• A foremost advocate for resource control, derivation principle
• ‘Nigeria must review 1999 Constitution, create state police’

The ranks of elder statesmen who understand what Nigeria ought to be further depleted on Monday with the demise of nationalist, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark. Announcing his passing, yesterday, Prof. C. C. Clark on behalf of the family said he died on Monday. He was aged 97 years.

This came as the country is still mourning the demise of his fellow political friend, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, whose transition occurred on Friday at the age of 96 years.

Clark’s eldest son, Ebikeme, disclosed that the Nonagenarian had complications with breathing at about midnight on Saturday and was rushed to a private hospital in Abuja where he was on admission until he passed away on Monday evening.

Until he breathed his last at the age of 97, Clark was a fearless advocate of fairness, justice and equity. He was the leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF), federal Commissioner of Information under the military administration of General Yakubu Gowon and Senator for three months in the Second Republic before the military struck again to end that democratic dispensation in December 1983.

Chief Clark was also among the last batch of nationalists who played active roles in the struggle for Nigeria’s independence and followed its political trajectory to the Fourth Republic.

As a member of the foremost political party in Nigeria, the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), the platform he used to contest and win election as a Councilor in Bomadi, Delta State, in 1953, Clark was in the class of those who chatted a pathway for Nigeria and how it can attain greatness.

His life and times were characterised by a struggle for a prosperous Nigeria where justice, fairness and equity will reign supreme, a dream he shared with the late Dr Nnamidi Azikwe, Tafawa Balewa, Sardauna of Sokoto, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and other founding fathers of the country at independence. Regrettably, this dream was not achieved in his lifetime, which explains why he became an activist who always spoke truth to power without fear of contradiction.

Throughout his lifetime, he relished the memory of the First Republic, which he described as the “golden era of Nigeria,” and worked tirelessly for the return of such an era where there would be true federalism, which would allow for resource control and healthy rivalry among states.

To achieve this, Chief Clark joined other Nigerians in advocating for restructuring of the country and review of the 1999 Constitution to reflect the thrusts of the 1963 Constitution, which was in tandem with the agreement reached by the founding fathers of Nigeria at independence in 1960.

He said: “Bring the best expert to come and manage Nigeria under the 1999 Constitution, it will not yield any result because it is a scam. The last constitution we had in this country was the 1963 Constitution, the 1999 Constitution was dictated by the military and handed down to Nigeria and that is why there is no development and there is a security crisis everywhere.”

He accused those who enjoyed the benefits of the 1963 Constitution, which guaranteed true federalism of sabotaging and denying the current generation of Nigerians of the benefits of true federalism.

Despite his agitation for constitutional review and restructuring, he strongly believed in the corporate existence of Nigeria and never crossed the borderline of the disintegration of the country.

He said: “The unity of this country cannot be broken by anybody, but we must examine the structure of this country. We cannot remain like this; we need to have proper federalism, a federal system of government where everybody is equal.”

While emphasising that the current political arrangement is antithetical to the development of the country, he believed that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society where people can happily live together if true federalism is allowed.

“We have many challenges retarding our development because we did not allow people and states to develop themselves. We studied this country very well before independence and we all agreed that it was going to be a federation where every region moves at its own pace, where physical federalism would be recognised,” he said.

He regretted that “the military took over and over time all that changed. Progressively the federal system was eroded; power was concentrated in the centre and more resources were shifted to the centre. And the federating units got splintered into more and increasingly unviable entities that are dependent on the centre.

“Currently the federating units lack control over their resources and the capacity to develop at their paces. Thus, there is little healthy competition among them as they try to provide for their populations, populations that are largely detached from the primary source of government revenues. It is no wonder, therefore, that our country finds it difficult to make appreciable progress in the key indices of development, and accountability.”

Clark believed that the over-concentration of power at the centre did not encourage various states to develop their potential making them handicapped and dependent on the centre for monthly allocations. “There is no state without economic potential but the current arrangement does not allow for development of such mineral resources we have everywhere in this country. The states have become beggars looking up to the centre for their survival. No, this is not what we bargained for as the independence of this country.”

AS a fearless voice from the Niger Delta, he was not a tribal jingoist but a firm believer in a political arrangement that promotes justice and fairness in Nigeria.

