Political biography of a nobal man Rt. Hon. (AMB.) Edden-Rex Abarah

Edden-Rex Iffiok-Obong Abarah political life started when he was 7 years old. A young boy who had big dreams of becoming a laywer became the head boy of his primary school (Holy Ghost Academy Nursery and Primary School Umougbu, Awka, Anambra State). His leadership not affecting his academic was made known as his score 89% during his Common Entrance Examination, thereby granting him direct admission into the secondary school of his choice (Comprehensive Secondary School, Nawfia, Anambra State).

Edden-Rex Abarah

In the second term of his Junior Secondary School 1 (J. S. S. 1) he was made the class monitor. He was the pride of every teacher who taught him. In J. S. S. 2, he became the Deputy Junior Prefect. As of that time his role as a role model and a leader to his generation started to become clearer as he launched a battle cry in accordance with the former president “War against Indiscipline”. Standing against lateness to school and all forms of indiscipline. His administration was a success. His leadership not affecting his education, he performed outstandingly well in the Junior West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) examination.

On entrance into the senior secondary, he took a test and came out the 2nd overall best granting him direct admission into the humanitarian class.
At this point, most students younger and older than him both in class and age began to see him as a role model. The then principal of his school Mr. Okechukwu Emmanuel acknowledging the boys gifts and talents amongst which were singing and dancing encouraged him to start up a music and cultural club under the supervision of the Head Of Department of Music department.
Still in Senior Secondary School 1 (S. S. S. 1), he was appointed the Utility prefect of his school. It was the first time a student in S. S. S. 1 was given a post in the school. Words had it that during his time he was accountable for all public properties and that there was no record of stolen properties.

During the 3rd term of his S. S. 1, he was opportune to represent his school at a town hall meeting put together by the then governor of Anambra State (His Excellence Mr. Pete Obi), where younger children came to rub minds on issues affecting them. Having waited for the governor for long, on his arrival Edden-Rex boldly emphasized his displease on the delay stating that time is life and that as future generation they should spend it wisely. He was later called up to the governor’s lodge and was offered a scholarship directly from the governor. The principal on behalf of the school administration persuaded his parents to let him enter the boarding house under the agreement that the school would handle half of his boarding fees which his parents later accepted.

In the 1st term of his S. S. S. 2, he introduced yet another club called the Childs Right Club (C. R. C), which he became the speaker for his school representing them in the local level. His school became the first school in the local government to have officially instituted the club and he also became the first C. R. C Speaker of the local government. According to him and some members of the house comprising of the C. R. C, his tenure was a huge success though there were lots of challenges.

Being the speaker of his school he couldn’t be the senior prefect so instead he was given the post of the Deputy Senior Prefect.  Edden-Rex didn’t let this setback way him down instead he made a vow to ensure that such discrimination or discrimination of any kind will not befall any student during his administration.

At this point most teachers hated his guts and were determined to make his administration a frustrating one. During his tenure he inculcated amongst the student a reading culture, good feeding habits, cleanliness, orderliness, discipline etc. He also instituted a weekly newsletter/ report on the activities of his administration which was posted on the notice board every Friday. It was also during his tenure that his school was given over thirty (30) million naira and two (2) school buses by the then governor of Anambra State (His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi).At the end of his secondary school life, he scored an overall best result in the senior WAEC.

He was later elected as the Speaker of Anambra State Children Parliament in 2015. He saw this as a greater opportunity to yet serve his generation and he had a lot done independently during his tenure. His administration lacked the full support and backings they needed by the government but that didn’t stop him. He was able to work on different critical child cases with help and support of well- spirited Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). His administration also held the 1st ever summit on child rights in Anambra state in 2016. They were also able to institute the C. R. C in many schools. His office also partnered with the Minister of Health as they did a campaign on peer to peer group education throughout the state.  He also went from one media house to the other stressing the need for everyone to come to the understanding of the rights of a child and to what extent these rights can be tolerated. During his tenure the very first teenage correction centre was established in Njikoka Local Government. That is to say that his parliament wasn’t just a ceremonial one but also a functional one.

During his final year in office, he was offered three (3) different opportunities to be a presenter in three (3) different television programs which out of all he choose one which was tagged ”SPEAK OUT”. This is a program poised at revealing the ills in the society as affecting the youths. This achievement went on and did not stop him from achieving his academic goal and he sort for admission into the university
During an interview he was asked how it felt to have achieved so much success at his age. He said “success isn’t a ceremony but a process. There are so many people who read history; some writes history while some tell history but only few creates history. I want to be the architect of my future, the designer of my tomorrow. I take things slow and easy believing that a slow trigger is not a mistake but a calculated accuracy on a direct target”.