Dennis Osadebay

Dennis Chukude Osadebay (29 June 1911 26 December 1994) was a Nigerian politician, poet, journalist and former premier of the now defunct Mid-Western Region of Nigeria, which now comprises Edo and Delta State. He was one of the pioneering Nigerian poets who wrote in English.

Dennis Chukude Osadebay
President of the Senate of Nigeria
In office
1 October 1960  1 October 1963
Preceded byNnamdi Azikiwe
Succeeded byNwafor Orizu
Premier of Mid-Western Region
In office
1964–1966
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byDavid Ejoor
Personal details
Born29 June 1911
Asaba, Southern Nigeria Protectorate
Died26 December 1994(1994-12-26) (aged 83)
Asaba
Political partyNational Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons
ProfessionLawyer

As a politician, he detested party politics and tried to form unbiased opinions on important matters of the period. He was also a leader of the movement to create a Mid-Western region during the Nigerian First Republic.

Biography

Early life and poems

He was born in Asaba, Delta State, to parents of mixed cultural backgrounds. He attended Asaba Government School at Asaba, the Sacred Heart School in Calabar and Hope Waddell Training Institute. He joined the labour force in 1930 as a customs officer working in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Calabar. He subsequently went to England to study Law during the 1940s.[1] It was while studying that he started publishing poetic verses.[2] He was then known as a newspaper poet, as most of his writings were published in the West African Pilot and a few other newspapers. In his writings, Osadebay used both his personal life and public events as inspiration. In Africa Sings, a collection of poems, he delved with themes from a personal point of view, such as a sullen poem written about his 25th birthday and the coming of middle age. However, his best work in the volume were poems written from an impersonal viewpoint.[3] In his adventurous poem "black man troubles", he used pidgin English to lament the status of black Africans in colonial Africa and injustice in the society.[4] His poems were also notable for faithfully representing modern poetic rhythm.

Political career

Osadebay was one of the founding members of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in 1944.[5] He left the country to read law a few years later. After, completing his studies, he returned to Nigeria and established a law practice in Aba and was also made the legal adviser of the NCNC. In 1951, he contested and won a seat on the Western Region House of Assembly, which was dominated by the rival Action Group (AG). He soon became the leader of opposition in the region from 1954 to 1956 but gave the mantle to Adegoke Adelabu in 1956. After the death of Adegoke Adelabu, he took on his familiar oppositional role in 1958. In 1960, he became the president of the Nigerian Senate and upon the creation of the Mid-Western Region in 1963, became the pioneer premier of the newly created region.

Premier

1965 cabinet[6]
Office Name 1965 - 1966
Premier Dennis Osadebay
Finance Ogoegnunam Dafe
Works Christopher Okojie
Health John Igbrude
Agriculture John Umolu
Forestry and Natural Resources V Amadasun
Economic Development James Otobo
Education F.H. Utomi
Establishments T.E.A. Salubi
Internal Affairs Shaka Momodu
Attorney-General Webber Egbe
Labour and Social Welfare E. Imafidon
Lands and Housing E.S. Ukonga
Local Government Humphrey Omo-Osagie
Chieftaincy Affairs G.I. Oviasu
Industry J.A. Orhoho
Trade O. Oweh
Transport L.S.T. Fufeyin

References

  1. Rosalynde Ainslie, Catherine Hoskyns, Ronald Segal, Political Africa: A Who's Who of Personalities and Parties, Frederick A. Praeger, 1961.
  2. Benson, Eugene; L. W. Conolly, Routledge Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English. Routledge, 1994.
  3. Robert G. Fraser, West African Poetry: A Critical History, Cambridge University Press, 1986.
  4. Ezenwa-Ohaeto, "Bridges of Orality: Nigerian Pidgin Poetry". World Literature Today, Vol. 69, 1995, p 70.
  5. "Accord Concondiale: The continuous search for Nigeria's elusive unity and indivisibility (8)". The Sun Nigeria. 2017-07-26. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  6. Nigeria. Federal Ministry of Information (May 1965). "Cabinet Changes in Midwest". Federal Nigeria. VIII: 5.
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