Melford Obiene Okilo (30 November 1933 – 5 July 2008) had a long and distinguished career as a politician in Nigeria from the start of independence in 1960 until shortly before his death in 2008.
[7] During the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon, Okilo served in the government in Rivers State first as Commissioner of Education, and then of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Resources (1971–1975).
He undertook programs to reclaim land, control erosion, construct roads and canals, and build rural housing scheme and industrial estates.
[9] In June 1989, Okilo was a speaker at a conference on World Balance: Action to Save our Planet held in Aspen, Colorado.
[11] Returning to the United States, he became president of the University of Science and Philosophy, which had earlier published his philosophical writings including his 1991 book The Law Of Life.
[14] In January 1999, shortly before the return to democracy and while running for office, Okilo was briefly detained by the outgoing military government following disturbances among the Ijaw in the Niger Delta.
[15] Okilo was elected Senator for Bayelsa East on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform, serving from May 1999 to May 2003, but failed to be re-elected in 2003.
[4] Speaking in July 2006, in Brixton, London, Okilo called on leaders of the Ijaw to take their case over sharing oil and gas revenue to the International Court of Justice.