When Senator Pius Ewherido died prematurely in June 2013, the Urhobo people grieved and prayed that such a loss should not be their lot again. Unfortunately, just one year after, another Urhobo personage, General Patrick Aziza (rtd) fell to the Grim Reaper.

The death of Ewherido was very painful to Urhobo people who had invested their hope in his capacity to engender a political renaissance for the marginalised and traumatized five million people. When he died, the Urhobo nation appeared to have reached a political dead.

After the lamentation that greeted the Senator’s passage, after his interment and mourning, the ‘’never say die’’ spirit of the Urhobo resurrected. A new political strategy woven around the solid and inspiring personality of Aziza who was the President-General of the Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, evolved. The Urhobo ‘’can do’’ character went on the ascendency as Aziza activated a network of national alliances. Aziza stood for election and was re-elected as UPU helmsman for a second term. He was settling down to reposition the Urhobo nation when he took ill. He died on Saturday August 16, 2014. The Urhobo nation was thrown into fresh mourning when it was yet to come to terms with the death of Ewherido.

Aziza’s death came at a time when the Urhobo people needed a leader of his stature to inspire them to political self-retrieval and relevance after the political class had sold out irretrievably.

The consensus among Urhobo people is that whatever the race is suffering by way of extreme marginalisation and gross underdevelopment is the consequence of the perennial betrayal by the political elite who adopted perfidy as   a modus vivendi. It was the political drift and vagrancy that has characterised the Urhobo political class that Aziza set out to tackle and restore the Urhobo nation to her pride of place in Nigeria.

The taciturn General left no one in doubt as to his vision and mission to make Urhobo reclaim its past glory. He was committed, visionary, firm, but conciliatory.

He demonstrated a great awareness of Urhobo’s past. Aziza took in how their forebears strove to redress the injustices and disadvantages occasioned by British imperialism and other ethnic neighbours who sought to appropriate Urhobo territories. He knew he could re-enact the UPU feats of old which led to the founding of Urhobo College and mounting of overseas scholarship scheme which produced the first two Urhobo graduates.

Part of Aziza’s empowering reminiscences included the role played by the Urhobo in the historic creation of Midwest Region in 1963. Aziza recalled the many contributions of the Urhobo people to the making of modern Nigeria.

He was aware of the significant role the Urhobos led by General David Ejoor and Chief Jereton Mariere played during the Nigerian Civil War to ensure that Nigeria’s unity was not compromised. Aziza engendered Urhobo political resurgence codenamed the UVWIAMUGHE DECLARATION. The Declaration clearly articulates the yearning and aspiration of every Urhobo which is to reclaim the political initiative at both the state and national levels. Aziza was on this project when he answered the last call.

Born in 1947, Aziza was a thoroughbred soldier who served Nigeria in many capacities and rose through hard work and merit to the pinnacle of the military profession.

A martial strategist of similar mettle with Scipio and Hannibal, Aziza was among the gallant officers who made the 3rd Marine Commando the most effective fighting force during the Nigerian Civil War. He served the Nigerian Army as Battalion Commander, Brigade Commander and General Officer Commanding, GOC. He was a soldier’s soldier who was loyal to his nation.  When Kebbi State was created in 1991 it was Aziza’s lot to pilot the affairs of the new state as Military Administrator.

Aziza went on to serve Nigeria as Minister and member of the highest military ruling body from 1995 to 1999. When many military brass hats lacked the courage to try General Olusegun Obasanjo over his alleged connection in a coup plot, it was the courageous Aziza who took the bull by the horn and handed Obasanjo what some considered a benign sentence for an offence that warranted a death penalty.

Aziza served Nigeria without being servile to his superiors.

His tact and courage saw him through the slippery terrain in the era of military dictatorship. He, together with fellow Urhobos, Air Vice Marshall Frank Ajobena and Major General Felix Mujakperuo rose to become front line military officers in the last military regime which co-ordinated the return to civilian rule in May 1999.

Aziza retired from the Nigerian Army, settled into civvy street and was drafted into UPU to serve the Urhobo nation. Aziza’s was a life of service, the kind of service for which soldier-statesmen are known.

As a soldier he saluted Nigeria. His last salute, however was to the Urhobo nation as an dependable leader. He saluted Urhobo with his adjudju. Now, he has taken a final salute. General….Akpokedefaoooooo……

Dr. Sunny Awhefeada teaches Literature at the Delta State University, Abraka.