This was amply demonstrated in the last general election when his SMBLF and PANDEF endorsed Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi. This position was taken along with his political friend and associate Pa Ayo Adebanjo.

To them, it is only fair to allow somebody from the South-East, a region that never produced the president, to do so in the interest of the unity of the country and to heal the wounds of the civil war.

Clark said he endorsed Obi because of his firm belief that “Nigeria must remain a country where all citizens should be given free and unfettered opportunities for national service, even at the level of the highest office, the Presidency of our land.    That there should be no second-class citizens in this country, all Nigerians must be treated equitably and fairly.”

He said he had no choice but to support his candidature because of Obi’s restated commitment to restructuring and devolution of power that will promote harmony, and peaceful co-existence among the states and constituent parts of the country.

The Ijaw leader was known to be brutally frank when proffering solutions to myriads of social and economic challenges facing Nigeria.  Clark has been a self-described leader of the Ijaw nation. He supported the Ijaw ethnic group in Delta State during an ethnic crisis in Warri and has led Ijaw leadership delegations to meet political leaders.

However, his agitation for resource control and a better life for the people of the Niger Delta, especially since 1999, pitched him against many political leaders who had refused to find solutions to the marginalisation of the oil-rich region. He therefore emerged as the most vocal advocate for the Niger Delta’s development, calling for resource control, environmental justice, and economic empowerment for the oil-producing states.

His leadership of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) made him the de facto spokesperson for the region. He played a crucial role in negotiations between militant groups and the Nigerian government, contributing to the 2009 amnesty programme that helped curb violence in the Niger Delta. He also engaged with successive administrations, including those of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari, pushing for greater investment in the region.

He often told people that agitation for derivation or resource control was not new, as it was captured in section 140 of the 1960 Constitution.   He noted that Chief Obafemi Awolowo of the Western region and Sir Ahmadu Bello of the Northern region were able to develop their regions above the Eastern region as a result of the practice of the principle of derivation.

He said: “The Eastern Region did not progress like the other two regions. From the benefits of the practice of the derivation principle, the Western Region introduced free education, built universities, and the first Television in Africa, among other economic and social infrastructure, including hiring at the time, an Israeli Company, Soleh Bole, develop roads and other infrastructure.”

He pointed out that the derivative principle continued till the discovery of oil in commercial quantity at Oloibiri in 1956 when the then Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, sent a congratulatory message to the then Premier of the Eastern Region, Dr Michael Okpara.

The sharing formula at the time was 50 per cent of the revenue for the owning State, while 20 per cent and 30 per cent go to the Federal government and distributable pool, for sharing among the regions, including the contributing region.

Born on May 25, 1927, in Kiagbodo, Delta State, Clark began his education at the African Church School, Effurun Otor, in 1938. He later attended the Government Teacher Training College in Abraka from 1949 to 1953.

He had great experiences as Headmaster of several schools in Ofoni, Western Ijaw, Bomadi, between 1955 and 1957, and as Assistant Community Development Officer, from 1957 to 1961 before proceeding to the United Kingdom to study law at Holborn College of Law from 1961 to 1964. He was a Member of the Honourable Society of Inner Temple, London between 1952 and 1965.

During his political career, apart from being a Councilor in Bomadi in 1953, he was appointed a Special Adviser in 1966 by the then Military Governor of the Midwestern Region. Subsequently, Governor Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia of the Old Bendel State appointed him as Commissioner for Education in 1968 and later Commissioner for Finance and Establishment.

He was a founding member of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) under the platform he became a senator. He championed resource control and regional development, striving to address the challenges faced by the South-South geopolitical zone.

Clark authored an autobiography titled: Brutally Frank, where he detailed his life’s journey, including his roles as a politician, nationalist, and advocate for justice and equity in Nigeria.

The content of the book goes beyond his personal story, it intertwines with the histories of the Ijaw and Urhobo people, the broader Niger Delta region, and Nigeria as a whole. Through this narrative, key historical events that have shaped the nation’s present reality are recounted with unfiltered honesty. Additionally, Chief Clark highlights crucial facts and fundamental truths that must be acknowledged and understood for Nigeria to progress and reclaim its rightful position on the global stage.