By Nelson Miller
Engineer Godwin Eyarubere Omene is one of the patriarchs of the famous Omene dynasty of Mosogar Kingdom in Ethiopie West Local Government Area in Delta State.
Engineer Omene was born March 21th, 1939. After his basic education, he attended the Famous Government College Ughelli for his secondary education, after which he proceeded to the famed Imperial College, London where he bagged first Class Honours Degree in Mining Engineering and Post Diploma in Petroleum Engineering graduating with distinction.
Engineer Omene spent most of his working years with the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, SPDC. As a man destined to be first amongst mortal men, Engineer Omene rose to through the rank to the position of the first Nigerian to be Deputy Managing Director of the SPDC group. The first Nigerian to attain that level in Shell.
But that is not the essence of this piece. This piece is to highlight his enigmatic foresight in bringing Physical and Human Capital Development to many parts of the Niger Delta Region and the Oil and Gas Sector Generally.
For Chief Godwin Omene, positions, either public or private, are to better the lots of the lives of those in your immediate environment and by a large the generality of humanity.
Groomed under the atmosphere of royalty, he saw every opportunity as a rare privilege to contribute to the betterment of his Delta State, the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria and the World over.
In his hale days in the Shell Group, the Chief of Mosogar Kingdom in the 1960s engineered the construction of the Airport Road between the twin cities of Warri and Effurun through the then thick forest.
Chief Godwin Omene also midwifed the construction of the Osubi Airstrip, which today is being expanded by the Delta State Government into a full fledged international airport.
As a man who knew the needs of his people, Chief Omene identified the housing deficit in the Warri and Effurun Metropolis, as he oversaw the preliminary stages for the building of the Bendel Housing Estate now called Delta Development Property Authority, DDPA, Uvwie Local Government Area.
To create an atmosphere of ambience, exclusivity and togetherness for staff of the Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC Nigeria, Chief Omene played pivotal roles in the development built the Shell Residential Area at Ogunu in Warri South Shell West and as well as in Port Harcourt, Shell East.
At the outbreak of the civil war between 1967 and 1970, the young Engineer who was in his early thirty’s, became a beacon of hope to many persons, evacuated both expatriate and Nigerian from other parts of the country from the then Eastern Region who were trapped in the heat of the war.
He risked his life to go to nooks and crannies of the country in the quest to rescue and ferry people to safety.
At retirement from SPDC, Chief Omene was appointed as the poineer Managing Director of the Niger-Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
Engineer Omene brought his rich and robust experience at the apex of the oil and gas industry to pilot the nascent agency for the revolution and positive transformation of the underdeveloped Niger Delta region.
He drew up the Master plan for the NDDC with the aim of making positive difference in the region. Chief Omene was also part of other virile team which orchestrated plans and policies for National development.
The octogenarian engineer holds the prestigious title of Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE) and Fellow Institute of Directors (FIoD). Truly, Engineer Omene is a man of many firsts in its true sense.
As Chief Godwin Eyarubere Omene turns Eighty three years today, it is instructive to note that present public office holders and others must learn from the virtues of this silent but outstanding Administrator and detribalized Nigerian, who put the interest of people and the masses above love of self aggrandisement.
