How to revive the enviable imprints of the late Premier of the defunct Eastern Region, Dr. Michael Iheonukara Okpara (MI), was the focus at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State, 2025 Founders Day celebration and the second bi-annual lecture series created in his honour by the serving sixth Vice Chancellor (VC), Professor Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe.

The event, which was held at the university’s new ultra-modern lecture theater that took about 15 years to complete, was commissioned the same day by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Comrade Fidelis Chukwunweike Edeh.

The unveiling of the roadmap was announced by Chairman of the South East Development Commission (SEDC), Dr. Emeka Wogu, in a lecture titled “Agripreneur Model for Attainment of National Food Security and Economic Development: The M.I. Okpara Approach in Retrospect – Leveraging the South East Development Commission (SEDC) as a Modern Vehicle for Legacy Continuity.”

Late MI, who was born on December 24, 1920, and died on December 17, 1984, became the Premier of the defunct region at the age of 39 and served for six years till the first military took over Nigeria’s government in 1966.

VC Iwe, in his address, said that the lecture series was put in place to honour the late MI as a visionary icon, energetic entrepreneur, and selfless medical doctor who, out of passion and love for humanity, joined politics and became an impactful and enviable leader and statesman.

He said, “Dr. Okpara was not only able to see tomorrow from yesterday but clearly planned for the days after tomorrow from yesterday and brought an enviable revolution to bear on agriculture, industrialization, and the socio-political landscape of the defunct Eastern Region that he governed and thus made the defunct region the then fastest-growing economy in Africa.”

Nigeria’s former Economic Adviser, late Dr. Pius Okigbo, had in his book “Okparanomics: The Economic and Social Philosophy of Michael Okpara” stated, “MI was such a rounded and profoundly educated man; medicine was his calling, politics his career, and wide-ranging intellectual pursuits his emetic, even as he read wide in philosophy, literature, economics, and medicine.”

The son of the late Premier and Chairman of the “MI Okpara Foundation,” Chief Uzodinma Okpara, appreciated the numerous eulogies showered on his father and the new move by the SEDC to revive his enviable modus operandi.

He disclosed that his late father told him that he did not regret his poor economic status after service in high political offices, during and after which their family resided in a four-bedroom house.

“My father told me that he knew what he would have done to become one of the richest men in Africa but that rather, he chose ‘Okparanomics,’ which implied creating and providing wealth, food, employment, and lasting development and putting affordable food on the people’s tables and stomachs,” he said.

“This ‘Okparanomics’ should therefore be a lesson and guide for our leaders today. If they can provide affordable food and create employment, the citizenry would be happy. So let the leadership provide food and create employment to make the people happy. The greatest tribute to our late father and leader is to make the spirit of MI Okpara live in us so that all would be happy.”

Dr. Wogu, in his lecture delivered on his behalf by Professor Nnamdi Obiareri, posited that none of MI’s successors has been able to effectively, visibly, and successfully step into his shoes, describing him as an iconic leader and trailblazer.

Wogu said, as Minister of Agriculture, late Premier Okpara, “using the Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation, opened up floodgates to massive agricultural developments and viewed agriculture not merely as a traditional occupation but as a modern, commercial enterprise that could drive regional industrialization and national prosperity.”

According to Wogu, a former Minister of Labour and Productivity, SEDC is a modern reincarnation of the MI Okpara development models but with technology and AI (Artificial Intelligence), with promises of improvement and better versioning.

He noted, “The indelible footprint of Dr. MI, through his sterling leadership qualities, endeared him to the SEDC Board such that it instituted a legacy leadership and talent development project tagged ‘MI Okpara Fellowship for Young Leaders, Internship etc.,’ which is targeted at training and mentoring young people from the South East along the line of quality leadership skills and international best practices.”

There is a compelling need to use the SEDC as a vehicle for the rapid development of the South East geopolitical zone and, given the support and partnership of critical stakeholders, the SEDC will not only return the zone to its glorious days but also ensure it serves as an agripreneur model for national food security and economic development attainment.

VC Iwe, therefore, lauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for creating the development commissions in the six geopolitical zones, including the SEDC, and appointing competent people like Dr. Wogu to man them, positing that they will serve as veritable vehicles for progress in our various regions.

He consequently affirmed that MOUAU is willing, available, ready, and enthusiastic to partner with the SEDC to bring about an agricultural revolution in Southeastern Nigeria in line with the vision of the late sage Dr. MI Okpara.

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, through his Agriculture Commissioner, Dr. Cliff Agbaeze, said that the lecture topic reminds us of the transformative power of agriculture in shaping the economy and ensuring food security.

He stated that though Dr. Okpara once demonstrated that our region’s potential for a globally competitive agricultural sector is vast and that his leadership and vision laid the foundation for an agrarian revolution, economic growth, and landmark infrastructural development, it was unfortunate that the progress achieved during his era was not sustained by successive regimes due largely to a shift in focus from agriculture to petroleum in what is popularly termed the “Dutch Disease” and “Resource Curse” syndromes.

Describing MI as one of Nigeria’s great leaders with a vision for creating prosperity for citizens and leaving imprints of audacious revolutions that defy time and space, offering themselves as pillars upon which many generations after them consolidate without depending on others for their survival, Chairman of the event and Senator for Abia Central, Senator Austin Akobundu, a former Minister of State for Defence, concurred that agriculture, which was Nigeria’s economic mainstay, still remains its surest path back to food security and economic development as proven by Dr. Michael Okpara’s policies and actions.

“There is hope for a greater today and a better tomorrow if the SEDC Commission and its crop of management board leverage the commitment of the current crop of political leaders across the region to pursue an agenda of revamping Okpara’s policies for legacy continuity,” he added.