Amadi: end Of An Era

The death of  Chief  Hon. Boniface Kinikanwo Amadi
signifies the end of an era in Rivers State.
BK as Amadi was fondly called needed no introduction in the politics of Rivers State. He came to public consciousness in 1983 as the arrowhead of the defunct Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) that withstood and survived the arsenal of the ruling party then, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). He was elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly which was then dominated by the NPN, making him the only lawmaker elected on the platform of the NPP in the House.
Although his tenure as a State lawmaker lasted for barely three months, from October to December 1983, he brought poise, discipline and elegance to politics. To cap it all, nature blessed him with a captivating colour that stood him out among others and fetched him the  nick name, “White man.”
BK showed unalloyed empathy for grassroots politics; this motivated him to form Good Friend Association that groomed and brought many young politicians to national and state limelight. He did not end there; he tried his best to bring succour to the less privileged in his area.
From a humble beginning at Nkpolu Orogbum in Rebisi, Port Harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State where he was born on 27th December, 1948, the late lawmaker attended Saint Paul Primary School and Asa Grammar School, Aba, now in Abia State for his primary and secondary education, respectively. He later enrolled for part time in the University of Port Harcourt where he bagged a Diploma in Political and Administration.
He started his political journey in 1976 when he aligned with late Dr. Obi Wali and others to agitate for the creation of Port Harcourt State. It was the belief then that the Ijaws were marginalizing other ethnic groups in the old Rivers State, hence some ethnic groups decided to agitate for Port Harcourt State.
At the formative stage of a new political arrangement in the country in 1978, BK became the Port Harcourt Local Government Area Youth Leader of the NPP. He worked with others to deliver the party in the local government specifically in Constituency Three of Port Harcourt Local Government Area where late Hon. Mark Okpara was elected in 1978 into the Rivers State House of Assembly.
As a youth leader of the NPP, BK mobilized and galvanized the youths of Port Harcourt to embrace the doctrine of the party. By the next general elections in 1983, he had built a very strong followership which emboldened him to contest the party’s primary against the incumbent (Opara). He eventually won the primary after a rigorous inter-party election.
The general election was not easy either, yet he defeated the candidate of the then ruling party, NPN.
Although he was one of the politicians barred from politics by the military government, Amadi had some of his boys working for him. He groomed some young men and formed ‘Good Friends Association, a platform he used to ensure the emergence of Prof. Emenike Wami as the chairman and Mayor of Port Harcourt in 1988.  He later became the Port Harcourt Chairman of National Republican Congress.
BK served as a political mentor to many people. The likes of Hon. Chinyere Igwe, the present Commissioner for Urban Development and Physical Planning; Hon. Nnamdi Wuche, ex- Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Port Harcourt City Council; Hon. Ken Chikere, former Attorney General of the State; former member, House of Representatives, Barrister Temple Amadi and Hon. Christian Amadi where some of his students and disciples. Today, these politicians are great mobilisers and grassroots politicians.
During the Abacha era, BK was the pivot of UNCP in Rivers State. He later dumped the UNCP for the NCPN. He used this platform to produce a new set of young politicians as councilors in Port Harcourt Local Government Area.
In the race to the Fourth Republic, he joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where he and some political icons like the late Marshal Harry; Dr. Peter Odili called the shots.
He later joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) and was one of the leaders of the party before he kicked the bucket in January, this year.
He had held several political positions and appointments including the membership of Rivers State Environmental Sanitation Authority, coordinator of PH NAPEP and member, Governing Council, University of Sokoto, amongst others.