Ibori: Onosode, Nigeria's Boardroom Guru, Departs

BEVERLY HILLS, September 30, (THEWILL) –  Former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, has described the death of Elder Gamaliel Onosode, as an irremediable loss to the Nigerian business environment, the Urhobo nation, Delta State and Nigeria as a whole.

A statement signed by Ibori's Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, described Onosode as an “authentic conscience of the nation”.

According to the statement, “Though he was an extraordinary boardroom guru, he managed to remain Nigeria's Mr. Clean. Though he once vied for the presidency on the platform of the defunct Nigerian Republican Convention (NRC), he was thoroughly above divisive politics as he remained a national figure.”

Ibori said that Onosode was not only all things to all people but he was the best among the decent, the upright, the virtuous, the worthy and the respectable.

“To the scholars, he was an incandescent brain, to the church, he was an uncommon preacher who not only built a church and ministered as a pastor, his greatest preaching is the exemplary way he led his entire life; for God and country,” the statement added.

Ibori said: “I will never forget the enthusiasm with which Onosode agreed to serve in a special Advisory Council I set up during my watch as Governor, or the passionate service Onosode rendered to his beloved state. At the same time he was extremely reluctant to seek personal glory or gain.

“Onosode was a teacher who taught more by example than by precepts. He was singular in his preeminence, loftiness of ideas, the broad expanse of avenues of meeting the challenge of the public good, the exciting lucidity of his conscience and the pinnacle of excellence on which he perched – like an eagle. He had no rivals. He had no equals. He was singular, so singular that his life was a veritable blessing to Nigeria.

“He will be sourly missed. May his great and gentle soul rest in perfect peace and May God grant his family the grace to bear this monumental loss.”