BIDDING FAREWELL TO A COMPATRIOT
Onoawariẹ A. Ẹdevbiẹ pays tribute to Regina Otitẹ, a woman of substance
In bidding farewell to Dr. Regina Otitẹ, the most likely approach to speaking or writing about her, will depend on what her competing admirers and even detractors say or know about her. A casual way of drawing attention to Regina’s life will be to simply refer to her, as the wife of Dr. Onigu Otitẹ, a celebrated Professor of Social Anthropology; an address that is neither classic nor felicitous for a farewell note. This method of eliciting attention would unfortunately seem to be condescending, as it tends to ignore the fact that Regina was a strong woman in her own right, a person with bubbling ideas about life. For those of us who knew her as a fellow member of Urhobo Historical Society (UHS), Regina was a giant figure not to be dismissed lightly because of society’s sentimental views of women. Prior to her passing on July 7, 2023, Regina had occupied a position that provides a veritable window to peep through for an understanding of Urhobo history and culture, one that has much to do with her birth, religious faith, patriotism as well as her role as an educator and a mother.
For a start, it should be noted that Regina’s definitely established forbear is an Uwadjeri, a direct descendant of Ọsia, supposedly the brave hunter who led a group of men to found Okpara in prehistoric times. Following this lineage through Uwadjeri is Richard Brighoadọmọ Evwaraye, Regina’s father. Her mother, Juliana Egbegbadia was also an Okpara native who hailed from a satellite community of Ọkurekpo, a few miles west of Okpara Inland. Regina’s parents had three children, all girls. Regina was the middle child of the siblings: late Agnes Ukiri, Regina Otitẹ, her humble self and a surviving younger sister, Ester Falodu. Next, it is also noteworthy that Regina and her sisters were all raised in the Catholic Church; obviously not only an indication of the strong presence of the Catholic mission in their home town of Okpara Inland, but also as an acknowledgement of the attachment to the religious faith of their father. Daddy Richard, a catechist, had attended the seminary in his youth, and had kept a life-long faith in the Catholic Church. As a devout Catholic, he took his girls regularly to attend mass in Warri. Even when he retired to live in Okpara Inland, he continued the practice of attending early morning mass, a Christian devotion that he maintained right up to the time he answered the call of all flesh.
The attachment to the Catholic faith besides turning into a family tradition has much to say about the early history of the Catholic mission in Okpara. The mission is said to have taken hold in Agbon as early as 1922 when Richard Evwaraye was still a young man. Okpara Inland was one of the mass centers in Agbon that were administered from Ẹku under the leadership of Reverend Father Patrick Joseph Kelly as the resident priest. The center of the mission in Agbon was later moved from Ẹku to Okpara Inland ostensibly to avoid competition from Pastor Ẹjovi Aganbi, an Ẹku native and the newly established Baptist mission, and stay away from subsequent conflicts that followed. Probably learning from what happened at Ẹku, and in efforts to build solidarity with community leaders, Father Kelly made friends even with non-Catholics among Urhobo elders including some at Ẹku itself, and others like Peter Inweh of Ọkurekpo, and Otitẹ Ijẹdia and Oyibocha Ọrovwuje, both of Okpara Inland. The Okpara community in its embrace of the church, donated land on which the mission built its Church and a primary school, the Catholic Central in Okpara Inland, opened in 1934. The school now renamed Ejaife Primary School after the first Urhobo university graduate, MacNeil Ejaife, provided elementary school education to many Okpara youths including a number of Regina’s relatives: an uncle, Scott Evwaraye for example. Scott was the first Okpara person to attend Saint Thomas’ College, Ibusa, a premier Catholic teachers’ training college in old Benin Province, returning home to teach at his alma mater, the Catholic Central. Another family member, a cousin, Professor Andrew Oteku Evwaraye followed the footsteps of Uncle Scott in the preference for education in Catholic schools. The Professor, a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and now a nuclear physicist at the University of Dayton in the US, attended Catholic schools; first, Olodu Catholic Primary School Ogwashi-Uku, and later Saint Patrick’s College Asaba. Following family tradition, Regina and her siblings also attended Catholic Schools. She began at Our Lady of Apostles Convent School (1955) Warri for her primary school education. Later she moved to other Catholic schools, Queen of Apostles’ College, Ughelli (1960)and Sacred Heart College, Ubiaja, (1966), both teacher training schools for the Grade III and Grade II Teacher Certificates respectively. Her wedding in 1960 to Kingsley Otitẹ in Lagos was also conducted in a Catholic Church.
