The Barefoot Renewable Energy College in Osara, Kogi State, Nigeria, reminds me of the history of how the Okene Waterworks was built by the late Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alh. Ibrahim Atta Onoruoyiza, of blessed memory.
According to historians, the late Ohinoyi traveled out of the country along with the white men who came to Nigeria. On getting there, he saw water flowing through a tap. Out of curiosity, considering where he came from, he asked questions about the flowing water. He was told it was called pipe-borne water. He tasted it and was satisfied with its taste. He did not drink it and forget his people back home. He did not think of replicating it in his own house alone, but he thought about the people he left behind at home, the same people who not only trekked long distances to fetch water but also drank untreated water. This was how he convinced those people to replicate the water system for his people, which gave birth to the Okene Waterworks we have in Ebiraland today. The Waterworks is still serving some communities in Ebiraland till today. Some historians even argue that the Ebira people were among the first set of people to drink pipe-borne water in Nigeria. He achieved this as the Ohinoyi in 1933, not as a governor or a political office holder. That was 93-years ago.
93 years later, yet no other water project anywhere in Ebiraland has surpassed.
Ironically, this same Waterworks could not be properly maintained or renovated even when we occupied the highest political office in the state, let alone build another one. Those who are supposed to do it are more committed to sinking boreholes in their respective houses than thinking about the welfare of their people, unlike our late Ohinoyi, Alh. Ibrahim Atta Onoruoyiza.
When we talk about the Barefoot Renewable Energy College, we all know that the only place it can currently be found in Africa is Nigeria, Osara, Kogi State.
How did it come to be? A young man from Ebiraland who shares the same mindset as the late Ohinoyi, Alh. Ibrahim Atta Onoruoyiza, saw it while traveling abroad. After witnessing its impact where he saw it, he did not think of sending only his children abroad to acquire the knowledge. Instead, he thought about those who do not have the privilege of traveling abroad to acquire such knowledge. He thought about how this knowledge could benefit his people. He then convinced the Federal Government to replicate it in Nigeria, precisely in Osara. Today, the Ebira people will definitely be among the first set of people to acquire Barefoot Renewable Energy knowledge, being the host community.
This is how leaders who are not self-centered think whenever they experience or enjoy something that their followers are not privileged to access. They think about how to bring such opportunities back home to their people. They do not limit such opportunities to their families or close circles alone, but extend them to the broader community that entrusted them with their mandate.
History has a way of repeating itself. Yesterday it was tap water, today it is renewable energy knowledge. The vision remains the same, bringing home what will improve the lives of the people.
Thank you, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi
– Engr Ira Habib writes from Okene.
