Collins Daniel, Barrister-at-Law, Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, deserves all the titles he can get. He is king of his domain, and his jurisdiction is wide. He sits upon a sacred throne in his exalted capacity as head of the entire Abureni clan, comprising 15 disparate towns and villages spanning Rivers and Bayelsa States. He sits with pride and satisfaction upon his stool because he has earned it, according to the will of his people, and in keeping with the dictates of custom and tradition traceable from ancient times.
In 2016, King Collins Ebi Daniel made history as the first paramount ruler, the first member of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, the first royal father to write a book and get it published. His name came in simple notes on the cover of his first book as Collins Ebi Daniel, author of The History of Iduma from Ancient Times. The author’s story tells of an impressive journey through life.
Born on 5 September 1959 at Idema, Abureni clan in present-day Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Daniel attended St. John’s Anglican School Idema as a tender boy between 1965 and 1973. He earned his First School Leaving Certificate Examination conducted at St. Luke’s School, Nembe, in 1973, passing out with distinction. That same year, he went straight through the gates of the famous Nembe National Grammar School, Nembe, one of the few post-primary schools in the area at the time, to make a mark. In 1978, he came out flying the rainbow colours of success.
After a one-year stay of refreshment at the Rivers State School of Basic Studies, from 1979 to 1980, the promising young man won a place in the state civil service of old. From the 13th day of November that year, he was proud to identify himself as a clerical officer with the Rivers State Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Port Harcourt. After a short one-year stint there, 1980 to 1981, he gained admission into the University of Port Harcourt in the last quarter of 1981 to pursue a degree programme in History. He had no sponsor but himself.
Upon graduation in 1985, fortified with a second class honours degree, he proceeded for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps programme in the old Gongola State, north eastern Nigeria. His primary assignment at the Federal College of Education, Yola was an eventful exposure to the joys and rigours of imparting knowledge to the younger generation.
At the end of the service year, he returned to Port Harcourt, was promptly re-absorbed into the Rivers State Civil Service, and deployed to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. He was subsequently converted and upgraded into the Administrative Officers Cadre as Assistant Secretary II.
In his quest for more knowledge, Daniel later gained admission into the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt. He studied there between 1988 and 1992, graduating with a Bachelor of Law degree. He returned for his Masters degree in the same discipline between 2000 and 2003. He was numbered in the 1992-1993 academic session at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, and was called to the Nigerian Bar as Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1993. In all these exploits, Daniel paid his own bills from his humble savings in the civil service without sponsorship of any kind.
After his call to Bar in 1993, he had a stint of legal practice in the Louis Chambers Law Firm of Dr. Theo Osanakpo in Port Harcourt. He made his first appearance before Justice Goodhead at the Isiokpo High Court in early 1994, and remembers the experience as a baptism of fire in a superior court of record.
In Rivers State, Daniel served in Ministries and Departments as diverse as Finance and Economic Planning, Commerce and Industry, Governor’s Office (General Services), amongst others. He was one of the first four senior civil officers whose services were transferred to Bayelsa State on 4 October 1996, in a bid to kick-start the engine of the new state. He served as the first Head of Administration, Governor’s Office, under Chief Paul Obhuo, pioneer Secretary to State Government and Head of Service, Bayelsa State.
From February 1998 to June 1999, Daniel served as Principal Secretary (Chief of Staff) Government House, Yenagoa, under three consecutive Governors: Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade, Lt. Col. Paul Obi, and Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, first civilian Governor of Bayelsa State.
Daniel was appointed Permanent Secretary in the Bayelsa State Civil Service on 25 April 2007, and was sworn into office five days later. In that capacity, he served in the Ministry of Lands and Housing, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Special Duties (Office of the Secretary to the Government), Political and Economic Affairs Bureau and Governor’s Office. His last duty post was the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment where he stayed until his retirement ripened on 13 November 2015, when he attained the statutory 35 years limit in public service.
King Daniel is a member of several professional bodies. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Nigeria), and that of the International Dispute Resolution Institute. He is also a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, member of the International Bar Association, member of the American Bar Association, and a member of the Historical Society of Nigeria.
He is also a member, Nigerian Institute of Management, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, Negotiation and Conflict Management Group, and the Universal Peace Federation. He is also an adjunct lecturer of Arbitration Law and Practice at the Faculty of Law, Niger Delta University, Yenagoa campus.
King Daniel is a recipient of several awards. In 1998, he emerged as the overall best candidate to have passed with distinction in the compulsory administrative officers examination conducted by the Bayelsa State Civil Service. In 2003, he bagged the Productivity Merit Award of Excellence in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of Bayelsa State. And in 2004, he took his distinguished place as the overall best student and winner of the Justice Bola Ajibola Prize on International Commercial Arbitration.
He is the author of a hand book entitled Administrative Guidelines on the Executive Arm of Government. Since 2003, this invaluable hand book has been recommended for all top civil servants and political appointees in Bayelsa State.
In both Bayelsa and Rivers States, Daniel served on several panels and committees too numerous to mention. He has equally undergone several training programmes and workshops, both locally and internationally. On account of his background as a dispute resolution expert, he is widely travelled. He has been to more than twenty countries around the world in the run of duty.
In July 2008, in full recognition of his selfless contributions to humanity, the Abureni clan in Ogbia Kingdom granted him the honour he deserved. He was unanimously elected and installed as the Olila-Ebhugh, Abureni. His jurisdiction covers all the major towns and villages, including Idema, Eboh, Obeduma, Emalo, Oboghe, Oruan, Amorokeni, in Ogbia local government area, Okoroba, Agrisaba, Ogboma (Fikorukiri), in Nembe local government area of Bayelsa State, and Emago, Kugbo, Amoroto, Akani and Ebilailagh in Abua-Odual local government area of Rivers State.
King Daniel is happily married and is blessed with children and grand children. The History of Iduma from Ancient Times ranks as his first published work of scholarship. A public presentation of the book came up on Saturday 6 May 2017, at the Atlantic Hall of Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt. The occasion had HRM Alfred Diete-Spiff, Seriyai II, Amanyanabo of Twon-Brass, as chairman, while Mingi-Yai Nengi Josef Owei-ilagha, Pope Pen The First, Mayor of Fantuo, served as the book reviewer.
In 2020, King Daniel published a more voluminous book entitled, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution In Nigeria. The formal presentation of the book in Yenagoa was graced by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
