INTRODUCTION:
I have upon the attainment of 70 years at midnight of this 12ᵗʰ day of day, 2022, will be more comfortable speaking a little on my life and current affairs. My judicial life’s journey are already in the public domain and can be discerned from my judgments from the Magistracy to the Apex Court bench and the mistakes found in them are of the head never of the heart as I do not delude myself on perfection which is the exclusive preserve of the Almighty God.
I was born, Mary Ukaikpeghe NZENWA, the middle name from the now Rivers State on account of my family dealing with the Opobo/Bonny communities in the palm oil trade in the olden days and thereby acquired some of their cultures and language. That name Ukaikpeghe was translated to the Igbo form in 1971 while registering for the West African Examination (WAEC) and the Principal, Mrs Lucy Onwuka, showing me the space for name, which space could not contain the middle name, it had to be translated by her and I agreed that UKAEGO be the replacement. I believe in factual events no matter how trivial they may seem.
The above settled, I shall get back to the very beginning, which is that my parents were Bernard Chigbu Sunday NZENWA and Bernadette Nwatuma NZENWA nee Chinyere. My father was a lawyer, member Body of Benchers, Chairman Enugu Rangers Football Club and Spartans Football club of the old Imo State and later he became the Traditional Ruler of our community of OBIZI the title of Obizie III. My mother was a seamstress and trader on textiles. I was told that my parents began their marital life in present day Kwara State with my elder sister, Martina being born in Ilorin and I was born when they resided in Kaima even though the delivery was done at Orieonouha Maternity in Onicha Ezinihitte-Nbaise, Imo State and as a baby I was taken to Kaima. That birth was in 1952, 12th of May. My younger sister, Agnes was born in 1954 and the following year, 1955, my father proceeded to England to study Law. My mother took us to our village, Amudi Obizi, Ezinihitte where we lived with our paternal grandmother, Nmema Nzenwa in the expansive Nzenwa compound with many uncles and their various families. Grandma Nmema and our maternal grandparents, Chinyere Otuechere and Nwekenyia imbued in us loads of teaching which enriched us with the knowledge and experiences that have remained invaluable at the same time, indelible. At this stage, I need to place on record that I have six siblings, four females and two males namely, NARTINA, AGNES, NNENNA, ONYINYE, OKECHUKWU AND CHIKERE.
Their spouses are EUGENE, MAGNUS, CHUKS, CHINEDU, OBIAGELI and OGECHI.
Our paternal grandmother, Nmema died a few months to the return from England of my father in 1959. He took the family to Umuahia where he embarked in private legal practice under the name of OBIZI Chambers, which firm is still open till date. In 1962 he was called up to take the position of Secretary and Legal Adviser of Nigeria Airways which took us to Lagos until 1966 with the emergence of the Nigerian crisis and we headed back to our village.
The crisis dovetailed into the Nigerian Civil war and we were in the theatre of war named BIAFRA.
From my recollection the war ended in January 1970 and we resumed schooling in March of that year and I took the Certificate in 1971. Upon the release of our result in 1972, I went for ‘A’ Levels at the Queen of the Rosary College (QRC} Onitsha which was a brief stint as I got into University of Nigeria the same year of 1972 to study Law and in 1976 graduated. The same year of 1976 saw me in the Nigerian Law School, Victoria Island and in the course of the one year I was hosted by my relation, who lived in Ikoyi, Sir Lawrence Ugorji. It made life in the Law School comfortable and convenient hence my family remains ever grateful to De Lawrence.
My wonderful maternal uncle, Daniel Onyeonoro CHINYERE was my guardian and he made it a remarkable experience for me. Only the Almighty God will reward him for all he did for me. I was called to Bar in 1977, precisely, 1st July and on 26th August, 1977 I got married to my God send husband, Peter at Oredo Local Government Area, Benin city and the church blessing thereafter at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Airport road, Benin, all with my father’s unconditional consent, accompanied with a letter to that effect. At the time of of the Civil marriage, Peter was a House Officer in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital having graduated from the University of Nigeria (UNN) in June of 1977. He lived in a one room self contained apartment of the House Officers Quarters where we started our marital journey. It was there we had our first child, Adaeze in 1979 and same year we proceeded to Port Harcourt and the three other children were born in Benin though we lived in Port Harcourt as the University of Benin Teaching Hospital operated with excellence in view and the medical personnel representing the best of the best and my husband imbibed that orientation which he was to emulate later when he established his own hospital of PAMO CLINICS AND HOSPITALS in 1980.
I must at his stage name our children — Adaeze, a medical doctor/consultant in Family Health, Chinelo, High Court Judge of Rivers State, Peter — Medical Microbiologist working in NSITF, Njideka, High Court Judge of the FCT. Our two sons-in-law, Onwuka, an Engineer of Total Oil Company and Uzoma, a legal Practitioner.
