OBITUARY

Mr. N.J.C. Oduma, as he was popularly known is also known as Papa Palata, Papa Augusta Papa Veronica and Papa Patrick. Chief N.J.C. Oduma-Ogbuefi Ugochukwu was his titular name-was a teacher and headmaster in the Niger Delta areas of Urhobo land, Izon ( Ijaw), Itshekeri and Isoko lands. He left the teaching field to join the civil service where he rose to the rank of Senior Executive Officer in Kaduna, then Northern region.

At the end of the Nigerian Civil war, he was forced into retirement in 1970. Upon that forced retirement, he became a teacher at S.P.C. Asaba, teaching English and Agricultural Science from 1971 until 1986, when the state stopped renewing his annual teaching contract.

Ogbuefi Oduma held many positions of trust and responsibilities during his lifetime. He was president of Asaba Union in Kaduna until the Northern crisis of 1967. He was among the first set of Senior Service civil servants in Asaba. He was the first Asaba Catholic man to take the Alor title with the approval of the Pope and the Catholic Church. He thus opened the way for many other Catholics. He was a pioneer in many ways and strands. He was a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary Club International.