The recent harvest of deaths in the country has claimed one of the most outstanding and colourful public servants of his generation, Chief Jerome Oputa Udoji.

Chief Udoji, who died at the age of 93, was by all accounts a renowned administrator, lawyer and industrialist who etched his name on the marble of Nigerian public service. His life and times show that he was a man of many parts, and he excelled in all of them. It is for this that he was fondly called “a super permanent secretary.”

Udoji fought for noble causes in various salutary ways, and he became a reference point in the history of public service in Nigeria. His name, for about 40 years, has remained indelibly etched in public consciousness.
Born July 17, 1917 in Ozubulu, Anambra State, Chief Udoji had his early education at St Michael’s Catholic School, Ozubulu and St Charles Teacher’s Training Institute, Onitsha.

As a young teacher, he traversed different schools, in different parts of the country, including Ibadan Grammar School and Abeokuta Grammar School. The quest for knowledge through education took him to University of Cambridge, England, between 1945 – 48 where he studied law. He was one of the first Nigerians to have passed through that Ivy League college.

Udoji was called to the English Bar, Gray’s Inn, England. He returned to Nigeria on completion of his law studies abroad and settled down almost immediately. His glittering public service had just begun.

He started off as a third class clerk in the then Western Nigeria, and steadily climbed up the ladder as Personal Assistant to the Provincial Secretary, Western Nigeria. He was appointed Assistant District Officer, Ekiti Division, Western Nigeria, 1948-1950; District Officer, Egbado Division, Western Nigeria, 1951-1953; Permanent Secretary, Eastern Region Ministries of Health, Commerce, Finance and Establishment, (1955 – 1959); Chief Secretary and Head of Eastern Nigeria Civil Service (1960-1966). He briefly engaged in private legal practice from 1966 to 68, and later went into consultancy with Ford Foundation in Nairobi, Kenya.

He also served on the Boards of many companies such as R.T Briscoe and Nigerian Tobacco Company. He later served as the President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).

However, the height of his foray into public service was in 1972 when the administration of Gen. Yakubu Gowon appointed him chairman, Public Service Review Commission. The mandates of the commission included a comprehensive review of the civil service in Nigeria. The commission made far reaching recommendations such as an increase in the salaries of public servants, civil servants’ training and a unified and integrated administrative structure, elimination of waste, removal of inefficient departments and the introduction of an efficient and cost-effective public service.

Though the original intent of the commission was not salary review, it was portrayed as such. The salary increase it recommended for civil servants because popularly known as the “Udoji Award.”
Nonetheless, its impact was mixed. With more money in the pockets of civil servants, there was noticeable motivation. But the flipside of the salary raise was the corresponding inflation and budget deficits resulting from unplanned spending. Arguably, the perennial salary increase demands by organised labour had its roots in the “Udoji Award.”

But that did not in any way diminish the accomplishments and remarkable life that Chief Udoji lived. As a frontline industrialist and entrepreneur, many of the industries he established across the country provided jobs for the people and enhanced the performance of the economy, in particular, the real sector.

Overall, Chief Udoji built a name that today evokes respect and dignity in Nigeria and beyond. He was widely acknowledged to be a good-natured man who built a close knit family with his wife, Marcillina, two sons and a daughter. From whichever angle his life is measured, he lived his life in full and touched many lives. Undoubtedly, Udoji left remarkable footprints in the consciousness of Nigerians. That he passed on at the ripe age of 93 is a testament to his favoured and blessed life. We bid him a respectful farewell.

| Story Source;Sunnews.