Patrick Nwakamma Ottih
Patrick Nwakamma Ottih (1918 – November 18, 2004) was a politician and entrepreneur in Victoria City, now known as Limbe, Cameroon, between 1932-1971.
Early life and education
He was born in Awa, Oguta County Council, Eastern Nigeria, British colonial Nigeria, to Chief Ottih Okoronkwo and Mrs. Ejiatu Ottih of Ndi-Onyeagorom village in Awa Community Council. Chief Ottih Okoronkwo (His father) was Oguta County Council judge in Awa Community Council, and the Paramount Chief of the British Empire in Oguta 11.
He attended elementary school in Awomama and Mbieri in Eastern Nigeria, before undertaking business apprenticeship in Aba, under Mr. Joseph Nwakamma of Ndiokwara, Uli, in Eastern Nigeria, during which he initiated business correspondence college studies, and continued it through his initial entrepreneurial experiences in Southern Cameroon.
Career
Ottih was a politician and entrepreneur in Victoria City (Limbe) Southern Cameroon, (West Cameroon) 1932 – 1971, and Nigeria 1976 – 2004.
He was the Kamerun National Congress liaison officer to Eastern Nigeria, President of the Cameroon branch of the Igbo State Union, Leader of the Biafran Movement and relief efforts in the Cameroon republic, Ohaji/Egbema/Oguta Local Government Councilor, and trustee member of the National Party of Nigeria in Imo State.
He was a member of the Casablanca Group bloc of the African Nationalist Movement, the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons in Southern Cameroon, the Kamerun National Congress, the Cameroon Peoples National Convention, the Igbo State Union, the Biafran Movement and Relief Efforts, the SS Club, the Victoria Club, the Victoria City and Southern Cameroon Chambers of Commerce and other business forums, the Oguta County Council Leaders of Thought, the Nigerian Peoples Party, and the National Party of Nigeria.
Humanitarian activities
Ottih donated to charitable organizations and community development efforts,such as Bakweri Development Union and Victoria City Down Beach Revitalization Committee, and awarded educational scholarships to disadvantaged children in Catholic Elementary School and Saker Baptist College in Victoria City, Cameroon, and Awa Community Secondary School, in Imo State, Nigeria. He afforded credits to numerous small businesses whose owners were associated with the Cameroon branch of the Igbo State Union, and/or Awa Patriotic League to assist their business growth, and bestowed cups for elementary and secondary schools soccer competition in Oguta County Council and Divisional Council in Eastern Nigeria, and Ohaji/Egbema/Oguta Local Government Council in Imo State of Nigeria. He pioneered the construction of Awa Community Secondary School in Imo State, on his return to Nigeria, and assisted the overall development of Oguta 11, in Oguta County Council, Oguta Divisional Council, Ohaji/Egbema/Oguta Local Government Council, and Oguta Local Government Council in Imo State of Nigeria.
Achievements
He facilitated Africa independence struggles through membership in the Casablanca Group of the African Nationalist Movement, and revitalized Victoria City business community at the end of the Second World War. He played significant roles in the socioeconomic and political development of Southern Cameroon through contributions to community development projects, charitable organizations, memberships in the Kamerun National Congress, the Cameroon Peoples National Convention, the Victoria City and Southern Cameroon chambers of commerce and other business round-tables. He guided Southern Cameroon advocacy for merger with Eastern Nigeria as liaison officer of the Kamerun National Congress to the British colonial government of Eastern Nigeria.
He organized Igbo indigenes in the Cameroon republic, converted the Cameroon branch of the Igbo State Union to the Biafran Movement on the verge of the Nigeria-Biafra war, and led Biafran Movement’s relief efforts to refugees in the Biafran republic. He financed Biafran diplomatic activities, led a Biafran delegation to Sao Tome and France, and actively supported Biafran political and diplomatic officials who used West Cameroon as a base for diplomatic activities. He served as a councilor in Ohaji/Egbema/Oguta Local Government Council, on the threshold of Nigeria second republic, and fronted the development of Awa community in Imo State of Nigeria.
Recognition
He was awarded the title of Oka - Ome 1 of Awa / made the traditional prime minister of Awa Community
References
- Konde, Emmanuel. May 29, 2009. "How the Igbo came to Dominate Victoria", Up station mountain club.
- Ottih, Mazi Ngozi. 2008, Reflections of a Glorious Life, Xlibris corporation.
- Ottih, Mazi Ngozi. 2010, Beyond the Biafran Shore: The Life and Times of Chief Patrick Nwakamma Ottih, Xlibris corporation.