*Professor Steve Davis T. Ugbah:* They Call Him *Uncle*



Angbianev:



Some who read this note may say it is uncharacteristic of me – “Ankiki” J. Uvah – I will be the first to say that I couldn’t agree more. However, I feel a sense of duty to let all who care to listen, especially you, my brethren on Tivnet, to take a peek into what I know about the man they call *Uncle*. Why would this be important to you or I? The State of Benue, we all agree, needs leadership with a clear vision and a deep sense of direction so that the strides we make, small as they may be at a time, will continue to point us in the right direction. My utterances here today are personal, no doubt, but they are based on my knowing this gentleman from adolescence since 1969, and associating with him from that point to this day on a continuing basis. Moreover, if anyone has any information, public or private, that negates anything contained herein, it will be a disservice of monumental proportions to sit still while people with no iota of fact fabricate and conjecture so as to mislead a people in dire need of good

leadership. I am referring to none other than Steve Davis T. Ugbah.



*A Brief History*

Having met Steve in rather usual circumstances . . . as he was seeking to know what students did in Makurdi while on holidays and was directed to inquire from me. We became friends instantly due to the ease with which he could relate to me. Three years later, I enrolled at Mt. St. Michael’s Aliade for the H.Sc., where Steve was in his ultimate year of his o’levels. Of course, unlike his other brilliant classmates who ran off to H.Sc., Steve took a break from school to help his uncle establish some community-based endeavors. He later headed off to the U.S. for the bachelor’s degree after which he returned to Nigeria only to be based in Jos. At this time, I was teaching at UniJos alongside my former classmate and childhood friend, Christopher Demenongu I. Ayu, known to me as “Antse”. We three *hung-out*together for a few years before I left Jos by 1980 for further studies. Out here in the U.S., Steve was to follow within a few years and we grew even closer and continued to meet and talk, and talk and do things together. In the second half of the 1980’s when Steve frequented my aboard, my children came to believe that they had one *Uncle* . . . and many other uncles. Some

of you may now know why in my house, you are Uncle James, Uncle Ty, Uncle Dimah, Uncle Emmanuel . . . there is only one *Uncle. * His other name is Steve Davis T. Ugbah.



*So, Who Is Uncle Steve?*



I know Steve as a sincere, thoughtful, caring, and God-fearing person of impeccable integrity. In spite of an exposed and relatively privileged life, Steve has remained very humble. He has consistently fought for the underdog, for social justice and equity. Armed with the ability to think clearly and communicate ideas succinctly, he has a knack for identifying and addressing

the imbalance in opportunities that persist in the society wherever he has found himself. I must hazard an excerpt from a draft letter of recommendation here (need I also tell you who wrote it?):



“. . . as a student, Steve was transparently conscientious, overly diligent, unusually focused, and self-motivated. From his days as a youth, his idea of a worthy career was dominated by the notion of “service to the people” and that has remained a fixture to this day. While not ignoring the good things in life, he has maintained that a life is worth only as much as it is used

for the betterment of many others, especially the down-trodden. This is evident in his choice of services …”, to wit, services:



· to his University, the California State University at Hayward (in such endeavors as weekend visits to impossible neighborhoods to recruit, retain, and graduate students from low-income families, for instance);



· to his community in the San Francisco Bay Area (such as utilizing the expertise from his company, *ComFax Consulting*, to provide free or discount fee grant-writing services for non-profit organizations that serve underrepresented groups to include gay/lesbian groups), etc.;



· to his Tivland community, such as evacuating the law library of retiring professionals and funding the shipment to BSU Law when they needed accreditation; or shipping books to a young Mkar University and influencing MOUs between Mkar University and the Cal-STate system, the largest system in the United States . . . so they can instantly be put on the world stage. “



· too many tangibles to enumerate, tangibles that have the SSI (Scope, Size, Impact).



In my numerous engagements with Steve, failure to achieve our desired results has never been a result of lack of a sincere and spirited effort. The Steve I know combines a generously endowed native ability with purposefully acquired skills, to perform at very high levels. I am particularly impressed with his ability to analyze a complex problem, see the big picture, and

proffer solutions that appear to be simple and are easy to understand when, in fact, such solutions are anchored on deep and sound logical pivots. It is the clarity of vision that permits Steve to express himself to various audiences in a manner that they each understood. When faced with serious challenges, Steve is often known to calmly say “ka abu u kiliki”, or “it’s a piece of cake” and the like, with a straight face, only so as to settle rattled and excited minds so he can think straight and solve their problem.



