Former military governor of the old Mid-western state, now Edo State, Dr. Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia has died.
He was 84-years old at the time of his death.
He passed away about 11pm yesterday but the cause of his death is yet to be ascertained as at press time.
Ogbemudia is a Nigerian former army officer and politician.
He was military Governor (1967–1975) of the Mid-West State, later renamed Bendel State, part of which in turn became Edo State.
After the return to democracy in 1999, he became a power in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In September 2009, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state and others attended his 77th birthday celebration in Benin.
On 19 September 2015 it was reported that the State governor Adams Oshiomhole advised Ogbemudia to quit active politics, that he’s too old.
Born 17 September 1932 in Benin City, Ogbemudia lived with his elder cousin, Mr. FS Uwaifo, a Benin-based businessman as a youth.
He attended Benin Baptist School (1941–1945), and then the government school, Victoria, in the Cameroons (1945–1947).
His secondary education was at the Western Boy’s High School, Benin City (1947–1949).
He joined the Nigeria army in 1957, training at Teshie, Ghana and at Netheravon and Salisbury Plain in England (1957).
He attended the officer cadet school at Aldershot, England in 1960, and was commissioned second lieutenant in 1961.
He attended the United States army special welfare school at Fort Bragg, South Carolina in 1962.
Ogbemudia served with the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Congo for 16 months, and served in Tanzania in 1964.
He was later appointed as an instructor to the Nigerian Military School, Zaria in 1964.
Ogbemudia was appointed Military administrator of Mid-West state in September, 1967 following the liberation of state from the secessionist Biafran forces.
Promoted to Lt. Colonel, Ogbemudia was appointed Military Governor of the state on 26 October 1967.
A populist, dedicated to reconstruction after the war, he initiated improvements in the areas of sports, urban development, education, public transportation, housing and commerce.
He built the Ogbe sports stadium, now named the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, and in August 1973 he commissioned the three-story National Museum in Benin City.
Other projects included the Agbede Mechanized Farm, Rural Electrification Board, Bendel Steel Structures, Bendel Pharmaceuticals, Bendel Boatyard, the University of Benin and the Bendel Line.
In later years, people looked back on his governorship as a time when much was achieved, followed by stagnation in later administrations.
