Justice Mary Odili Is 66

For Mrs Mary Ukaego Odili, life has been a fairy tale in
the manner of speaking. Considering the fact that her father Eze
Bernard Nzenwa was a pre-independence Nigerian lawyer and given the
privileges and societal standing of lawyers in those early days,
she could rightly claim to have been born with a silver spoon in
her mouth.

Like Portia in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar who claimed “I, so
fathered and so husbanded” in reference to her nobility, Mary also
has a claim to upper class affiliations. By virtue of the fact that
she is the daughter of a distinguished lawyer and traditional ruler
as well as wife of a prominent politician, if one were to call her
a princess one would be right.

Mary took all these in her stride as she focused on the real
issue that border on her determination to use her ascribed status
to enhance her relevance to humanity. In doing this, she did not
allow the glow of affluence to becloud her plans for herself.

With her background of royalty, she was raised to stand out in
the community. From her vantage position today as a Justice of the
Supreme Court, it is obvious that she did not disappoint. Despite
her polished upbringing, Mary launched out applying her highly
cerebral endownment in the pursuit of life goals.

She was born on 12 May 1952 in Amudi Obizi, Ezinihitte-Mbaise
Local Government Area of Imo State. The second daughter of Eze
Bernard Nzenwa and Ugoeze Benadette Nzenwa. Ukaego attended a
number of primary schools as a child including St Benedict’s
Primary School, Obizi Ezinitte, St Michael’s Primary School,
Umuahia, St Agnes Primary School, Maryland and Our Lady of Apostles
Primary School, Yaba. She briefly attended Our Lady of Apostles
Secondary School, also in Yaba, Lagos. Following the outbreak of
the civil war in 1967, Ukaego and her parents relocated to the
southeast of the country.

There, she continued her education at Owerri Girls High School
until her family moved back to Mbaise. She then attended Mbaise
Girls Secondary School and later enrolled at the Queen of the
Rosary College in Onitsha. These were highbrow schools in those
days most of them managed by the Catholic Church. Mary’s
performance in the West African School certificate in 1972-
aggregate six, grade one with distinction was an attestation to the
worth of her intellect. The same year, she gained admission into
the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus where she read law. In her
second year in the university she earned a scholarship for
maintaining the second class upper division league with higher
scores.

As a young lady with a combination of brain and beauty she was
highly sought after. In the race that ensued, Peter Odili won but
not without a fight. For Mary, it was the beginning of a phase of
her life that took a refreshing turn. When she met her prince
charming, Peter Odili, a medical student, at a campus party the two
began a romantic relationship that blossomed. The rest as the
saying goes, is history as she is today, Mrs Peter Odili. Odili
himself told the story of how his father- in- law let him get away
so easily on the bride price issue but said that it was a trap as
till date he has not finished paying the bride price.

In 1976, she graduated with an LLB (Hons) and was rated the best
student of the department of commercial and property law. Shortly
after, she attended the Nigerian Law School and received her B.L.
certificate in 1977, before embarking on her youth service in Benin
City and Abeokuta. Odili was serving as a house officer in Benin
City at the time. Talk of fate.

Ukaego commenced her career in the judiciary as a Magistrate
grade III in November 1978. She married Odili in 1979 and gave
birth to a girl named Adaeze. Ukaego and her family moved to Port
Harcourt city where her husband founded his medical centre, Pamo
Clinics.. Between 1980 and 1988, Ukaego served as Chief Magistrate
Grade I, Chairman of the Juvenile Court, President, Marine Board of
Inquiry into the 1979 Buguma Boat disaster, Chairman, Constitution
Drafting Committee of the University of Nigeria Alumni Associates,
Inaugural Chairperson of the International Federal of Women Lawyers
(FIDA) Rivers State and Secretary, Nigerian Horticultural Society.
She became High Court Judge in the 1990’s. In 1992, while she was a
High Court Judge, Odili was serving as the Deputy Governor of
Rivers State. In 1999, following her husband’s election as
governor, Ukaego became the First Lady of Rivers State, serving
until 29 May 2007.

She had held the offices of Justice, Court of Appeal, Abuja
Division and Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division.
On 3 May 2011, President Jonathan nominated Ukaego with two other
Appeal Court Justices to the Supreme Court. Ukaego was appointed an
Associate justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria (JSC) on 23 June,
2011. Today, Justice Mary Odili is a leading light in the highest
echelon of the nation’s judiciary, a no mean feat. She was awarded
the national honour of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR)
by the federal government. As she marks her 65th birthday, Mary
Ukaego Peter Odili, wife, mother and grandmother, has every right
to look back and in an exhilarating sigh and exclaim, its being a
long journey well worth it.

