By Waziri Isa Adam Gwantu
Professor Yakubu Aboki Ochefu has urged Igbinedion University, Okada to pioneer new models of teaching and research, saying the institution must carry forward the same “audacity” that defined its Chancellor, Sir Chief Dr. Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, CON, CFR.
Ochefu, Professor of Economic History and Strategic Studies at Rev. Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi, made the call on Tuesday while delivering the 92nd Birthday Lecture in honour of the Esama of Benin Kingdom.
The lecture, titled “A Tapestry of Nine Decades of Wisdom… Still Counting: The Journey and The Legacy”, was held at the Library Conference Hall of Igbinedion University, Okada on September 8, 2026.
Tracing the Chancellor’s life, Ochefu said Igbinedion’s philosophy is that “the standard gravity of circumstances does not bind the pioneer. Rules, to the Esama, are guidelines for the timid. The bold must write new ones.”
He cited Okada Air as proof. While competitors waited for ground equipment in the 1980s, Igbinedion built his fleet around BAC One-Eleven aircraft with built-in stairs. “He did not convene a committee to study the problem. He simply out-flew the competition by adapting his tools to the reality of the Nigerian environment,” Ochefu said.
The don described this as the “epistemology of the street” – practical intelligence that chose resilience over prestige. He linked it to earlier ventures: selling kerosene in Benin, service in the Nigeria Police Force, founding Mid-Motors in 1968, Nigeria’s first indigenous assembly plant, and leveraging the Indigenisation Decrees to build enduring enterprises.
On education, Ochefu said founding Nigeria’s first private university in 1999 was Igbinedion’s most revolutionary act. “Every single one of the 160+ private universities in Nigeria today walks through a door that the Esama of Benin opened,” he stated.
Speaking on the theme “…Still Counting”, Ochefu said the world is in a new era driven by AI, blockchain and synthetic biology. He argued that just as Igbinedion pioneered new frontiers in aviation and higher education, IUO must now lead innovation in learning, research and technology.
To extend the legacy, he announced he would submit a proposal to the Vice-Chancellor for a PhD by Published Work and Practice programme – a route common in the UK and Australia that gives academic recognition to professionals whose work is already doctoral-level.
Concluding, Ochefu said the word “Okada” means movement and determination. “At ninety-two, the Chancellor’s journey continues to inspire. The loom is still active. The thread is unbroken. And the legacy… is still counting,” he said.
Dignitaries included Deputy Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor, VC Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, Council, Senate, staff, students and royal fathers.