Prof Julius Ihonvbere: An Academic In Politics.
Comrade Joshua Iraoya
Prof Julius Ihonvbere is indeed a human elephant with so many meaty biographical components. For instance, he is an Academic, Intellectual, a Politician, Researcher, Writer, Author, Publisher and Pro-Democracy Activist; as well as a former university Don in addition to being a unionist in Student Union Government (SUG) and Academic Staff Union Of University (ASUU) all rolled into one harmonious whole.
Although, he is from the Owan–speaking area of Edo State, Nigeria, he was born in Oyo town in old Western Nigeria.
He had his primary education in Oyo and Warri respectively before proceeding to Edo Boys High School, Benin in Edo State for his secondary education
Like in the primary school, he showed his academic prowess by getting the best West African School Certificate result at first attempt at the college. Later, he proceeded to the University of Ife, Nigeria for his BA combined honours in History and Political Science.
Because of his desire to drink deep from the prierian spring of education, he went to Canada where he obtained his MA in International Affairs from Carleton University, Ottawa followed by a doctorate in Political Science at the University of Toronto in the same country.
As a don, he has taught at the universities of Ife and Port Harcourt in Nigeria.
In 1990, the dictatorial military regime of Gen Ibrahim Babangida saw him as an existentialist foe, thus forcing him to flee unsafe Nigeria to Canada where he landed a teaching job at his Alma Mater, the University of Toronto.
Subsequently, academic adventurism took him to America. There, he lectured at the University of Texas, Austin where he taught specialty courses in African and Third World Politics as well as US-Africa Relations.
While in America, he worked also as Programme Officer in New York with Ford Foundation, an International Non Governmental Organisation (NGO). His aides says he deployed his mobilization skills to influence organisation’s decision to contribute critical funds that enabled the 1999 Oputa Panel to sit in Abuja. President Olusegun Obasanjo set up the body in 1999 to investigate human rights violations in Nigeria from 1984 to 1999.
Ihonvbere believes in the Zikist pragmatism of migrating from political theory to praxis right from his student days at the University of Ife. Hence, he combined his studies with SUG politics ending up becoming a Public Relations Officer of the student body. Also, he participated in ASUU politics during his academic days as a lecturer at the University of Ife, he was Secretary of ASUU at the University of Port Harcourt where he was initially Vice- Chairman of ASUU and later Chairman of the union.
Invariably, he was not a novitiate in politics when he joined the Obasanjo administration as a Special Adviser on Project Monitoring and Implementation. Unknown to people, he also doubled as Speech Writer to the President, thus bringing to bear on this job his immense experience as an Author of several books and countless articles in either academic journals or newspapers.
It is no wonder a citation by African Centre For Democratic Governance says of him: “He is the most widely Published Academic in the last decade of the last century.”
There is another reason why Ihonvbere chose to go into politics. It is to consolidate democracy after joining forces with NADECO opposition forces to end years of military rule in Nigeria.
His anti-military exploits are not too well known to the general public because he is not a loud person. However, steadfast NADECO followers during the Abacha regime recognize his stringent voice on Radio Kudirat/The Voice Of Democracy urging Nigerians to strive hard to end Abacha’s military regime to enable democracy return to Nigeria.
Ihonvbere was former Secretary to Edo State Government and was the focal person who in 2016/2017 singularly chaired all the workshops that brainstormed to put flesh on the bony six thematic areas of the Governor Godwin Obaseki’s Government.
He also compiled and delivered to the government the reports and recommendations of all the workshops.
He has twice without success aspired to be Governor of Edo State under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Currently, he is a member of the National Assembly in Nigeria representing Owan Federal Constituency in Edo State and Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Services.
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