What Killed Capt Hosa Okunbor?


By Eghosa Odiemwinge


News of the death of Niger Delta Titan and business mogul, Capt Hosa Wells Okunbor filtered into the country on Saturday like the cold breeze of the harmmathan. It was both shocking and heart rending.


But leading playwright, environmental activist and Niger Delta liberation icon, Kenule Saro-Wiwa had in his satire, "Africa Kill Her Sun", prepared us for such an eventuality like the death of Capt. Hosa Okunbor. While it has been medically declared that our great icon died of pancreatic cancer, we all know that the said pancreatic cancer has become the ultimate culprit in our brothers death, but it did not act alone. There were other facilitators and enablers, that contributed and hastened his death.


Williams Shakespeare wrote eons ago, that "death is a necessary end that must come when it will". The holy book also admonishes us that " it is appointed unto man to die..."

We take solace that Capt Hosa Wells Okunbor lived a good life, accomplished greatness and left humanity better than he met it through his relentless philanthropy and good works.

But we also need for the sake of posterity to interrogate further, other factors that hastened the death of this Homeric legend.


Capt. Okunbors' epic battle with the enablers of impunity, abuse of office and economic impoverishment of Niger Delta sons and daughters is now in the public domain. It is the stuff of the epic battles of the Illiad.

If the Olympian deities of legend were to come down in human form, Capt. Okunbor would have earned a place of honor amongst them. At the age of 21 he had qualified as an airline pilot. After a successful career, he resigned and set up businesses both on land and in the sea. One of his successful businesses was Ocean Marine Services Limited, a giant within the nations maritime and logistics sector.

This success attracted envy and jealousy from a fellow Niger Deltan instead of applause and admiration.

For years, Capt. Okunbor had operated the Secured Anchorage Area (SAA) project for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), in partnership with the Nigerian Navy. It was a win-win deal for all parties. Capt Okunbor acquired and provided the marine vessels used to patrol and secure the Anchorage area, while the Nigerian Navy provided the personnel that manned the vessels. Container vessels and other maritime crafts were guaranteed a safe heaven while waiting for their turn to berth at the Lagos quays. The NPA reaped as more vessels patronized the Lagos ports, while dollars poured into government coffers.


The smooth operation of the SAA almost eliminated the incidence of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and the Lagos ports area. Ship owners and marine operators heaved a sigh of relief. The SAA project ran for years without government interference, to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.

Then came the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, a Niger Deltan. He did not hide his distaste for the roaring success of his fellow Niger Deltan, fellow party man and elder brother, Capt. Hosa Okunbor. Propelled by greed and covetousness, he pounced on OMSL, with his eyes fixed on forcefully taking over the SAA project, using his position as minister.


Through his hirelings and agents he caused all manner of fictitious and frivolous petitions to be written to the presidency alleging all manner of infractions against OMSL and Capt. Okunbor. Using his connections in the presidency he cancelled the SAA project and left OMSL in the lurch.


Letters from the Nigerian Navy, NPA and stakeholders in the shipping sector seeking to clarify the issues and paint a true picture of the operation of the SAA were ignored by Amaechi. He wanted the SAA for himself and having smelled blood, there was no stopping him.


Capt. Okunbor also fought back not just to regain his business back, but to stop Amaechi and his cronies from further tarnishing his name and image. He equally fought back to let Amaechi know that a brother from the creek who seeks only to maroon his brothers businesses was worse than the so called enemy from the far reaches of the sahel.


Thus began the epic fight. Typical of Amaechi he gave no quarters and took no prisoners. He fought Capt Okunbor with everything in his asernal.

Capt Okunbor met with presidency officials several times and secured a presidential directive that the cancellation of the contract be lifted. But Amaechi did not budge. He merely bided his time and struck again and still cancelled the contract. The cost of fighting to reverse the cancellation cost Capt. Okunbor millions of US Dollars.

The next phase of the battle was in the National Assembly. Capt. Okunbor petitioned the National Assembly. The Senate set up a committee headed by Senator George Thompson Sekibo, which carried out a thorough investigation and recommended that the contract be reinstated as it was properly awarded and was actually adding value to national security and the country's revenue profile.

Amaechi, wallowing in his accustomed abuse of office ignored the Senate. He blew hot and cold, castigating Capt. Okunbor and accusing him of every imaginary infraction even sponsorship of piracy to boom his business. It was really surreal the extent the minister could go to pull his brother down, just to corner his business.

But having been exposed in his scheme to corner the SAA, Amaechi hurriedly handed over the project to NIMASA.

In the wake of these travails in the hands of Amaechi, Capt. Okunbor fell ill and was flown out of the country.

But his troubles were not ended yet. A major oil company in the Niger Delta also cancelled contracts awarded to other companies owned by Capt. Okunbor as a result of negative publicity.

As the orchestrated serial assaults against his businesses continued unabated, international banks also froze some of his accounts, assumably on account of sponsored media reports of his business troubles in Nigeria


The death of Capt. Hosa Okunbor is a confirmation of the undeclared war against Niger Delta leaders and people with strong political profile in recent times.



One of his special purpose vehicles for this grand larcerney is a little known Israeli company known as HSLi. The chairman of HSLi is Amaechi's budy and crony, Nasir Danu.


Today it is the turn of Niger Deltans to wail like David in the Bible, "O my son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom! Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! The Niger Delta has indeed lost a great son.


Rest in peace Capt. Hosa Wells Okunbor. You fought the good fight. You were victorious in death because you exposed Mr. Powerful Minister for who he really is.