What the world should know about Chief Bethel Efekoro

By Tonukari Ochuko

There is an urgent need for us the Urhobos to start celebrating our heroes. There are great people from Urhoboland who offered their time, talent, experience and hard work to benefit those who are not so fortunate. There are people who enjoy making positive personal connections with others, connections that turn into larger changes in our world. Hon. Chief   Bethel Efekoro is such a person. I don’t think I am competent enough to evaluate the level of Chief Efekoro’s contributions to humanity. Therefore, I shall focus this write-up on just a miniature aspect of Chief Efekoro’s public and private life.

Chief Efekoro is a full-fledged and full-blooded member of the Urhobo people. He is a native of Kokori in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State. Kokori was mainly a farming community when Chief Efekoro was young. His father was a hardworking farmer whose ancestors were all highly respected members of the community. Indeed, the story of Hon. Chief   Bethel Efekoro is the story of success achieved through hard work. His resolve and determination to succeed amidst all odds could only be traced to his well-cultured parentage. Chief Efekoro was brought up in an environment that combined the noble and time-honored traditions of diligence, faith in God and intellectual quest. His whole life has been a fantastic demonstration of the flourishing of these traditions – a life characterized by the exercise of the intellect, hard-work and fear of God.

To be sure, Chief Efekoro lives his life as a universal man. This is why in Urhobo pantheon of heroes; he will continue to loom large and to have a unique appeal for his fellow Urhobos and also for people of other lands. His stellar profile will always outshine those of many of his compatriots because he had etched his name in a wider and more global canvas than that of his contemporaries. He had served as a Member of President Barack Obama’s Kitchen Cabinet (Advisor), USA; founder/president, African Peoples Politicians for Africans, Inc., USA; Founder, African Peoples Economic Development for Africans, Inc., USA; Founder, War Against Corruption in Nigeria and United States; Ex-President, Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), USA; and Founder, Agbonride Club of Nigeria, USA. Chief Efekoro’s personal impact on Urhobo society and culture in the decades between the 1970s and 2000s has been extraordinary. His relevance will continue to endure and grow especially because of his eloquence as a spokesman for egalitarianism, his abiding philanthropic and humanitarian engagements which cuts across tribal lines, his practical common sense which enabled him always to see to the heart of any issue and also for his unwavering fairness and utter honesty.

Chief Bethel Efekoro is a strong advocate of Urhobo culture and thus bears several Urhobo honorific nicknames such as Katiakpa, Orohwekedjo, Oyiborochiyodjigbo etc. During his tenure as the president of Urhobo Progress Union (USA), he took many bold steps and spearheaded several projects that benefited countless Urhobos and non-Urhobos in the United States. Indeed, he took on the burden of leadership for the whole African Diaspora. His stature as a charitable and generous personality was confirmed by how he would always spend his money to facilitate and promote Urhobo unity in Diaspora. Besides, the number of Urhobo people whom Chief Bethel Efekoro has helped and who later became very successful in their chosen professions are too numerous to mention.  For these reasons, in Urhoboland and in other places, Chief Bethel Efekoro has become an incandescent and luminescent icon. The relationship between his philosophical expression of broadminded ideals and the more attenuated reality of his own life had accentuated and transformed him into one of Africa’s most renowned and respected elder statesmen in the United States.

To my mind, Chief Efekoro is simply one of the greatest Urhobo men ever, and I believe one of the greatest Urhobo patriots of the 20^th and 21^st century. He is among the greatest the Urhobo nation has ever had. Chief Efekoro epitomized the traditional Urhobo spirit of a positive, can-do attitude, reliance on fundamental moral principle emanating from faith in God, dedication to the principles of individual liberty, and a commitment to the unity and coexistence of people everywhere. For the sake of those who would want to bestow some of that honor on others, the world knows, God knows, and we know that it was Chief Bethel Efekoro’s drive, unwavering commitment and faith, and his vision that enabled hundreds of Urhobos and non-Urhobos to find their bearing in the United States. Hope in the United States was waning on the part of many Nigerians, but Chief Bethel Efekoro provided a candle along with a light. No one else in any major office of government or private business has done that except Chief Bethel Efekoro. History has proven him right. Today, the Urhobo nation has many prominent personalities in the United States. But it was not always so. This is with regard to the goodwill and magnanimity of men like Chief Bethel Efekoro and the likes. Chief Bethel Efekoro is no doubt a courageous and venerable Urhobo leader and one of Nigeria’s most charismatic and respected elder statesmen internationally. To many Urhobos at home and abroad, he is regarded as one of the major pillars of the nation. Chief Efekoro is an ardent pan-Africanist, a man of high moral principles, a man of self-abnegation and the champion of Nigeria’s war against corruption.

