Nigeria is witnessing a wave of deaths of elite figures that is not common. The figures so far is nothing compared to the number of women who die from delivery complications everyday in the same country but elite matters are what shapes the news.
And so, the passage of General Olubunmi Orefin, Sam Nda-Isaiah, Prof Chukwuka Osakwe, Prof Habu Galadima and Prof Moses Tedheke within a space of two weeks is bound to send the elite adrenaline pumping. This list grew by one this morning with Prof Jerry Agada, an exemplar of ex-this, ex-that.
One of his literary outings
Unique to Professor Agada is his being a member of the literati. He was even a one time president of the umbrella body of writers in Nigeria – the Association of Nigerian Authors, (ANA). That is what many knew him for more than any other things he did. But there were, indeed, quite a number of other things.
One of such must be his becoming the Principal of Government College, Makurdi, about the number one post-primary school in Benue State.
And then he rose to become a Permanent Secretary in no less than three ministries. His tenure as Permanent Secretary for the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs was where he got his name. The Bureau is understood to be such a powerful spot in government that holders of the job simply acquire a mystique. He didn’t fail that test.
Then he became a Minister (of State for Education). Although his stint on this position was very short one, he had caused a stir at his screening for the job by the National Assembly. How did that happen? It came from the image of Mr. Humble which he appeared for the screening and for which he got national endorsement.
He was a politician, contesting for the governorship of Benue State in the primary elections of one of the parties in 2015. He didn’t make much progress but he made the point.
And he was, above all, an author. The implication is that, unlike others, he has self-testimony in his books. They must embody graphic representation of the type of person he was because, as they say, reading makes a man but writing the perfect man. Young people who didn’t meet him can still grasp him deeply by reading what he wrote.
At 68, we hadn’t seen the best of Jerry Agada but he has fallen to this wave of death.
His is the death of the literary sharp shooter, a communal repertoire. May his journey down there be a smooth one, courtesy of his imaginative savoir faire.