CAREER PATH
I started my Youth Service in Abeokuta, Ogun State in July 1977 in the Ministry of Justice, DPP department as a Pupil State Counsel and some of my colleagues were Fatima o. Akinbami JCA (nee Abdullahi), Justice Nwaka(nee Oputa), Jonny Okorji and Edwin Osuhor and others.
I made a lot of effort to get transfered to Benin and in the course of that period had a miscarriage in Benin which the Youth Corps Director, Mr. Soyege chose to disbelieve that I was hospitalised in spite of the medical report. That period of being in hospital earned me a four month extension of service to be done in Benin City, hence I found myself in the Bendel State, Ministry of Justice as a Pupil State Counsel. Before the end of that extension of service I applied to the Bendel State Judiciary for the post of a magistrate and the then Chief Judge, Victor Ovie-Wiskey graciously made it possible by appointing me, Magistrate Grade 3 in 1978 since I had not made two years post call to the Bar as prescribed by the Bendel State Law to be appointed to the stage of Magistrate Grade 2. Again in his methodical way, upon attainment of the two years I got promoted to Grade 2. I pray God rest his soul and to his family we owe a debt of gratitude.
In 1979, Peter and I headed for Port Harcourt as Peter got employed in a private Clinic. I got appointed, Magistrate Grade 2 by Hon. Justice Donald Graham-Douglas, the then Chief Judge. Peter opened his hospital in 1980 in a rented premises with the name PAMO (Acronym for Peter, Mary and Adaeze, as she was the only child we had at the time).
My journey in the judiciary continued and I climbed every ladder of the Magistracy till 1992 when I became a High Court Judge. In 2004 I got elevated to the Court of Appeal with the encouragement of the President of the Court of Appeal at the time, Umaru Faruk Abdullahi (PCA), Hon. Justice F.F. Tabai, Hon. Justice J. Ogebe, Hon. M.O. Onalaja, Hon. Justice Sylvanus Nsofor , M.E. Akpioroh JJCA (as they then were) and few others. I am grateful for the urging of these great men and the permission from my husband to take up the new venture.
In 2011 to my shock the President of the Appeal then Ayo Isa Salami asked me to send my resume and 10 judgements for appointment to the Supreme Court. I did not see the feasibility and Peter and I had a good laugh at the joke. The words of Hon. Justice Salami when I took the papers to his office were soothing and fatherly and I remain grateful to him. I was at the time Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division and as only God would make possible the unreal, I got to the Apex Court and the Pinnacle of my Judicial Career.
There is need to acknowledge with many thanks a few of those who made my judicial journey memorable, some of them are resting with the good Lord and some alive. They are Hon. Chief Justices, Mohammed Bello,M uhammed Lawal Uwais, Alfa Belgore, Alloysius Katsina-Alu, Dahiru Musdapher, Mahmud Mohammed, Walter Onnoghen and Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, who also was my first Presiding Justice in the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division. I must mention with gratitude Hon. Justice O.O Adekeye, Bode Rhodes-Vivour, Suleiman Galadima, Clara Ogunbiyi, Amiru Sanusi, Sidi Bage Mohammad JJSC and the current President of the Court of Appeal, Monica Donghan Mensem, Hon. Justice Constance Momoh, Retired Chief Judge of Edo State and Hon. Justice J. Omorodion who I understudied in the Magistracy..
I cannot but put down on paper, the wonderful relationship I have enjoyed with my noble Lords of the Supreme Court who have served with me and who I can no longer refer to as current colleagues having made 70 years at midnight. I cherish and can never forget what we have shared in the spirit of brotherhood while I was in service at this Apex Court.
I recall in the same vein my cordial relationship with erstwhile colleagues in the Court of Appeal, High Court and Magistracy.
In the course of my duties as a judicial officer I have had a lot of help and enriching experiences from the members of the Bar and as points of contact I shall mention a few to stand in for the numerous others, viz : Senior Advocates Folake Solanke, O.C.J. Okocha,Okey Wali, Paul Usoro, Ifedayo Adedipe, Lucius Nwosu, Adegboyega Awomolo, Victoria Awomolo, Chris Uche, P.I.N. Ikwueto, Mike Ozekhome, Mohammed Bello Adoke, Livy Uzoukwu, E.C. Ukala, Jude Nnodum, Kanu Agabi, Damian Dodo, Wole Olanipekun, Dele Adesina, Lateef Fagbemi, Emeka Ngige, Boma Alabi, Emeka Etiaba, Emeka Obegolu, Yusuf Ali, Ahmed Raji, S.T. Hon, Lawal Rabana, Epiphany and Valerie Azinge, , Kehinde Ogunwumiju, J.S. Okutekpa, Charles Uwensuyi-Edosomwan, Awa Kalu, Gordy Uche, Dame Priscilla Kuye, Olumide Akpata (President Bar Association) Paulyn Abhulimen.
