•A distinguished Nigerian passes on
Felix Ibru, a scion of the high-achieving Ibru family with ancestral roots in Agbarha-Otor, in Delta State, and a business empire that germinated in Lagos and spanned Nigeria, died last week in Lagos, aged 80.
Tributes to his memory have come from far and wide, from all shades of religious and political persuasion, and from the professional and business communities; they cut across ethnicities. This outpouring is a fitting testament, for Ibru felt at home and related well to everyone in practically every setting. He was cosmopolitan through and through.
An early indication that an accomplished life lay ahead of him came in his senior year at Igbobi College when he was appointed Head Boy, in spite of the fact that his older brother Michael had held that position earlier, and there was a standing rule that no two siblings could be so appointed within a generation.
From Igbobi, Felix Ibru proceeded to the UK to study architecture, winning the top prize in his final year at the Nottingham School of Architecture. Thereafter he earned a Master’s degree in Architecture from the Technikon, Israel’s prestigious Institute of Technology.
Returning to Nigeria, he became the first indigenous Resident Lecturer at the Yaba College of Technology. Later, as a practicing architect, he pioneered the design of domes in Nigeria. His work is reflected in the Master-plan of the University of Lagos and the University of Benin, and his landmark designs include the Port Harcourt Civic Centre.
He also worked closely with his older brother Michael to build and nurture a sprawling business empire that was at the height of its glory a model of indigenous entrepreneurship, with tens of thousands of Nigerians on its payroll
But architecture and the family business seemed too confined for his sense of purpose. With the return of party politics leading to the inauguration of the Second Republic, he joined Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Unity Party of Nigeria. There he was a quiet influence, and grew close to Awolowo.
He heeded the call to politics again as the nation prepared to return to party politics, under General Ibrahim Babangida’s transition programme. He joined the Social Democratic Party and was elected governor of the newly created Delta State.
To this pioneering job in a state wracked by ethnic tensions, Felix Ibru brought a great deal of tact, patience, imagination, and openness. He was not going to empower his Urhobo people at the expense of other groups in the state; he was not going to cater to them and leave others to their own devices. He ran an inclusive administration.
Two years later, in 1992, the military terminated the experiment under which the states were governed by elected representatives while it held on to the Centre. By then, Ibru had put Delta State on a sound foundation.
He answered the call of politics again in 2003, when he was elected to the Senate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP.) He served just one term. It is a mark of his sense of honour that, unlike some of his colleagues, he never went about brandishing that title as if it was the ultimate distinction. Nor did he insist on having his name prefixed with his professional title, Arc. as is the craze in Nigeria.
Felix Ibru prized the title of Olorogun conferred on him by his Urhobo people with whom he remained closely identified. Until his death, he was president of the Urhobo Progressive Union. But he was no chauvinist. To him, it was simply a matter of duty, and service.
He was always a distinguished member of the larger Nigerian family, and withal a citizen of the world.
That is how Olorogun Felix Ovudoroye Ibru will be remembered.