He described Kokori as “authentic comrade,” “an uncommon patriot and elder statesman” who was consistently on the side of the masses, urging his children to sustain the vision and legacy of their father to achieve the Nigeria of his dreams.
Former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, in his tributes, threw more lights on Kokori’s inimitability. He praised his courage, doggedness, and fighting spirit which made him a great inspiration to generations of labour activities.”
Alternate chairman of the Sub-Committee (Media) for the Chief Kokori burial, Felix Ayanruoh, averred in his tribute that “even if the world failed to show enough for all the things you did. You left behind a memory of courage and commitment to humanity.”
According to him though dead, “we your heirs are comforted that in truth there’s nothing here for tears.”
At the grave site of the patriarch in the premises of his humble bungalow during the quiet internment, his children, clad in Urhobo attires, in absolute solidarity and unity, bade their daddy farewell. In their very eyes, their hero is lowered to mother earth for keeps. An era of eighty years was over! Boom, boom, boom were the booming sounds of the canons that ushered in Chief Franklin Ovie, son of Chief Robinson Viebinene Kokori of Ovu and Mrs Otovwiovwiere Kokori (Nee Ogomugo) of Orhokpokpo, Agbarho, to the arms of his ancestors and his Maker in a blaze of glory.
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