By Johnson Egbemudia Dudu PhD.
The award of Honoris Causa by a University is usually in recognition of known achievement by the beneficiary. The degree which is often tagged Doctor Honoris Causa (DHC) unlike the normal doctorate is given to deserving personalities due to their accomplishments – persons with genuine contributions to society. The practice of honorary degrees started with the University of Oxford that awarded the first honorary degree to Lionel Woodville, in the late 1470s during the Middle Ages.
Come 16th of November 2024, along the quintessential former governor of Cross River State His Excellency Donald Duke, Professor Emeritus Andrew Godwin Onokerhoraye will be awarded a DHC at the prestigious Western Delta University, Oghara, Delta State. The distinguished academic who had his doctorate far back 1974, was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin between 1992 and 1998, and the current Executive Director of Centre for Population and Environmental Development (CPED), Benin City. He was the pioneer Pro-Chancellor of Western Delta University. His Chairmanship of the School’s Governing Council coincided with the trying time of the Institution. It was a time that his expertise as an astute university manager came to bear in the administration and control of the university. Like I used to joke with him “Prof. you need to pick your best bullets to make this university stand and survive. Know this, that, if the university fails, your credentials will be called to question”. “No Johnson, it is a difficulty job, the Visitor knows the calibre of persons I am before I was given the task. I cannot afford to fail him and the people of Niger- Delta. This is one of the very few private universities in Nigeria in our region, and we must do all we can to sustain it”. This was the spirit the Emeritus Professor Onokerhoraye put into his job as the Chairman of the Governing Council.
Professor Onokerhoraye has seen it all in the university system. As soon as he was recruited into the University of Benin in 1982 as an outstanding researcher from the Nigerian Institute for Social and Research (NISER)from Ibadan, he grew through every hierarchy of the university system, rising to become the Vice Chancellor in 1992 after his positions as Head of Department in Geography, Dean of Social Sciences and the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) in the University. In all these, the Isiokolo scholar who was raised in Okitipupa, excelled in all the positions – earning both the admiration of students as well as staff of the institution.
Professor believes the greatest concern of a university administrator is to promote scholarship among the staff and students, hence, he built the capacity of the staff. It was in this spirit that most staff in the University of Benin in his time as Vice Chancellor furthered their studies, with some rising from primary school leaving certificate to become graduates. I was also a beneficiary of his love for education –helping me to move from my first degree I had when I started working with him.
The need for equality and equity in all human relationships was one thing the astute geographer was known for. Hence, his drive to promote learning did not just revolve around his university and organizational staff, but to all who genuinely needed to further their education. Through the CPED, several students have been assisted financially to go for their M.Sc. as well as PhD. Today, testimonies abound from the beneficiaries of such good gestures from the one-time Chairman of Western Delta University.
As the Pioneer Chairman of Council of the University when he held sway, though confronted most time with financial constraint to manage the university, the council he led was able to keep the university afloat with the little at their disposal through prudent financial management. Through his dexterity in academic management, infrastructures of the institution were upgraded, staff were hired appropriately to meet the teaching needs of the school and learning facilities were procured within the limit of available resources. This enabled the accreditations of most of the courses in the university.
The distinguished academic, held the view that the name Prof. Onokerhoraye should not be associated with failure. This credence always drives him to move beyond good to excellent by putting in extra works in all he is associated with. No wonder the current council of the university and the management deem it appropriate to appreciate all his efforts over the years in making the university what it is today. It is heartwarming that the hard work to nurture the Western Delta University from the cradle did not go unobserved. Honour must be given to whom it is due.
Emeritus Professor Onokerhoraye who is an Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) of Nigeria and Justice of Peace from great Agbon Kingdom of Urhobo land deserves this recognition. In a time when some institutions have been accused of awarding the Honoris Causa to wealthy individuals with questionable characters, one must commend the University Council and Management of Western Delta University for following the ethics of contribution and excellence as a yardstick for this award. This is one award so deserving in recent years. I congratulate my teacher, mentor, confidant and my father as he set to receive this prestigious award from Western Delta University.
Johnson Egbemudia Dudu PhD is of the Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State. He writes from Gombe.
