Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor is a hotelier and one of Nigeria’s pioneer journalists. In this interview with GBENRO ADEOYE, the Igba of Warri explains why she left broadcast media for hotel business
What attracted you to hotel business?
As a journalist, I travelled a lot and I also studied in England. When I came back from England, of course, I studied journalism, I was employed by the then Nigerian Television Service as a Programme Director. I was the first female programme director in this country. During this period, we had the first and second coup and after the second coup, some journalists like me were unhappy because the reasons given were not satisfactory, and in those days, journalists worked on principles, I just left
without any resignation. I left in anger so I started running my own magazine called the Teenager, I was trying to talk to the youths but the youths had no spending power at that time, so I went bankrupt. I went back to England and then came back during the crisis. I had shops in the country until after the war. I also saw the workings of hotels because if you are a journalist, you have to stay in hotels, there is always the challenge what any white man can do, a black man do it because that is what we were told by our founding fathers after our independence. When I saw this challenge faced by Nigerians, there was a void in the country for a good hotel so I went into it, gradually. In the midst of all my other businesses, this is how I got into it. How much did it cost you to go into the hotel business then?
The hotel took me eight years to build, so I was building it gradually. I had no money but whenever I had money, I was building it.
It appears your family has managed to stay out of the public eye, tell me about your husband and children
I don’t like to talk about my family much but I’m a very fulfilled mother. I have five children- three boys and two girls. I am married and I’m a very fulfilled mother. My husband is a retired soldier.
How did you two meet?
I met him during the crisis. I was going to Onitsha through Agbor, so I met him and he was very surprised to see a young girl like me coming to the war front. I thought he thought I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I told him I was covering Agbor and was in the war front to see. He was very reluctant to give me a vehicle as a soldier to go into those war torn areas, but he had to do what I wanted. So I left my own car there, to go. I went and came back in the evening around 6pm and when he saw me, he was so relieved, so happy. And it was strange to see that kind of joy that I came back, you know. So we became good friends seven years before we finally got married. He is my very good friend. First and foremost, we are friends.
How old is your marriage now?
35 years
Well, mine’s still three years, so what’s the secret to hitting 35 years?
When you’re married to a man, there are so many reasons you marry a man. The first one is stability. You love this man, you love him because of his appearance. I was attracted to him, he was attracted to me when we first met. He was a young soldier, they were the first set of soldiers who went to the Nigerian academy. One, his singlet was always white and very clean. Then, he always had a white handkerchief. These two things attracted me but the one that attracted me the most was his singlet, his round-neck singlet was always white and he was brisk. And then, he was a soldier to the core. If my husband told you then that he was coming at 2, it’s either he’s going to be there 2 on the dot or few minutes before 2 but you cannot catch him coming late. If he’s going to come late, it must be for very special reasons and he would explain. Lastly, he didn’t know how to tell lies. But that was then, so whether he’s telling small-small now to get out of trouble is another matter. He’s an old man now, so he must have learnt all the tricks to get out of trouble.
How do you relax?
Relaxation comes from doing things that you like to do, if you like to work or sleep, that’s your relaxation. If you like to read, that’s how you relax. I work and I’m able to envisage the future and when you envisage the future, then you work for that future. As I told you, I have a very fulfilled family life. My children, they’ve taken over all the businesses and my husband is fine, so I have a very fulfilled life.
Do you still go out with your husband?
When I was younger, we went out to parties, but I’m always working. I had factories, I had the children to manage. Not too long after I had my last baby, I was called upon by the Olu of Warri to come and serve as his chief, though I’m a princess. Once I became a chief, it called for hard work and then again, all my life, I’ve known little of play. It has always been work. Well, I enjoy it and more so when I come across some real big problems and I am able to surmount those problems in the community.
You’re the Igba of Warri. What does the title mean?
Well, it’s a name- Princess Igba. It’s my great grandmother’s name which I inherited. I’m the Igba of Warri. My mother was a princess, Princess Igba.
The Olu of Warri recently rejected the title of ‘Ogiame’. He said it was against his faith, but he later recanted after protests by indigenes. As a Warri chief, what do you make of this?
Well, the stool of the Olu of Warri is sacred to every Itsekiri man. I’m sorry that’s one story I will not talk about.
There is a case involving you and a community land. I understand it’s turned into a legal tussle. What’s the situation?
It was the matter between me and Governor (Emmanuel) Uduaghan. We had this piece of land which the community was going to build a cultural centre on. Then he went and took over the land and we said ‘no, we wanted to use the land.’ People think they can do things when they are in power. I just told him ‘no.’ He’s my son, but things are not done like that. There is law and there are rules. We voted him in so he should go through the process of the law. So when he didn’t want to do that, the community took him to court, and now, we are still in court.
Is it true you rejected some Xmas gifts sent to you by Governor Uduaghan?
Well, like I said earlier, he’s my son. If I tell him something at home and he doesn’t want to listen to me, if he doesn’t hear me in the house, then he will hear me outside. That’s how the matter came out.
Do have any other grudge against him apart from the land issue?
Well, we are talking about my life now, not about the life of the governor so I won’t want to go further.
What inspires your looks?
From the very beginning, I was born a princess. I’ve always had that at the back of my mind. I may not have had money or enough to be glamorous but I’m very conscious that I’m a princess. Therefore my dressing should not be disappointing. Like I’m going out now, I don’t want any Itsekiri man to see me anywhere and be disappointed that ‘Oh! Look at our Chief.’
What do you think about today’s journalism?
Journalism is like any other profession that is being polluted now by drop-outs. Drop-outs feel that they can just pick up their pens and say they are journalists. When you meet them, you know them. But there are still very many good journalists. I think, of all professions today, a profession that is holding its own in our country is journalism. But for them, this country would not be where it is today. They are the ones who are constantly criticising, constantly researching because to be a journalist, you must be hardworking, and I think that is where I got my gift.
Recently, you openly condemned the state of the country’s education and the ASUU strike, threatening street protests when people like you should be resting. What do you think about the situation in the country?
Yes, There are many mothers who want to rest like you put it. At my age now, I should be resting happily, peacefully because as far as I’m concerned, I, Chief Rita Lori have contributed a lot to my society. That I can sit now and see this country the way it is makes me sad. This morning, I listened to the president, he was talking about unity and later some friends called me, and they said what is he talking about, can there be unity in this country? I said yes, there could be unity. Because in the first place, If you look at our national anthem today, unity is one of the rocks on which the country sits but what has happened to the unity we once had. I told you, I was uncomfortable in the first and second coup because it completely eroded all that we were taught in school and before and during independence, we had this fantastic idea about this country. Our founding fathers worked at it, the leaders worked at it. Take for an example, they went as far as creating unity schools, students from the South West went to Sokoto, children from Sokoto came to the South. And when they meet in the ministry, those children who came together at age 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, up to university level look at one another as friends and when they go out of the country, they look at themselves as brothers. This was what it used to be. Teachers were respected. But today, what do you find? Attention is being given to the politicians. They ignored the very foundation of human being-education, where you teach people goodness, to be dependent on themselves. It makes me very unhappy to see the Federal Government turn its back on ASUU. There is nothing you can tell the country that will make people believe if you can turn your back on ASUU. Because that’s the bedrock of every human being, education.
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