JOURNEY OF LIFE
I had earlier recounted my child bearing years, the children did not come without enormous sacrifices, care and attention in the course of duty by the personnel of UBTH between 1977-1984. I am grateful to them all, professors, consultants, Doctors, nurses, para medicals, other staff in the hospital, student nurses and I will use a few as points of contact, viz: my doctor who delivered all the children by caesarian section, prof. Alike Deijomaoh and his wife Lizzy, Prof. Linus and Christie Ajabor, Matron Osageide, Adesua Eimunjeze and Mrs. Eunice Ebie.
I have to acknowledge with gratitude the role my teachers at the University of Nigeria played in my studies. I would mention a few of them to stand in for the many others, viz: Prof. Chijioke Ogwuruike, Prof. Cyprian Okonkwo, Prof. Edwin Nwogwugwu, Prof. B.O. Okere, Prof. Ewelukwa, Prof Ezejiofor, Learned Senior Advocates, Clement Akpamgbo, Jerome Okolo, Prof. Ilochi Okafor.
At mid-night I attained 70 years by the special grace of God and upon that happening I have broken into the select group of elders of our nation. It therefore behooves on me, the duty to speak with the platform open to me today as a retired justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. I intend to do so
with the concept of taking the option of “dying on my feet than living on my knees”. A postulation of Emilio Zapata Salazar, the Mexican leader in the Revolution of 1910-1920. In the spirit of one who has lived through a lot of experiences and accosted by knowledge, good and bad, I will talk to my country men, women and children loud and clear. As I had earlier mentioned, I lived through the Nigerian Civil war which was percussed by the January 15th1966 Army Coup and later the July 1966 pogrom as it was referred to.
In the July incident I saw with my eyes, men running in their underpants with or without singlets from the Ikeja Army Cantonment which presentation made us leave our home at Ikeja GRA as the killings moved from the Igbo soldiers in the barracks to civilian population of Igbos and we had to take refuge in a room in Surulere and later to the East and the follow up war that incepted in 1967.
During the war we survived the air raids with the bombers and fighters as low as the height of fruit trees with me catching the eyes of one of the pilots on an occasion. I am bringing this up not whip up animosities or negative feelings but to the mind of all and sundry the emergency situation which now faces our Nation. Some of the actions or speeches that propelled the unfortunate war which took the lives of millions of our people are being re-enacted at this time hence the necessity for this reminder.
I am delving into this area of our national life in the light of the saying that while one ought not to hold on to the past but must move forward, the lessons of the past should not be dispatched to the dustbins of history but utilized positively to navigate the present and future.
I have noted with sadness that some of the good initiatives of the war zone and the potentials of persons old and young of that period have been thrown overboard hence the misfortunes that beset theNation even at this point in time with the authorities and individuals looking helplessly on.
That is not the way to go as those good creations and capacities ought to have been deployed as happened in other climes to their advancement. A case point is the skills acquisition programme which helped in the survival of a lot of people including the speaker.
In that regard I call to mind what I saw when watching the television in 1980s, the efforts of Maryam Abacha as wife of the Chief of Army Staff instituting skills acquisition in army barracks for wives of soldiers. It was Maryam Babangida that orchestrated the programme up to every Local Government Area of the Country down to Community level. The programs were later to be propelled under the Family Support Programme. I bring these efforts up because what seems to be happening in our polity is that in denigrating the spouses of those women, the laudable efforts they had espoused and championed are left unattended but treated as NGO affairs or women pet projects instead of having them given full steam by Government at all levels, with success assured and the current menace albeit emergency situation of unemployment with the attendant insecurity that has followed. The millions of idle youths is not unrelated to the insecurity on ground.
The urgency of what we are all faced with right now calls for the necessity or immediacy in tackling them. The matter has become a behemoth of sorts that need no further delay in solving. That is the reason that I propose that the Head of State should take on the garb of Minister of Youth, Employment and Social Welfare or such related name so that he directs the implementation of what is called for and put in place without middlemen, utilizing assistance of adequate and qualified personnel. Similarly the Governors of the respective states take over such ministries as the situation is needed to be done to stem the current tragic situation. The massive unemploymentof tertiary institution graduates is a tip of the iceberg as the conditions of the non-graduates who are numerous in number that have made the maker of grave concern. The situation is not helped by the perennial strikes which leave students roaming for months on end or idling away with their thoughts better imagined.