Even though Steve is a fierce competitor, his peace-loving personality shuns ill-gotten victory. His gentility coupled with extreme humility leave some the impression of one who is laid back. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If you wish to see an animated and engaged Steve, bring up any aspect of societal development and you will see the clarity of thought, the lion

beneath the sheep skin, a can-do person whose diction is divorced from “cannot”. In spite of a sharp intellect, Steve’s carriage is marked by a willingness to accommodate divergent views on a topic even when he is the expert in the group. I once asked why he has such patience, to which he answered “if you don’t listen to all, you may not have the chance to implement the best of ideas”. This unassuming deportment has fared Steve very well among groups. It is a fact that out here in the U.S., it will be difficult to find a Tiv person who has fallen out with Steve even temporarily, a claim that none of us who engages (as he does) can safely make.



In my 42 years of dealing with Steve rather closely in a plethora of settings, I have found him to be man of his word, - pragmatic and practical-with the strength of character that could only be spelt with the word INTEGRITY. Case in point, when Steve decided to run for the exalted office in Benue State, I told him that I must suspend his role as Tivnet Administrator, a role from which I have benefitted immensely. He calmly asked if I had opened the attachment that he had sent me earlier that day excusing himself from Tivnet operations! I leave you to wonder why it did not cross his mind to use this medium that he helped to create, to jumpstart

his campaign. He is yet to complain that some are fast gaining notoriety on the same medium to recreate him in their likeness.



I have read so much falsehood that I began to wonder if the person being referred to in the political terrain was a different Steve. I believe most sincerely that Benue State needs leadership that:

· Is visionary . . . in my book, this is Steve’s middle name. It is only illuminated when it should be used.

· Remains inclusive. While very resourceful, Steve is always willing to listen to others.

· Can think outside the box. This is where Steve’s ingenuity and ability to assemble very able hands will come in handy.

· Consultative, delegative, but with hands-on supervision. He professes this.

· Is committed to very high ideals. Where else could one best learn this than to PHYSICALLY live it to know it in Silicon Valley, California.

· Accountable to the people being served. Persons with integrity have no problem with accountability.



*A Recommendation*

In sum, I wish to inform the good people of Benue State that the Steve I know has a conscience, is a man of his words and is very reliable. He builds relationships that last a lifetime (I’ve seen over the years that he keeps tab of friends he made as a kid). A very confident technocrat and tactician, Steve possesses one quality that stands tall among the many competing traits – Independence! Steve is a man of his own who is NEVER drawn into anything

by others unless he believes in it. From this distance, I see that he is beating the bushes in harsh tropical weather to earn the people’s confidence, rather than waiting to be wheel-barrowed to a GHM. The State of Benue will be blessed to have this asset, Professor Steve D. T. Ugbah, as perhaps the first *servant* Governor. While wishing his opponents well, I

must warn that they have a big *battle *on their hands if the debate is about futuristic but practical ideas, for not only is this gentleman a compendium of those, he is most comfortable standing on the shoulders of many giants. He will not be a tall timber in a forest of dwarfs.



Having stayed in the U.S. for a cumulative of over 3 decades, Steve has had many pleasant experiences that some in the U.S. only dream about. He will adapt methods of which he has had the fortune of consulting about professionally, to develop Benue into a Middle Belt California of sorts. He knows a thing or two about building consensus. Governing a state is not a one-man endeavor as has been fashioned to be in recent times. Steve is most comfortable in his skin, so I envision that he will assemble a high performing team without the fear of being overshadowed by the brilliance ofothers, an idea that Benue has not seen a quite a while.



I, Jossy Uvah, therefore recommend him to the people of Benue State without any reservations whatsoever. At the end of his tenure, I invite all to return to this mundane note, line by line. I guarantee that your red pen will “check”, “check” and “check”.



*Now, a word to my good friend, Steve D. T. Ugbah*:

I know you’d be embarrassed with my comments here, limited as they are. I can only remind you of your words: “speaking the truth as I know it is the one speech that is worthy of uttering.” If I, who know you well, cannot vouch for you, who could. As you seek to serve your people in the current muddy waters where fact and fiction comingle unabated, please remain true to whom I have known you to be these 42 years. Keep it clean, my friend, keep

it clean. I have never known you to be in the gutter and cannot see you there no matter the stakes. Just win one for me!



Jossy Uvah, Ph.D

Professor of Applied Mathematics

The University of West Florida

Pensacola, FL 32514

You have nailed it on this wonderful man!

God will definitely prevail