I KNEW him in 2005 when I accompanied the then Etsako Central Council boss, Pascal Ugbome, on a visit to his Asokoro District, Abuja, residence.  He was then President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Special Adviser on Project Monitoring and Evaluation.

That first meeting, as brief as it was, made a lasting impression on me as he came across as very simple, humble, intelligent, accommodating and rather too friendly for a man of his stature and status. I thought it was uncommon to find such a complete gentleman as Professor Julius Ihonvbere among the very high in our society where barely concealed arrogance of power reigns supreme.

A couple of years later, I was to become his admirer and supporter when he ventured into the murky waters of political adventurism in the quest for the governorship of EdoState. For me, Professor Ihonvbere was a fit and proper person to occupy the highest political office in our state judging by his antecedents.

He had been invited by President Obasanjo from the Ford Foundation, New York, United States of America, to join and bring new impetus to his government. With a war chest no other aspirant could put together, Prof. Ihonvbere prosecuted his ambition with the full support and backing of the people.

He was, however, to receive his ‘baptism of fire’ in the hands of the rulers when, on the eve of the 2006 gubernatorial primaries, a candidate was handpicked by his party leaders leaving him in the lurch. The gubernatorial primary election was a sham.

Undaunted, Professor Ihonvbere continued to ingratiate himself into the hearts of the people through his care for both old and young, male and female, market women, youths and farmers. Most people had thought that the governorship ticket which eluded Prof. Ihonvbere in the past would be taken for granted in 2012. It was not to be. And the man changed platform. As it is usually said, all that is now history.

When Comrade Adams Oshiomhole appointed Prof. Julius Ihonvbere as Secretary to the State Government in November 2013, many people at home and abroad hailed the Governor for appointing the right person to the right position. Those who knew him well said he would bring to bear on his duties his vast wealth of experience as an intellectual and leader of men. I do not think Prof.  Ihonvbere has disappointed.

The social media networks seem to be engaged in an agenda of promoting the perceived political interest of Prof. Ihonvbere towards 2015. A facebook post last week asked users’ comments on: ‘’Prof. Julius Ihonvbere for Senate 2015’’.

The various comments that followed that post are as diverse as the backgrounds of the posters and reflect the new pastime for many whose only need and use of the social media is venting their frustrations on other users and not the idea or issue in discourse. Majority of the comments were positive remarks on the integrity of Prof. Ihonvbere.

My comment was simply that ‘’I will comment in the newspapers’’, which is what this is about.Recently, I came across a gift of a book which I had received from Prof. Ihonvbere at our first meeting in his Abuja residence in 2005 but which I was unable to find the time to read until now.

The book, titled ‘’THE BEST IS YET TO COME: Portrait of a Scholar-Activist’’, is edited by Kayode Fayemi (now Governor of Ekiti State) and Pita Agbese and contains essays in honour of Prof. Julius Ihonvbere. Many of the essays eulogise Prof. Julius Ihonvbere’s scholarship and scholarly achievements not only at the University of Ife and University of Port Harcourt but also at his alma materUniversity of Toronto, Canada and in the USA especially at the Ford Foundation.

But by far the one that interests me most, perhaps not being in the same intellectual pigeon-hole like Prof. Ihonvbere, is the piece written by Dr. Kayode Fayemi who captured very eloquently the activist in Prof. Ihonvbere, a quality required more than anything else for successful navigation of and survival on the political minefield.

Dr. Fayemi said of Prof. Julius Ihonvbere: ‘’Julius Ihonvbere is a born leader of people. In his quest to improve the human condition, his life has been nothing but a dedication to people of all races, genders, classes, creeds and religions, and the defence of humanity and the common good.’’

But for Dr. Fayemi, not many of us who lived in Nigeria in the era of military dictatorship when the late Maximum Ruler reigned, would have known the role Prof. Ihonvbere and Dr. Fayemi played in the fight to get late Gen. Sani Abacha to jettison his transmutation ambition fuelled by the five leprous fingers.

Mr. NASAMU JACOBSON, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Benin City, Edo State.