Did you know that Clark was active in the establishment of a Mid-west College of Technology which later became the foundation for the University of Benin, and that he served as senator for three months at the twilight of the Shagari administration?

Chief (Dr.) Senator Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, OFR, CON was a Nigerian Statesman, Ijaw leader and politician from Delta State who worked with the administrations of military governor Samuel Ogbemudia and Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon between 1966 and 1975.

Born on 25 May 1927 to the Bekederemo family in Kiagbodo town, an Ijaw community in present day Delta State, he attended primary and secondary schools at Effurun, Okrika and Afugbene before completing further studies at the Government Teacher Training College, which later became Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka. Thereafter, Clark worked briefly as a school teacher before traveling abroad to earn a law degree.

Clark's involvement in the political process began during the pre-independence period when he was elected as Councillor for Bomadi in 1953. He later joined the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). While a student at Holborn College, he was active in the West African Students' Union.

After the military coup of January 1966, Clark was among a group of delegates from the Mid-West who opposed any ideas of confederation that were raised at an ad-hoc constitutional conference set up by Yakubu Gowon in 1966. The delegation's mandate was Nigerian unity and when proposals of a loose federation were tabled, the region's delegates asked for adjournment.

In 1966, he was a member of an advisory committee to the military governor of the Mid-Western Region province, David Ejoor, and was appointed Federal Commissioner of Information in 1975.

Clark was later appointed Midwestern Commissioner of Education and later, Finance. As commissioner for education, he was active in the establishment of a Mid-west College of Technology that became the foundation of the University of Benin.

During the second republic, he was a member of the national executive committee of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and was the treasurer of the party in Bendel State (now, in part, Delta State and previously the Mid-Western Region province). In 1983, he was an elected senator for three months at the twilight of the Shagari administration.

Beginning in 1996, Clark has been a self-described leader of the Ijaw nation. He supported the Ijaw ethnic group in Delta State during an ethnic crisis in Warri and has led Ijaw leadership delegations to meet political leaders. He is the convener of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).

Clark was an unofficial advisor to the 14th President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, GCON. He was a philanthropist who founded the Edwin Clark Foundation and established a university in his hometown, the Edwin Clark University.

Clark died peacefully in Abuja on the evening of Monday, February 17, 2025, at the age of 97, surrounded by family and loved ones, as announced in a press statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary/Spokesman of PANDEF, Obiuwevbi Ominimini, on Tuesday.

"Have you ever seen a situation whereby five SANs go to court to defend a thief? You cannot compare the judiciary of the first republic or even during the military with the judiciary today," Clark, the author of his autobiography 'Brutally Frank' said in one of his comments in opposition to corrupt practices.

The Nigerian poet J. P. Clark was his younger brother. May his gentle golden soul rest in peace.

#penglobalpersonality #ChiefEKClark