Felix Ovudoroye Ibru (7 December 1935 – 12 March 2016) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

businessman, architect and politician. He was the first democratically elected Governor of

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

and Senator for Delta Central Senatorial District. Until his death he held the position of President General of the Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU). As a traditional chieftain of his homeland, Ibru bore the tribal honorific Olorogun and often used it as a pre-nominal style. This title is also borne by the members of his large family in the same way.

Background

Ibru was born on 7 December 1935 at Agbarha-Otor in the Ughelli North local government area of Delta State to Chief Peter Epete Ibru and Chief (Mrs). Janet Omotogor Ibru, the second of seven children. His brother

Michael Ibru Michael Onajirevbe Ibru (25 December 1930 – 6 September 2016) was a Nigerian industrialist, founder of the Ibru Organization and patriarch of the Ibru family. Early life and career Ibru was born to the family of Janet Ibru and Peter Ibru, a ...

is the founder of the Ibru Organization, a major conglomerate. He was educated at Yaba Methodist School, and later

Igbobi College Igbobi College is a college established by the Methodism, Methodist and Anglican Church, Anglican Churches in 1932, in the Yaba (Lagos), Yaba suburb of Lagos, Lagos State, South-western Nigeria. It is still on its original site and most of the or ...

where he was Head Boy in 1955. He won the Elder Dempster Lines Scholarship to travel to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. After his secondary school education at

, Ibru proceeded to the Nottingham School of Architecture in England where he qualified as an

Architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

in 1962. While a student in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, he was elected the first Black President of the British Council with responsibility for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, Derbyshire,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

and

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

. As a result, he had an Audience with Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at a ceremony in

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

in 1960 Shortly after his qualification as an architect in 1962, he worked briefly with the Jewish Agency SOCHNUT, on various projects relating to farm settlements ( kibbutzim and moshavim) and prefabricated buildings in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. He later enrolled at the

Technion – Israel Institute of Technology The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a public university, public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 by Jews under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion is the oldest university in the coun ...

for post-graduate studies and qualified with an MSc (Arch) in 1963. He returned to

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

at the end of that year and took up an appointment with the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education as the first resident Lecturer in Architecture at the Yaba College of Technology. He was elected member of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) in 1969, registered by the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) in 1971, elected Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Architects in 1995 and a Fellowship of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).

Business career

Ibru established an architectural firm, Roye Ibru Associates, which, in 1971, went into partnership with Alan Vaughan-Richards and Associates to establish the firm of Ibru Vaughan-Richards and Associates (Planning Partnership). As one of the two principal partners of the firm, Chief Ibru was involved in the design and supervision of more than 40 projects across the country. They include:

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

Sports Centre, Oguta Lake Resort, The Diette-Spiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt, Office extension for Elf Nig. Ltd. Victoria Island,

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

University master plan, New Layout Market, Port Harcourt, Mile 3 Diobu Market, Port Harcourt, Sheraton Lagos Hotel & Towers, Ikeja, University of Benin sports centre, University of Benin Master plan, Faculty of Science buildings, University of Benin & Ogun State and the Ogun State Polytechnic Master plan. As consultant to Ibru Prefabs Limited, he was responsible for the design and supervision of several geodesic domes of various dimensions in many parts of the country. In 1971, under the auspices of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, he was invited to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

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, as a member of a panel on foreign investment. In 1974, he delivered a lecture at the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, in the

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on Multinationals. It was titled "Emerging Role Of The African Entrepreneur In The Economy And Its Relationship With Multinational Corporations: Competition, Partnership, Cooperation and Absorption".

Political career

Ibru's political activities began in 1983, when he unsuccessfully contested for a seat in the Senate. He ran for the governorship of

in 1991 and emerged as the first executive governor of the newly created

in 1992. He won the 2003 senatorial elections for Delta Central.

Personal life

Felix Ibru died on 12 March 2016 at the age of 80. Ibru was married with 6 children and 6 grandchildren all of whom survive him.

References

External links