In recent time, it has become one of Chief Efekoro’s cardinal visions to see that a world-class teaching hospital that will treat and educate men and women in the numerous fields of the medical sciences is situated in Urhoboland. Previously, Chief Bethel Efekoro was among prominent Urhobos who fought for the introduction of Urhobo Language as an academic field of study at the Delta State University, Abraka. In his view, the Urhobo nation deserves rapid development not only for its own sake but because it embodied an ideal, the ideal of Urhobo greatness as a nation. Having done so much to put Urhobo in the universal scheme of things, he turned his attention to finding solutions to the socio-economic and political problems bedeviling Africa. To achieve this, he founded African Peoples Economic Development Agency (APEDA).

Every year since 2009, the African Peoples Economic Development Agency has been offering scholarships to students with good academic potentials, who in the words of Chief Efekoro, “may be lacking financial ability in pursuing higher education”.  Through APEDA, Chief Efekoro has used his wealth for the material and intellectual wellbeing of his fellow men. In his benevolence, the hungry have found food to eat and out of his love for knowledge, Chief Efekoro has donated classroom blocks, vehicles and money to various educational institutions and charity organizations; awarded several scholarships to deserving Nigerian students in secondary schools and institutions of higher learning both in Nigeria and abroad, and sponsored various sporting activities in order to ensure an even development of the mind, soul and body, which is the primary objective of education. In Liberia for example, the African Peoples Economic Development Agency (APEDA) has contributed immensely in the areas of youths and women empowerment through advocacy, skill acquisition programs, sensitization, training and free medical outreach programs as well as taking care of people affected by ebola and deployed its team to participate in the monitoring and observation of the Liberia Election of October 10, 2017. His efforts at transforming the economic landscape of Africa and stemming the tide of poverty have not gone unnoticed, as he has several recognitions and awards to that effect.

Also, in his capacity as a Member of President Obama’s Kitchen Cabinet, Chief Efekoro laboured tirelessly to put Africa, Nigeria and his native Urhobo in the annals of history. Chief Efekoro once advised Barack Obama not to give aid to Africa as this only end up in the pockets of politicians, but that America should start helping Africans to develop technologically, educationally, scientifically, economically and politically. He believes that the cultivation of leaders with exceptional traits and skills is critical to Africa’s development. In the future, the political side to Efekoro’s character and his profound worldview in particular, would come under close study, as upcoming generations would continue to find him a rich subject for research.  

Nonetheless, studies of Chief Bethel Efekoro’s life have suggested that his most significant contribution to modern Urhobo progress was to link non-Urhobo aspirations to transcendent, widely shared egalitarian ideals. While helping everyone irrespective of their tribal backgrounds to find their feet in the United States, he inspired the Nigeria society to believe that development is just and consistent with traditional Nigerian egalitarian values. Chief Bethel Efekoro has constantly appealed to the consciences of Nigerians and successive Nigerian governments, thus building popular support for a veritable reform in government.

Chief Bethel Efekoro is a philosopher, thinker, strategist, organizer, a moral exemplar and our kinder and gentler teacher on the politics of liberation, African unity, nation-building and internationalist solidarity with the people of the Third World.  Efekoro’s numerous writings to African leaders demonstrate and articulate the urgent need for revolutionary change and democratic reconstruction of post-colonial African societies. His political ideologies are shaped by the colonial and neocolonial predicament of Africa and the African Diaspora.

Chief Bethel Efekoro had always had the desire to serve Nigeria in leadership capacity but has remained hesitant due to the high level of bribery and corruption in government. He strongly believes that the scale of the problem of bribery and corruption in Nigeria is worrisome at both the corporate and governmental level and it is creating a major distortion of trade as well as undermining the democratic development of Nigeria as a new emerging market. But despite not wanting to serve in a government riddled with corruption, he has always made it a point of duty to help behind the scene, and has taken his crusade against bribery and corruption to Nigeria, thereby constantly writing to draw the attention of the former president, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, to the matter. In one of such correspondences, Chief Efekoro hinted that bribery and corruption are some of the major vices destroying the social, economic and political fabrics of Nigeria and are major obstacles to development. He expressed his displeasure over the high rate of poverty, diseases, avoidable deaths, insecurity and high level of unemployment in Nigeria. He had also written a good number of times to advise the then governor of his home state, His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan during his tenure, about the urgent need to wage war against murder, weapons, kidnapping, violence and corruption in Delta State.

