Brother Emma,
Seventy years! As I pen these words, I am filled with nostalgia for our early days growing up in the backwaters of Mosogar and Ogharefe, and joy for the remarkable man you have become — a statesman. Your journey as a brilliant professional and accomplished medical doctor, coupled with your achievements as a public servant and later as Governor of Delta State, places you firmly among the ranks of distinguished elder statesmen. Congratulations! I am truly honored to call you my elder brother.
Looking back to our early years, I can still see your steady hands helping me find my balance as I learned to stand and walk. I remember following in your footsteps around our neighborhood, and our days as young pupils navigating a primary school that lacked proper staffing. Those formative experiences clearly shaped your lifelong commitment to caring for the underprivileged.
Life soon took you on a different path—secondary school, university, internship, and your eventual calling as a fully-fledged medical doctor. Each step led you farther from our daily life together, but somehow brought us closer in understanding. Even when politics seemed to create distance between us, our bond remained unshaken.
You proved this beyond doubt when you served in my cabinet and as Secretary to the Delta State Government, working alongside your colleagues to help shape what many now regard as Delta State’s golden era.
As you celebrate this milestone, I thank God for blessing me with a brother like you. While our blood ties made us cousins, your love and guidance made us brothers. Through every season, you have been my friend, my ally, and my “little father.”
May your 70th year bring you the same joy and light you have brought into my life, and may God continue to bless you abundantly.
With deep love and gratitude,
James Onanefe Ibori
Governor Delta State 1999-2007
