The 2022 National Conference of the Urhobo Progress Union(UPU) witnessed the award of honours to several Urhobo sons and daughters among them were HRM Dr. Emmanuel Ekemejewa Sideso, Abe 1, JP, OON, the Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom and nonagenarian Chief George J. Amurun, JP, GCOP, the Esiriarha of Alegbor and the most senior Chief of Okere Urhobo Kingdom, Warri
The award is for their unwavering support to UPU, selfless service, and contributions to the advancement of the Urhobo Nation.
PROFILE OF HRM DR EMMANUEL EKEMEJEWA SIDESO, ABE 1, JP, OON,
OVIE OF UVWIE KINGDOM
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the
greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the
greatest things.” – Ronald Reagan, former U.S. President
1. EARLY LIFE
Born 79 years ago into the Sideso family of Jakpa quarter,
Effurun, Headquarters of Uvwie Local Government Area. His
Majesty spent his teenage life outside his ancestral domain, in
what used to be known as Ishan Division in the present Edo
State. He attended Government School Irrua in the mid 1950s,
from there he moved to Ishan Grammar School, Uromi, where
he obtained the Secondary School Certificate in 1963.
2. FAMILY
This year 2023, His Majesty, husband of one wife, shall be
celebrating 55 years in marriage. Both spouses are still very
fond of each other and they are looking forward to more
blissful years ahead. The marriage is blessed with three
illustrious sons, each with his own family.
His Majesty is a product of a very humble polygamous family.
His late mother, a renowned trader, was the younger of the
two wives of his late father. He is the only surviving and the
youngest of his 14 siblings. Naturally, he went through all the
complications usually associated with polygamous households
and came out emotionally and mentally equipped to face the
challenges of life. His present affluence notwithstanding, he
recalls that he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
He was always at the farm after school each day with his
siblings, helping their father who was a great farmer.
3. WORK EXPERIENCE
His words, “When I graduated from secondary school, I had five
jobs waiting for me. It was difficult making the right choice. My
uncle in the Customs Service wanted me to join the service but
my inclination was towards the army and police. My mother
promised to commit suicide if I joined the army.
“I opted for police service, went for the interview and passed
but the Commissioner of Police advised me to go back to
school. I later joined The MINT and moved ahead from there.”
He was engaged by Nigerian Security Printing and Minting
Company (NSPMC), popularly known as THE MINT, in August,
1965, as a trainee bank note printer and rose through the ranks
under expatriate supervisors, until he attained management
status. At THE MINT, he served variously as Assistant Director,
Deputy Director, Director of Currency, Production Director, and
General Manager Corporate Services.
He was THE MINT’s management representative in the National
Joint Consultative Committee on Labour from 1976 to 1983. He
was also the pioneer management representative at the first
African Banknote Printers Association in 1991. He was the
chairman, concurrently, of THE MINT’S committees for printing
ballot papers, Apprenticeship Scheme, Housing Loan Scheme
and HealthCare. Till 1994, he was a member of both the Abuja
(NSPMC) Factory Technical Committee and Paper Mill
Committee. Sequel to his professional aptitude and
overwhelming track record, it was no surprise that he won the
revered NSPMC award in 1980.
4. OVERSEAS TRAININGS
His Royal Majesty is a product of Thomas De La Rue and Royal
Mint, United Kingdom, a first-rate money printing
establishment. As a distinguished manager at THE MINT, he
was elected to attend several topnotch management courses
abroad and by 1971, he was rated among Nigeria’s
accomplished MINT operatives.
Attesting to his proficiency and eminence, he represented
Nigeria at Intercontinental Conferences on security in
collaboration with Interpol in Europe and Japan, between 1986
and 1993,.
In 1995, His Majesty voluntarily pulled out of THE MINT, having
put in 30 years of productive work in the organization. He will
always be remembered at THE MINT for his legacy of
resourcefulness, transparency and loyalty.
5. ACCOLADES
In appreciation of his multifarious contributions to the
advancement of humanity, His Majesty has been honoured
with numerous classic awards, including the prestigious
national award of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON),
conferred on him by Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
administration on 22 nd July, 2010. He won the Abuja RAMP
safety award in 2009.
There withal, the Uvwie Kinsmen through HRM Eruohwo II,
Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom gave him the title, Urhorhomu r’
Uvwie (The Good Blessing Of Uvwie Kingdom in 2001. Similarly,
in 2006, his alma mater celebrated him as the Most
Distinguished Alumnus and in the ensuing year he was given
the highly esteemed Uvwie Merit Award, for his unflagging
philanthropy and commitment to the development of the
kingdom. The Federal University of Petroleum Resources,
Effurun (FUPRE) awarded him a Doctor of Philosophy degree
(Honoris causa) during their 10 th year anniversary in the year
2017.
6. NATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Beyond the confines of his community, on 13 th August, 2008, His
Majesty emerged the Programme Chairman of the National
Development Summit of Traditional Rulers, Nigeria’s most
dominant non-political forum of traditional rulers, inaugurated
by late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, to foster national
cohesion, peace and progress. The Summit is attended yearly in
Abuja by scores of delegates from virtually all the states of the
federation. To date, he is the Chairman, Governing Council of
the Summit. The summit is co-hosted by National Orientation
Agency (NOA), National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC),
Traditional Rulers Development and Welfare Initiative,
(TRDWI), with Center for Traditional Rulers Advancement,
(CTRA), as facilitator.
7. LEADERSHIP PROWESS
His Royal Majesty, Emmanuel Ekemejewa Sideso, Abe I, JP,
OON, the Ovie Of Uvwie Kingdom, is a great leader who
recognizes that people have diverse gifts and talents and he
adopts significant philosophies that help to harness those
potentials toward the common goal.
In his kingdom, he has brought to the fore his immense
managerial skills garnered in his many years in government
service and management training abroad, to propel and fulfill
community dreams. He runs an inclusive traditional
administration, making the best use of best brains in specific
tasks, including planning, decision-making and problem-solving.
Perhaps nothing has endeared him more to his people than his
natural willingness to welcome superior ideas at all times.
Lately, he created more sub-clans known as Etches, to bring
administration further closer to the citizens.
8. ROYAL GLAMOUR
When he shows up at occasions in his distinctive regal gait,
adorning his full royal regalia, he is always irresistibly eye-
catching, resplendent and exquisite, cheered to the hilt by his
ever-thrilled loyalists and admirers. He is naturally good-
looking, grandiose and indeed, a man of the people, well-loved
and venerated by both the lower and upper echelons of the
society. Ovie is acknowledged as a fervid adventurer and an
uncommon repository of wisdom and experience.
He is incontrovertibly a distinguished royal father, with lovable
peculiarities and enviable garlands of leadership in diverse
spheres of human endeavor. In fact, there has been a
sustained euphoria in his kingdom since his enthronement on
18th February, 2008.