In several documents published by APEDA, Chief Bethel Efekoro had spoken and written extensively about the multifaceted challenges facing Nigeria and the solutions on how to resolve them. He is pained that government which is set up to build the country and fight any form of corruption is now stealing from her own people. Although, he praised President Mohammed Buhari for making efforts to minimize corruption, but he still think much more needs to be done. Public office holders found guilty of corruption should be punished more frequently and harshly. If convicting corrupt politicians becomes normal others will learn, and with time, corruption in Nigeria can be made a thing of the past. Chief Bethel Efekoro also blame some of Buhari’s officials for not performing their functions and have become too busy enriching their pockets instead of performing their duties effectively.

It should be mentioned here that at the beginning of Buhari’s administration, Chief Efekoro wrote to congratulate him especially with regard to his campaign promise to fight corruption to a standstill, which is in line with the central tenet of War Against Corruption (WAC), an organization that is registered in Nigeria and United States, which Chief Efekoro founded. It has since come to the knowledge of Chief Efekoro that President Buhari and his campaign team used many materials and ideas that emanated from the publications of WAC to win the 2015 presidential elections without any credit or attribution. This matter has been brought to the attention of Chief Efekoro by his associates a couple of times but he is yet to take any action, perhaps because patent rights are not well codified and respected in Nigeria.

Humble, unassuming, genial and avuncular, Chief Bethel Efekoro’s personality typifies the simplicity of true greatness. He lives a simple life which is in harmony with his message and the values of truth and justice to which he adheres. Incorruptible and fully accountable, his life and work set an example of integrity that challenges his country and people, the rest of Africa and the world. His practical and benevolent approach to life is based on a profound religious faith to which he attributes all his accomplishments. He always believes that faith and commitment are not only compatible paths to knowledge, but that their interaction is essential if truth in all its manifold complexity is to be approximated. Always modest about his success, he sees himself as a vehicle through which God, nature and the natural bounties of the land could be better understood and appreciated for the good of all people.

Indeed, Chief Efekoro is one of the wise sons of Africa who guides our journey towards placing Africa in her rightful place in the world. At the height of his career, Chief Efekoro dedicated himself to the upliftment of humanity and remained committed to justice and equality. He is a pillar of strength to oppressed people all over the world and he is admired for his wisdom, his intellect and integrity. The best ways to celebrate this great man is for Africans to re-commit themselves every day to the cause of peace, stability and a better life for all. The best way to celebrate this man is to keep up his struggle to free all Africans from hunger and starvation; from homelessness; from diseases that are killing thousands of our people; from joblessness, illiteracy, corruption, conflict and war; from tyranny and from oppression.

This is the story of Chief Bethel Efekoro, the man who has faith, not just in his own gifts and his own ability, but in the possibilities of every life. We can learn from this man the value of selfless service and maybe a little something about love for humanity. His cheerful spirit is more than a disposition; it is the optimism of a faithful soul who trusted in God’s purposes and knew those purposes to be right and true. A committed Christian, Chief Efekoro is convinced that everything happens for a reason and that he had been chosen by God to play a part in African, Nigerian and Urhobo great mission. There is pride in that, but there is also wisdom and truth. That is the way Chief Efekoro lives. He does not want to be enlarged or idealized beyond what he really is. He believes that to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tries to right it, saw suffering and tries to heal it, saw illiteracy and tries to change it, who saw hate and tries to teach love, that is good enough. Chief Efekoro’s said something recently in one of APEDA’s publications that he wants the world to note. It is worth quoting in full:

“UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations is the seat of the world, but are mute on human rights, which means they are lacking in the leadership of the world.

UNITED STATES: The United States abandoned democracy which they initiated and fought for in the world. They should have remained as the referee for the whole world.

NIGERIA: Many Nigerian politicians are murderers, and they are the abusers of human rights and democracy. Today, President Buhari is suffering from total discrimination based on disability and age, and for Nigeria to charge him on his educational qualifications is discrimination and unconstitutional.”

It is my prayer that the Almighty God will continue to bless him with robust health and many more years of happiness. May his vision and hope for humankind grow in each of our hearts and nurture within us a hope for the world’s future where all people will be treated as brothers and sisters.