By Emman Ozoemena
I am sad to hear about the passing of a great African, Prof. Okello Oculi, a scholar, poet, pan Africanist, activist and humanist today. He was a thought leader who was committed to seeing the best emerge from Africa.
With a metropolitan world view like the Stoics philosophers,
he dedicated his prodigious talents and intellectual resources towards
actualizing the grand vision of a united Africa.
Our paths crossed over two decades ago in the course of my work as a journalist at a workshop in Abuja, Nigeria, where he presented a paper. I remember vividly, I walked up to him during the tea break, and we had a conversation regarding his paper. We exchanged contacts thereafter, and had kept in touch since then.
For anyone who knows Prof, he had a lucid mind and his
recollections are top notch, so I would always note the theme of each
conversation I had with him in the corner of my mind, using the method of 'Associationism' in psychology to recall
the details.
About a year ago, in July 2024, I ran into Prof at the Post
Office, at Area 10, Garki Abuja, where I had gone to keep a business
appointment. On my way out I sighted him talking to the lady at the EMS section
where he had gone to send a mail regarding an ongoing project he was involved in.
I waited patiently for him to finish his transactions with the Post Office staff.
In my mind I knew that I would have to reorder my schedules
for the day as the manner had been since I knew him. After two minutes, he asked me to come close so that we can talk while the NIPOST Staff were processed his
parcels and prepared his receipts.
I greeted him in our usual manner. He would always hail me with, 'my friend and comrade, Ozoemena,' and I would respond, 'my Professor and Comrade.' After exchanging pleasantries, he told me that he was engaged with a book project targeted at promoting scholarship among Africans.
We also discussed the African Union Assembly of Heads of
States Moot Session, his non-governmental
organization, Africa Vision, and the programme it organised for secondary school students in Abuja,
Nigeria, to inculcate the vision of the founding fathers of the continental body as
well as expose young people to procedures for high level meetings and engagement.
I apologised to him that I received the invitation to the
AU Moot Session 2024 a few months before that day but I was unable to attend.
He simply smiled and told me there would be other events in future.
Our conversation shifted to trends in Africa and Nigeria,
and how change could happen to impact on the lives of ordinary people
across thousands of villages in Africa, where the poor and the excluded are
striving to eke out living.
We headed to a shopping complex located at Gimbia Street
Area 11, where he purchased the medicine. After he turned to me said, 'let's go
upstairs and check for some books, as the Roving Heights Bookstore is located
in the same complex.
We spent time going through different book shelves, neatly
arranged by themes: politics, autobiography, sciences, engineering, children's novels, etc. We were in the bookstore for over 45 minutes until he was able to
identify two books which he bought and told the store keeper he would return some other day to check for new arrivals.
For me the day was well spent as I reminded Prof of a discussion we had sometime in 2000, about
how African leaders needed to prepare better during international engagements with
data, facts and logic to get better bargains. He believed that Africa has immense
potentials for greatness and that there is need to revise several narratives about
Africa's development trajectory from negative to positive.
When I left him that day, I was sure that we would meet up soon, to catch up on some
discussions we were unable to finish. We shook hands and his parting words were
, 'Ozoemena see you soon. Thank you for your time.' I responded by saying, 'Prof. thank you for sharing the
wisdom of the elders with me today. I will live with the nuggets you shared
today forever.' Then, he responded with a broad
smile. I could recollect this last encounter with Prof with nostalgia, as
if it was just yesterday.
For instance, he told me some years ago that instead of
crying wolf about the brain drain, we should reverse it to brain gain. He went
head to be one of the editors of a book on brain drain published by the Ahmadu
Bello University Zaria.
In fact, early in January 2025, I was working on a paper on
the theme of JAPA and Prof's argument on brain gain provided me with key
insights to canvass for brain gain instead of the traditional lamentation on
brain drain.
In fact, recently, I wanted to call him to ask how I could give him a copy of the book on Brain Gain which he co-edited. Unfortunately, I was distracted by some other commitments, and I was unable to make the call. With hindsight that would have been my last conversation with Prof Okello Oculi, a great son of African who believes that anywhere in Africa is home to Africans.
He lived and died a
staunch Africanist; though originally
from Uganda, he saw a home in Nigeria from where he served Motherland
Africa.
Good night Prof, Okello Oculi. You made our Motherland Africa proud.
*Emman Ozoemena, a public policy consultant based in Abuja,
Nigeria.
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