– Ume is a media consultant

For Mrs Mary Ukaego Odili, life has been a fairy tale in
the manner of speaking. Considering the fact that her father Eze
Bernard Nzenwa was a pre-independence Nigerian lawyer and given the
privileges and societal standing of lawyers in those early days,
she could rightly claim to have been born with a silver spoon in
her mouth.

Like Portia in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar who claimed “I, so
fathered and so husbanded” in reference to her nobility, Mary also
has a claim to upper class affiliations. By virtue of the fact that
she is the daughter of a distinguished lawyer and traditional ruler
as well as wife of a prominent politician, if one were to call her
a princess one would be right.

Mary took all these in her stride as she focused on the real
issue that border on her determination to use her ascribed status
to enhance her relevance to humanity. In doing this, she did not
allow the glow of affluence to becloud her plans for herself.

With her background of royalty, she was raised to stand out in
the community. From her vantage position today as a Justice of the
Supreme Court, it is obvious that she did not disappoint. Despite
her polished upbringing, Mary launched out applying her highly
cerebral endownment in the pursuit of life goals.

She was born on 12 May 1952 in Amudi Obizi, Ezinihitte-Mbaise
Local Government Area of Imo State. The second daughter of Eze
Bernard Nzenwa and Ugoeze Benadette Nzenwa. Ukaego attended a
number of primary schools as a child including St Benedict’s
Primary School, Obizi Ezinitte, St Michael’s Primary School,
Umuahia, St Agnes Primary School, Maryland and Our Lady of Apostles
Primary School, Yaba. She briefly attended Our Lady of Apostles
Secondary School, also in Yaba, Lagos. Following the outbreak of
the civil war in 1967, Ukaego and her parents relocated to the
southeast of the country.

There, she continued her education at Owerri Girls High School
until her family moved back to Mbaise. She then attended Mbaise
Girls Secondary School and later enrolled at the Queen of the
Rosary College in Onitsha. These were highbrow schools in those
days most of them managed by the Catholic Church. Mary’s
performance in the West African School certificate in 1972-
aggregate six, grade one with distinction was an attestation to the
worth of her intellect. The same year, she gained admission into
the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus where she read law. In her
second year in the university she earned a scholarship for
maintaining the second class upper division league with higher
scores.

As a young lady with a combination of brain and beauty she was
highly sought after. In the race that ensued, Peter Odili won but
not without a fight. For Mary, it was the beginning of a phase of
her life that took a refreshing turn. When she met her prince
charming, Peter Odili, a medical student, at a campus party the two
began a romantic relationship that blossomed. The rest as the
saying goes, is history as she is today, Mrs Peter Odili. Odili
himself told the story of how his father- in- law let him get away
so easily on the bride price issue but said that it was a trap as
till date he has not finished paying the bride price.

In 1976, she graduated with an LLB (Hons) and was rated the best
student of the department of commercial and property law. Shortly
after, she attended the Nigerian Law School and received her B.L.
certificate in 1977, before embarking on her youth service in Benin
City and Abeokuta. Odili was serving as a house officer in Benin
City at the time. Talk of fate.

Ukaego commenced her career in the judiciary as a Magistrate
grade III in November 1978. She married Odili in 1979 and gave
birth to a girl named Adaeze. Ukaego and her family moved to Port
Harcourt city where her husband founded his medical centre, Pamo
Clinics.. Between 1980 and 1988, Ukaego served as Chief Magistrate
Grade I, Chairman of the Juvenile Court, President, Marine Board of
Inquiry into the 1979 Buguma Boat disaster, Chairman, Constitution
Drafting Committee of the University of Nigeria Alumni Associates,
Inaugural Chairperson of the International Federal of Women Lawyers
(FIDA) Rivers State and Secretary, Nigerian Horticultural Society.
She became High Court Judge in the 1990’s. In 1992, while she was a
High Court Judge, Odili was serving as the Deputy Governor of
Rivers State. In 1999, following her husband’s election as
governor, Ukaego became the First Lady of Rivers State, serving
until 29 May 2007.

She had held the offices of Justice, Court of Appeal, Abuja
Division and Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division.
On 3 May 2011, President Jonathan nominated Ukaego with two other
Appeal Court Justices to the Supreme Court. Ukaego was appointed an
Associate justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria (JSC) on 23 June,
2011. Today, Justice Mary Odili is a leading light in the highest
echelon of the nation’s judiciary, a no mean feat. She was awarded
the national honour of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR)
by the federal government. As she marks her 65th birthday, Mary
Ukaego Peter Odili, wife, mother and grandmother, has every right
to look back and in an exhilarating sigh and exclaim, its being a
long journey well worth it.

– Ume is a media consultant