By Our Correspondent
The misty sky had brightened up for a sunny day with a scintillating flashes of the rising sun. The elements in the horizon all appeared to be in agreement with the signs in the sky. The clouds which had attempted to gather earlier quickly heeded the signs and beat a hasty retreat. They dispersed quickly! Hope and excitement of a deserving break from the boring and cold rainy days filled the hearts as friends, family members and other well wishers began to hit the roads on the morning of September 17. It was the birthday celebration and thanksgiving service of Major- General EG Ode (retd) who turned 60 on Septembers 15.
All roads, therefore, led to the Living Faith Church, Jahi and thereafter the Armed Forces Officers Mess, Mambilla Barracks, Abuja on September 17. After the thanksgiving in the church at Jahi, the teeming crowd of guests who came to celebrate with General Ode moved in droves to the mess for a grand reception.
But just as the church service was getting to its climax, the sky seemingly renaged and permitted the clouds to gather again. Then the roaring of the gathering clouds filled the atmosphere. First it began to release some tiny liquid droplets. It was a mere drizzling that would not do much harm to the neatly made and expensive garments worn by most worshippers, but as the clock began to tick, the droplets increased in momentum, raising much fears as to whether the invited guests would still be able to honour the day-the grand reception.
As a matter of fact, the rain did not decrease in its ferocious intensity even as at 3pm scheduled for the reception. But one by one, the cars mostly SUVs conveying the resilient guests began to arrive the lonely situated but magnificent and expansive premises of the officers mess for the grand reception.
One irresistible side attraction mostly noticeable to the guests on arrival was the Aita Dance Group conspicuously stationed by the main enhance of the lavishly decorated hall to usher in the guests with their scintillating and almost psychedelic dance steps. No guest could walk past them without a backward glance at the dancers magical performance.
And in no time, the hall was full to capacity. Inside the hall, just like the dancers at the entrance, guests could hardly take their eyes off the imposing portrait of the two-star general in service uniform and his fullsized photograph in flowing gown (Babanriga) embossed on the flex banner conspicuously displayed at other side of the hall.
With the array of guests consisting of mostly military elites, politicians, academics and the who-is-who in Benue and Igede politics comfortably seated, the stage was set for General Ode and his family members to storm the hall with their spectacular dance steps to the excitement and rousing applause of the guests.
For the avoidance of doubt, the high profile personalities who were at hand to celebrate the retired general included the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Taoreed Lagbaja; Governor of Benue State, Fr Hyacinth Alia, represented by his Deputy, Dr Sam Ode; former Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo and Chairman of National Planning Commission, Professor Ode Ojowu. By the way, Ojowu was also a member of the Presidential Economic Council in the Muhammadu Buhari presidency.
The list of VIP attendance also included Senator Abba Moro, representing Benue South Sentoral District; Professor John Enyi, Professor, Oga Ajene, commissioners, traditional rulers and the clerics.
Backed up by the Class of 34 Regular Intakes of the Nigeria Defence Academy (ADA), who turned out in large numbers to honour the President of their alumnus, all dancing cheerfully behind General Ode, his wife and children stormed the hall to a thunderous ovation from the teeming guests.
In the thrill of Ode’s somewhat triumphal march into the hall, two portable devices carefully placed on both sides of the aile exploded with a loud bang, almost sending panic into the unsuspecting audience, especially those without military background. But the panicky audience were later to find that the devices are prototypes of a detonating device invented by General Ode in the hay days of his meritorous and remarkable military service spanning about 37 years.
Called Ode Rechargeable Blasting Device, it is the first ever locally made detonator. The commissioning and testing of the portable electrical device, which is adaptable to both wet and dry conditions, was part of the highlights of the 2016 Chief of Army Staff (COAS) First Quarter Conference in Abuja under the leadership of the then Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Buratai. A Deputy Commandant of the National Defence College (NDC) at the time and brain behind the innovation, Maj-Gen. Ode, led the Nigerian Corps Army Engineers that fashioned the device, which is said to have helped in the fight against insurgency in the North East as well as save Nigeria a lot of foreign exchange that would have been spent on the importation of the devices from abroad.
But hold your breath, nobody’s life was under threat as the detonators were simply symbolic and commemorative of his intellectual exploits as an exceptional Army General.
The birthday celebration which occasion was also used for public presentation of the General’s biography titled “Beyond Courage: written by Dr Elvis Ogenyi and forwarded by Lt. General Buratai (retd), was a commendation gallore as speakers reflected on his past, present and even peeped into his future life.
His wife, Kate, was the first to take the stage. Not surprisingly though, because nobody can know a man better than his second half. In a few words, she described General Ode as “a distinguished husband, caring father and friend,” recalling the challenges they overcame together, some very terrible: armed robbery attack, two fatal accidents that had the cars involved written off completely. “God helped him survive both,” she recounted.
She decsribed her husband as “a man of integrity, his word always his bond, with him a job given, you can go to sleep….”
Taking the stage as chairman of the event, AVM Emmanuel Edeh, Former Commandant, Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State characterised Ode as “an intelligent officer with a good interpersonal relationship.”
Noting that he was a Commandant when Ode was Lt Col, AVM Edeh expressed delight that most of Ode’s course members went through him. “I am happy that many of them, including the celebrant have kept the flag flying,” he said.
What is most unique is that General Ode is affecting the lives of his people out of service as much as, if not more than, before retirement. And his friends, contemporaries and colleagues who gathered at the lavish reception did not loose sight of this significant reality. And that has ostensibly made him a man being sought after by the leading political parties in the state to join their fold.
His profile read by Brig. Gen. AA Yusuf (retd), political gladiators in Benue State took over the podium not only to pour lavish encomiums on the General but to also impress on him the need not to keep a long distance from politics in spite of what might have appeared like a huge disappointment in the last party primary of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. Ode, who commanded a cult followership before the contest for his federal constituency seat was believed to have been rigged out.
Probably taking the General’s ever rising profile even after losing the PDP primary into account, Senator Moro, a serving second term lawmaker, declared without mincing words that “Ode is a kind of person that every body would like to hand over to.” Moro described Ode’s loss in the PDP primary as a “baptism of fire”, but noted that the general had demonstrated his readiness to serve his people and needed to be supported for a political office. The Senator also expressed admiration and satisfaction for the quality of guests Ode commanded at the event, saying that it’s an indication of the stuff that the General is made of.
In his goodwill message delivered by his Deputy, Sam Ode, Governor, Alia joined the fray with superlative description of General Ode thus: “among the citizens of Benue state, you are one of the best, a very good courageous officer… through your work, you’re a lover of your community.”
Making an allusion to the investments General Ode had made in his community, a semi urban area, which has offered employment opportunities for many, Governor Alia observed that some other persons of the General’s status would have preferred to site such investments in cities where the returns would be higher and quixker, but noted that Ode had taken them home for the love of his people. Accordingly, Alia made a veiled suggestion to mean that the General would be supported for a political office if only he could dump PDP for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The remarks by Moro and Alia drew loud applause from the crowd.
Subsequent speakers at the occasion portrayed the General as a great patriot, a very vibrant person and community leader who listens to the opinion of others and allow superior arguments to always prevail in taking decisive decisions.
As it were, all eyes are on General Ode to see his next political move as the time ticks to usher in yet another election cycle. Not a few believe that he is an idea whose time has come and he would make a significant impact in the representation of his people at the political stage.
