Written by the three authors listed above and with a foreword by no less a personality than His Excellency, the Rt. Hon. Gabriel Torwua Suswam, Ph.D CON, the Executive Governor of Benue State, the work is a befitting tribute to the life and career of Chief Mrs. Rhoda Tor-Agbidye. From the first to the last page of the book, she comes out clearly and unmistakably as indeed, a woman of substance, a lady of uncommon and unique qualities of selflessness, dedication and humanity.
The importance of the study, however, transcends the role model qualities of the iconic and quintessential Lady that is its focus. The work is also a trailblazer in the sense that it represents a rare recognition of the contributions of an individual civil servant to the development and betterment of the Nigerian society. Mrs Tor-Agbidye belongs to this group of people, who are generally anonymous, are often vilified by their political masters, and have for years remained unsung in biographical treatises by academics! Yet they constitute the driving engine that gives the momentum to the implementation of development initiatives in our society. That the focus here is on a woman is certainly an additional applause for the authors.
Structurally, the main body of the book is very compact and is made up of six closely interested chapters. For the purposes of this Review the six chapters can be grouped into three broad themes which are:
i) Early life, family and Education
ii) Religious Life and Marriage; and
iii) Civil Service Career, Social and Political Life and Public Perception
It needs to be emphasised though that this division is only for the sake of providing analytical guide, for our perception of the variety of important issues presented in the study, they flow rather seamlessly into each other!
In the first two introductory chapters the authors discuss the Birth, Upbringing and Education of Mrs Rhoda Tor-Agbidye. It is not deemed heuristic or even necessary to offer here detailed coma by coma review of all the events that characterised those formative years; suffice it for us to note some of the highlights of this period that would, ultimately turn out as crucial determinants of the societal avant garde played by the adult Mrs. Rhoda Tor-Agbidye.
Inter alia some of these factors as identified in the book by its authors included the unshakable commitment and devotion to the Christian faith by her parents as well as the latter’s determination “to serving the Lord God and to raising children of high moral standard.” These, among others, were traits and values that were to sketch and shape Mrs. Tor-Agbidye’s primary and secondary school days at Uavande Girls and Bristow Gboko respectively. They also provided her behavioural barometer and moral compass at the FTC Kaduna and the Kaduna Polytechnic.
Other milestones in Mrs Tor-Agbidye’s tireless and rather poignant search for the educational Golden Fleece include Abingdon College, Oxford, the University of Jos, and the Benue State University, Makurdi. At the later institution Mrs. Rhoda Tor-Agbidye has, doggedly, clawed her ways from an MPA to an M.Sc and is currently at the final stages of the Ph.D.
It is important to observe that these first two chapters are much more than mere chronicles or rhapsodic rendition of the subject’s educational attainments. Here the writers analytical craftsmanship is unmistakable at work as the book in this section also offers incisive perceptions on the place of education in Nigeria’s national development. No less arresting are the identification and analysis of the role of the family in the process as well as the legion of factors that, in concert, have straight jacketed and, subsequently, distorted educational development in Nigeria.
Discussions of the Religious Life and the marriage of Mrs. Tor-Agbidye dominate the second broad section of the work. Once again, as in the section that preceded it, the three writers used the opportunity to offer highly perceptive insights on both the subterranean and mediterranean variables that have had strong bearings on the subject’s life in these contexts. In summary, these include the expositions on Tiv culture and historiography, the establishment and spread of Christianity in Tiv land as well as discussions on Mrs. Tor-Agbidye’s father, Evangelist Joel Agabi and his missionary works, among others.
The preceding served as a useful backdrop to the more detailed discussions on the young lady’s budding relationships with, and eventual marriage to the young Dr. Tor-Agbidye, her paramour since their student days at Bristow. Also discussed in detail by the authors is the Agbidyes long lasting relationships with their family friends, Dr. John and Mrs. Joyce Allagh.
Finally, the section stands for the generous manner in which it is adorned and annotated with family picture, heirlooms that span the gamut of Mrs. Tor-Agbidye’s life from childhood to the present. If indeed, as the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand Words” the rich menu of pictorials presented by the authors are clearly worth more than a million words.
The last section of the study made up of chapters four, five and six are indeed, among the best in terms of flow analytic skills and communication of points. The first of the three is an assessment of the Civil Service Career of Mrs. Tor-Agbidye. As a prelude the authors presented a well crafted, albeit abbreviated history of the civil service in Nigeria. In focus are its characteristics, functions and challenges. Even the most rabid connoisseur of Nigeria’s Public Administration will certainly find something to savour in the highly and interrogative analysis offered here.
The above provide useful praxis within which Mrs. Tor-Agbidye’s long career in the public service is situated and evaluated; starting from the early days at ABU, Zaria, through stints with Aper Aku to Dr. Ayu as President of the Senate, the University of Agriculture and to George Akume and the present position of Principal Private Secretary to Governor Gabriel Suswam.
Through all these as the authors indicate, what mattered most to Mrs Tor-Agbidye was dedication and the rending of committed and unalloyed service the society no matter who is at the helm of affairs. As the writers aptly put it: “inspite of the differences in their personalities, ideologies, style of leadership … she remained committed and was NEVER found wanting at anytime” (p.9b) (Emphasis is mind).
They posited further that through thick and thin:
“Rhoda has been dutiful and diligent on her job surmounting all challenges and displaying resilience, humility and professionalism even under pressures (p.98).
· The role of civil servants in the development process;
· The expectations of the society;
· Political participation;
· Woman participation, sovereignty majority rule, of law, etc.
Mrs. Tor-Agbidye’s brief incursion into to the murky waters of partisan politics as a PDP causus Chairman in Logo Local Government Area is also highlighted. So also are the legions of humanitarian and philanthropic activities with which she has been involved all her life. The concluding chapter of the book is a presentation of the “views of various peoples, who have encountered and interacted with Chief Mrs. Tor-Agbidye in various capacities and in different places” (p.134). However, we do not believe that much intellectual dividends are these have been so meticulously done in the text. In any case, it is necessary to commend the authors for the wide coverage of opinions gamered. The over 50 individuals sampled represented every sector of the Benue society: former Governor, Permanent Secretaries, Traditional Rulers, Legislators, Judges etc.
Conclusion
As we stated at the beginning, the book is a delectable and delightful treatise on the life and career of a distinguished civil servant: Mrs. Rhoda Tor-Agbidye. This is done in simple and highly comprehensible day to day language that makes it easy to read, to understand and to digest. Devoid of the usual fuzziness that usually characterize biographical enterprises, here the story of Mrs. Tor-Agbidye, as told by the three writers is straight forward, direct and candid unmarred by innuendos, hidden subjective ideological inclinations and preferences.
Correctly, the three authors realize that to tell the story in any way is to do gross injustice to the special and unique qualities of the Lady of substance that is the subject of their work. Though the subject of the study is Chief Mrs. Tor-Agbidye, Keghku, Ibi and Ajabu’s study go well beyond mere static narration or re-endition of her life and Odyssey of a distinguished civil servant who stands head and shoulders above others. The work also, in many ways, offers incisive comments and analysis on a wide range of issues that are today on the front burner of Nigeria’s National Conventions. Among others these include political participation, Rule of Law, Gender and role of Women, Equality before the Law and Administrative Reforms, among others. It is against the background of the preceding that the book is a MUST HAVE and a MUST READ FOR ALL: Clearly these is something here for Everybody!