Besides the historic involvement in the Catholic Church, Regina as a young child and a young woman also lived through a crucial period in Urhobo history as well as in Nigeria. She was born in Warri in 1940 about midway through the period of British colonial rule in Nigeria. Warri Township had been built in 1891 to serve as one of the consulates created for the Niger Coast Protectorate as the area was then known. Warri was also the center of Urhobo movement in the struggle to secure educational opportunities and political power for Urhobo people in order for them to survive in a pluralistic society as envisaged in the British colonial rule. The movement that began some twenty years before Regina was born, resulted in the formation of Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), a non-political service organization. UPU is being celebrated for leading the campaign for the expansion of educational opportunities for Urhobo youth. However the earlier educational opportunities only benefited boys and not many of Regina’s generation, as there were only a few schools for girls. Fortunately for Regina and her sisters, they took advantage of their presence in metropolitan Warri and as Catholics to attend Our Lady of Apostles Convent School, Warri that was the first school established sometimes in the 1920s for girls in Warri. The Roman Catholic Mission had been resuscitated in the western Niger Delta, and by the end of the second decade of the twentieth century it had been firmly established in Warri Township under the leadership of Rev. Fathers Cavegnera, Olier, Shine, O’Connell and Folley as enabling missionaries. The missionaries had sought to use education as a tool for the evangelization of the people. The earlier mission built by Portuguese missionaries in Ode-Itsekiri (Big Warri) in the 16th and 17th centuries had collapsed following the abolition of the slave trade in the 19th century. The Portuguese were indicted for their complicity in the slave trade.
Perhaps in recognition of the contribution made by missionaries to education, others like Regina Evwaraye decided to become teachers. As patriots, they chose not only to answer the call for more trained teachers for the education of Urhobo youth, but also to demonstrate the role of educated women in a modern Urhobo society. After graduating from the teachers’ college at Ughelli, she started teaching in earnest in Lagos where her husband, Kingsley Otitẹ was working at the time. Kingsley was employed as the Assistant Administrative Officer at the Federal Ministry of Health, and later at the Office of the Prime Minister of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as the Private Secretary (Defence). When Kingsley secured admission to enter the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1960, Regina moved in with her parents in Warri to take care of her infant daughter, Fidelia. She later relocated to Benin City to be with her husband, Kingsley after his graduation from the university in 1963, and was working as an administrative officer with Midwest Ministry of Works, and later the Public Service Commission.
As for Regina, she got the opportunity to resume teaching in various schools in the then Midwest Region of Nigeria. She opted for more training and returned to school for a Grade II, Teachers’ Certificate. She also took advantage of the sojourn with her husband who was pursuing graduate studies in United Kingdom to enroll for a diploma in Home Economics at the Westminster Technical College, London. Upon her return from the UK in 1970, Regina resumed teaching at the Senior Staff School, University of Ibadan and later at Abadina College and Islamic High School, Orita Bashorun Ibadan. In between these teaching appointments, she found time to enroll for a Bachelor degree in Education from the University of Benin, and later, a Masters and a Doctorate at the University of Ibadan with emphasis on Adult Education and Community Development. She also created space to run a tailoring business from her home, 22 Amina Way, University of Ibadan Campus, for making clothes primarily for other women on campus.
Regina Otite also served in a number of high profile positions outside of the classroom, continuing for years after retirement from the school system. As a devout Catholic, she belonged to several Catholic organizations including the Society of Sacred Heart and the Catholic Women Organization, Arch-diocesan of Ibadan serving as its Vice-President She was also a past treasurer of Laity Council of Our lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel at the University of Ibadan, and had helped as the Chairperson of Harvest Planning Committee to organize many harvest events for the chapel.
While one could regard Regina as a dedicated teacher and a devout Catholic, she was also committed to her family and the Urhobo people.In deference to her people, Regina served as the President of Urhobo Ladies Association, the Ibadan Branch. She later published The Urhobo Woman, a text that offers a descriptive analysis of Urhobo culture as it relates to the dignity, values and the role of women in the society. As a member of Urhobo Historical Society, she helped to organize the erection of the statue dedicated to Urhobo Woman at the UHS Headquarters, Okpara Inland.
Regina and her husband, Professor Ọnigu Otitẹ stayed married for 59 years, and were blessed with seven children: Fidelia, Kenneth, Ẹdorẹ, Afure, Jovi, Ọdaro and Ovede. They were all raised under the watchful eyes of two educators, guiding them through the University of Ibadan, Senior Staff School to become graduates of the University of Ibadan. The children are all now happily married and have children of their own. They are also gainfully employed as they contribute to society like their parents did in their life time. The amount of efforts involved in the bringing up of her children is not surprising as it was indicative of Regina’s personality; she is known for dedication to the welfare of her children, including designing and making clothes for them. The graduation of all seven children from the same marriage, and from the same schools would qualify for an Urhobo version of the World Almanac if one existed. The achievement rare, as it is, is a testimony to the highest standard of stewardship expected of any parent. For this, Regina deserves to be honoured for being an ideal mother. MAY THE GOOD LORD BLESS THE SOUL OF REGINA OTITẸ AS SHE JOINS HER HUSBAND FOR A PERFECT REST IN THE LORD
Professor Ẹdevbiẹ writes from Novi, Michigan, USA