I have brought this up because the solution I proffer was tried out in Rivers State and it worked hence I implore that it be tried once more but this time nationallyand with urgency. The Government of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili did it from 2005 to 2007.
Again an area that should be given a consideration is the retirement of our uniformed men and women, military, police, in their prime with the expertise and high degree of training obtained nationally and internationally. These retired personnel that are now too numerous and let to rot at their various homes with their knowledge not utilized is a matter worthy of attention by the authorities which the apparatus of Government can factor the use or uses for these highly trained individuals to the benefit of all. I come to another point of anxiety, the matter that has been resonating for sometime, “Restructuring”, I cannot say much on it as I know little on the subject. However my concern stems from the fact that some of the people who have been happing on it are very serious men with acuity of intellect, accompanied by their respective track records that resound and so my humble view is that the issue should be given an immediate attention lest we ignore the matter at the risk of a lost opportunity to set the ship of state on the right course. While studying English language, our teachers told of “a stich in time saves nine”. In our own locality, the Igbos say “Anyi chuo ewu oji na ihe” which translated is, “Let us search for our black goat during the day”. The reason for this adage is that if the goat is not looked for during the day, it blends with the dark at nightfaII.
The last area I bring to the burner is the matter of state of origin of individuals in our country
which is gauged from the locality of birth of the parents. That a person was born in a place outside the locality of origin.
Working there in whatever trade and still considered a stranger has negative connotations in my humble opinion. Therefore I posit, a person’s state can be gauged by thenumber of years he has lived in a given place and his choice.
The follow up on this matter of state of origin or residency and the import thereto have thrown up the fact that the women have seen themselves taking the short end of the stick on account of marriage outside the state of their birth. These are matters that need urgent attention in our journey of nationhood and the building and sustaining thereof.
Having put across these views from my position in the Council of Elders, I would now state with
thankfulness to God, that I have enjoyed the goodwill of our compatriots from all spheres of human endeavor which was showcased when our home was invaded by persons whose mission and sponsors remain unclear. It is that regard my gratitude goes to all who identified with our family and the role in the resistance played by His Excellency NyesomWike, Governorof Rivers State, and his team and the security operatives at our residence is deeply appreciated. It is difficult and humanly impossible to mention the names of all, the media, individuals,groups, communities, Leadership and members of the National Assembly that identified with our family. I say on behalf of the Peter Odili family, May God bless you all and send helpers to you in your time of need.
FURTHER APPRECIATION
The grace of God has been on full display in my life which out of His making has taken very dramatic turns hence my unending terms of gratitude to God and man. It is from the Almighty that I got the great fortune of being granted a wonderful special man named Peter Otunuya Odili from Ndoni in Rivers State who has showered me with love and all the material luxuries at his disposal. He further placed in a family where the members of the enlarged Odili family did not see me as a new comer but as an original member and his brothers, their wives and sisters taking me as sibling. I use this opportunity to redeclare my everlasting love to you, my beloved husband.
My gratitude also to our children and their spouses. My thanks to Mr. Sylvester Nzenwa, the current head of the NZENWA family, my uncle Dan, head of the Chinyere family, the Odili enlarged family, General Peter and Rose Adomokhai. I am also grateful to our beautiful eight (8)grandchildren as we pray for more.
I cannot fail to acknowledge the trailblazing role of Hon. Justice Atinuke Ige, Justice of the Cout of Appeal of blessed memory and Hon. Justice Fati Abubakar, retired Chief Judge of Niger State, which judicial officers prevailed in their duties despite the political and national positions of their husbands; Chief Bola Ige, Governor of Oyo State and husband of Justice Atinuke Ige. General Abdulsalam Abubakar, Head of State and husband of Justice Fati Abubakar. The courage and strength of these females to persevere in their professions and duties inspite of those temporary attainments of their spouses were the spur I needed to get on with the task at hand when Peter became Deputy Governor in the old Rivers State between 1992 — 1993 and later in 1999 when he was Governor of Rivers State uptill 2007.
I would hereby capture the immense gratitude I bear for those who have associated with me and our
family in various capacities and I mention just a few, thus: DSP Isaac Onyesoh, ASP Madaki Chidawa,
Jemma and Patty Ekeanyanwu, Adebisi Ogunseye, Edith Amadi, Mamud Abubakar, Ifeyinwa, Josiah,
Abdulazeez Oniyangi, Josiah Garba, Simeon Egwu, Sani Salisu and Abdul Meshedu, among others.
To God be the Glory for this extraordinary day of my exit from the National Judiciary.
I thank you all
Mary Ukaego Peter- Odili.
JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT (RTD)
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