Helon Habila, the first Chinua Achebe Fellow at Bard College, is an award-winning writer. He is revered globally for his writing skills. The Waiting for an Angel author is one of many great men whose paths crossed at Hints, a romance journalism magazine.
Habila and his friends, David Dozie Njoku and Anthony Kanayo Onwordi (better known as Toni Kan), colonised romance journalism. They gave it their best and they became household names.
Prior to Habila, Njoku and Onwordi becoming the main men at Hints, there was Kayode Ajala. There was also the prose stylist Chim Newton, who after exiting Hints wrote a 700-page novel ‘Under the Cherry Tree’—which was on the NLNG Literature Prize shortlist some years back. Onwordi was also on the shortlist. There was also Peter Okwoche, who now works with the BBC.
What many did not and do not know is that these men of immense literary acumen cannot tell their stories without one man taking a prime slot. His name is Dr. Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu. Until early August 2015, Kachikwu was Vice Chairman and General Counsel for ExxonMobil Africa. Kachikwu founded Hints in 1989 after quitting Texaco where he worked for 10 years as General Counsel. He was behind the column in ‘Hints’, ‘Fatherhood with Ibe’.
Kachikwu, also a writer and columnist, had nose for talents. He smelt these men and made them play pioneering role in romance journalism and with time, the world knew that their talents transcended telling true tales. Ajala and Newton after quitting Hints established their own medium. Ajala published ‘Hearts’, ‘Sweet Hearts’ and later ‘Sweet Dreams’. Newton published ‘Dearest’.
Ajala, in an interview, said of his experience with Kachikwu: “As editor, I would call him to harass him that he was not meeting my deadline. Even though he was my employer, I would tell him ‘Hey, you have two stories to give me this week and you have not done it.’ And he will rush to do it, otherwise I will make a lot of noise that he is the one slowing down my production.”
Aside ‘Hints’, Kachikwu also published fashion magazines, such as ‘Complete Fashion’, ‘Beauty Box’ and ‘Hello Nigeria’.
The good in Kachikwu caught the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari, who named the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Not a few who knew him felt that with his pedigree, reforming NNPC should not be a problem, especially with the president’s support. He holds a doctor of Law, graduated with distinctions from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and the best graduating student from the Law School, winning seven of the available nine prizes.
He holds the LLM Harvard Distinction and was best graduate in 1980 with specialisation in Energy, Petroleum Law and Investment. The Delta-born technocrat set a record with a Ph.D/SJD Harvard Distinction, specialising in Petroleum and Investment Law Strategies after completing his doctoral thesis in a record time. He also holds a H.Dip.T.L from Georgetown, the United States of America (USA).
He is a Fellow, Society for Corporate Governance (FSCG); Chartered Institute of Arbitration (FCIArb); Chartered Institute for Petroleum Policy (FCIPP) and a Visiting professorship in various universities in the world, including Harvard Law, his alma mater.
His more than 30 years experience in policy- making positions in Texaco Nigeria and Texaco Overseas Petroleum Co, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited and ExxonMobil Group of Companies came in handy in his assignment at NNPC.
When Buhari felt he was done with NNPC, whose headship he combined with being Minister of State for Petroleum, he was freed of the NNPC role.
Before his foray into political office, Kachikwu was not known to be a card-carrying member of any political party. Now, he proudly carries the All Progressives Congress (APC) card and contributes to strengthening the party in Delta State.
Of recent, there have been talks of Kachikwu seeking to oust Governor Ifeanyi Okowa in 2019. He has not said anything publicly about this. But going by the way politics works around here, his strategists might just be testing the ground for his eventual entry.
If he joins, he will have a veteran candidate, Olorogun Otega Emerhor, to contend with. He has run at least twice and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had clipped his wing. Aside Emerhor, Prof. Pat Utomi has also been extremely active in Delta APC and is said to be interested in becoming governor. He has been critical of the PDP, which he says has squandered the state’s resources.
Emerhor, Kachikwu and Utomi spoke some days back at Utomi’s 62nd birthday and thanksgiving service held in his Ibusa home town.
Kachikwu, Emerhor and Utomi said the PDP had lowered the state’s esteem. The minister noted that Delta State, with all its endowments, had no business being poor. He said all stakeholders should see the task of rescuing the state from the PDP as a serious project.
Kachikwu said: “With the resources both in human and capital, Delta State has no business being the poor state that it is now, we must work hard to liberate Delta State, Niger Delta and reactivate the old Bendel spirit so as to change this poor narrative. When you travel through Delta what you see is poor infrastructure, Delta State is in a very shameful state right now and this must change if we must bequeath a better legacy for our children.”
Emerhor claimed the state had never been worse.
“Delta State is at a crossroad. It has never been this bad. Demons have been released into Delta. It was few demons in 1999 and had grown and are now at their peak, that is why all progressive minds must unite to rescue Delta from these demons, because Delta state must move forward like her sister state.
“I want to assure you that the leaders of the party will be smart on our choice of candidate in 2019, we will come up with the best hand that can deliver the state for us, we are going to meet the calculation that will enable us win this state, we are not going to fall to sentiment and by the time our governorship candidate is out, PDP will know that we are serious,” Emerhor said.
Utomi did not spare Governor Okowa.
”Delta as part of what became the old Midwest was a trendsetter there. Some of the outstanding public servants of the first decade of self government in the West would be called Deltans today. So how come
Delta is the butt of all jokes? The time has come for all to stand up and be counted. Each of us has an accounting time before God and history. May we act in a way that will save us from being found wanting,” Utomi said.
Okowa could have had the trio in mind when he recently declared: “With 2019 elections coming up, various groups are beginning to cause trouble for us, but, we don’t want to go into the next election in groups. The more united we are, the stronger we will be as a people, don’t allow your support for aspirants influence your decision because, you do not gain anything by working against the party.”
My final take: Interesting days sure lie ahead in Delta. Will the good in Kachikwu, which caught the attention of President Buhari amount to anything in the race to the Government House? Will his pedigree, such as doctor of Law, graduating with distinctions from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and being the best graduating student from the Law School, among others, play any role? Will his nose for talents mean much? I doubt because of the monetised brand of politics we play around here.
For now, we wait and see how the game in Delta pans out.
