Foundation erects mausoleum for late Eastern Region Premier, to institute two endowments in his honour

From Okey Sampson, Umuahia

The Dr Michael Okpara Foundation said it has concluded plans to befitting a Mausoleum and activate two two endowments for the late political sage.

Late Dr Okpara, premier of the defunct Eastern Region, died on December 17, 1984, at the age of 64.

Disclosing this in Umuahia during events to commemorate the death of Opkara, the late Premier’s son, Chief Uzodinma Okpara said the endowments instituted in Agricultural Research and Industrial Development, will re-orientate the younger generation on how Okpara’s legacies positively affected the region.

“The Foundation is therefore instituting two endowments in Agricultural Research and Industrial Development and seeking collaboration with Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia state and one other university, to re- orientate the young generation and posterity to enable them know how these legacies positively impacted the region with the view to finding when, where and what went wrong”.

He disclosed that the Foundation which has Mr Christian Igodo, the author of late Dr Okpara’s Biography, as Executive Secretary and Projects Co- ordinator, will in it’s quest to revive late Okpara’s vision engage experts to ” promote researches and knowledge in agriculture and industrial development towards replicating the developmental revolution associated with the late premier Okpara’s era which quoting ‘Harvard Review’, made Eastern Region of Nigeria the fastest growing economy in the world.

“This Foundation is a very crucial, critical and timely platform to ponder deeply to appreciate the magnitude of Dr Micheal Okpara’s accomplishments in jobs creation, eradication of poverty and misery through massive industrial and agricultural revolution and replicate these now to halt the impending social economic stagnation and state of doldrum facing Nigeria”.

Chief Okpara said the research results would show why succeeding governments have failed or found it difficult to continue with those policies and vision and what can be done to revive them.

Recalling late Dr Pius Okigbo’s remark on his father, that the late premier lived ahead his time, but that his successors have not sustained his accomplishments many years after his death, Chief Uzodinma said the reasons for not sustaining or matching these accomplishments should be probed and addressed to move forward.

Born on December 25, 1920, the late premier died on December 17, 1984 at the age of 64 years.