By
Hon. Comrade Joseph Akinlaja
TRIBUTE TO CHIEF FRANK OGHENEOVIE KOKORI BY HON. COMRADE JOSEPH AKINLAJA
Frank Ogheneovie Kokori was my boss whom I met in the year 1975, that is 48 years, until death parted us. I worked with him from 1975 until his retirement as General Secretary of NUPENG in 2000. I had also been very close to him until his death by 1am on the 7th of December 2023, which was the day of his 80th birthday.
I was with him in all our trade union struggles. In the 1970s to 1980s, trade unions and trade unionists were not recognised in practical terms in both private and public sectors of the Nigerian economy. Therefore, our first struggle in the oil industry was to ensure that the management of the companies in the oil industries, which was pre-dominated by multinational oil companies at that time, recognised trade unions as partners in progress.
Comrade Kokori, Comrade Enas Dubre, Comrade Elijah Okougbo and I were involved in the early struggles led by Chief Kokori. The struggle was fierce and daunting. It required honesty, boldness, integrity and frankness. Chief Comrade Kokori was an embodiment of those virtues. He led the struggle from the front; he was as lethal as the lion. In fact, we called him the DYNAMO of the oil industry at that time. We all knew that if a lion was leading 1,000 sheep, all the sheep would behave like the lion, so all of us involved in the struggle had no choice than to follow the footsteps of Chief Frank Ovie Kokori, and we succeeded in getting practical recognition for our trade union the great NUPENG that became the pacesetter of trade union struggles.
We were so well recognised and solid to the point that we had to embark on the first and only political struggle for democratic rule through organising the political strike, now popularly known as the June 12 Struggle of NUPENG.
Trade unions are known for strikes of “economism,” but NUPENG led by KOKORI carried out a political strike by a trade union that shook the foundation of militocracy leading to democracy. The whole world at that time knew the name Kokori, Kokori of Nigeria, Kokori of Africa and Kokori of the world.
Chief Kokori in his lifetime confessed that apart from his wife the only person that knew him in and out was me Joseph, because he always called me by my first name Joseph.
Kokori was an enigma of sorts in trade unionism and human right struggles. He was left of the center, always on the side of the masses and the oppressed, even at personal risk or injury to himself.
He was unjustly imprisoned by the military junta of Gen. Sani Abacha for four years under harsh conditions from 1994 to 1998 in Bama Prisons, North-East, Nigeria.
Chief Kokori believed that Chief M.K.O. Abiola won the June 12 election of 1993, which was annulled by Gen. Badamosi Babangida. Thus, he led the struggle for its actualisation, for which he was severely punished. Ironically, 25 years after in 2015, the Nigerian government under President Muhammadu Buhari (a retired General) confirmed that Chief M.K.O. Abiola actually won the election. However, instead of giving Chief Kokori a National Honour as one of the heroes of Nigerian democracy, such awards were given to others.
MY WISH NOW IS TO URGE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND WELL-MEANING NIGERIANS TO POSTHUMOUSLY GIVE A NATIONAL AWARD TO CHIEF KOKORI.
Frank Kokori was a patriot of no mean value. I can recollect now that a few weeks before he died, even on his sickbed in the hospital, I put a telephone call through to him to ask about his welfare.
He said: “Joseph, please tell the management of this hospital to put on their generator so that I can switch on the air conditioner in this room. The room is too hot. LIFE IS EBBING AWAY FROM ME. I know they switched off the generator because of the high cost of diesel. I do not blame them. When I leave this hospital alive, I am going to talk to those in authority in Nigeria. How can we have abundant crude oil in Niger Delta and in Kokori community; we have four refineries, and no common diesel why?”
He said the ordinary Nigerian does not deserve this deliberate punishment. He said Nigeria was too rich to be poor.
That was the fire of patriotism still burning in Kokori even on his sickbed. We never knew that the ice-cold hands of death would snatch him away from us before he could speak truth to power again as he was used to.
I will miss you, MY BOSS, Ogheneovie.
Adieu, Frank.
Sleep on in the bosom of the Lord, until we will meet to part no more.
HON. (COMRADE) JOSEPH IRANOLA AKINLAJA, FORMER CHAIRMAN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON PETROLEUM RESOURCES (DOWNSTREAM), FORMER GENERAL SECRETARY OF NUPENG AND DEPUTY PRESIDENT, NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS, WROTE FROM ABUJA/8TH MARCH 2024
