What Makes Me Happy Always Is The Help I Render — Peter Dunia 

 Peter Omoh Dunia is the Chairman of Oceanwave Group. He has made exceptional commitment to humanitarian causes, especially the less privileged members of the society like orphans, widows and the physically challenged people. An Edo-born technocrat, Dunia, popular as Peter Black among friends and associates, has recently been nominated for an award by Independent Newspapers as the Humanitarian Personality of the Year 2024, the investiture that will hold on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. In this interview with PRINCESS OKAFI, he speaks about how he single-handedly built virtually all the roads with drainages in his Ogbona hometown, his amnesty grant fight and relationship with late President Musa Yar’Adua, President Goodluck Jonathan, Tompolo, among others. He also talks about how he has embarked on the building of one of the biggest skills acquisition ICT Centres in the country, apart from the police station, sports complex and a two-thousand capacity school auditorium he built. Excerpt: 

 Can you briefly tell us about your background, mentor(s), friends, and perhaps significant social life of your choice, including music and food? 

Well, I am Peter Omoh Dunia, well known as Peter Black. I lived a very good part of my life in Delta State, but I am originally from Auchi in Edo State, Ogbona, to be precise. My growing up was quite interesting in the sense that you have to go through life and what it brings. It wasn’t easy, but I am grateful to God Almighty for bringing me this far to succeed. I love good music, the reason I manage a recording studio and a few artists, and yes, I love very good food. And I am a football fanatic; I am all for arsenal, and when you love something, you show it. The reason I single-handedly sponsored Warri wolves for two years was that everything was upon me throughout the period of time. Love without giving is not real, for God so love the world that he gave-the phrase is there. Thank God for good friends too, of course you know 20 friends can’t stay together for 20 years, but you will always have the good, the bad and the ugly and they all teach you life experiences. 

You have made notable impacts with your resources either as an employer of labour or even in the area of human emancipation. What would you say motivates you to serve the downtrodden? 

My person, then life has taught me a lot, growing up with hardship and perseverance, then the only thing that just makes me happy is to be able to help in any way I can. I don’t like lazy people. In as much as I see you want to do something and I can be of help, then I will. Even God said he will bless the works of our hands, so do something, don’t just be in a place and complain. 

Okay, tell us a little about your amnesty grant fight! 

Hmmmmmmm, the interviewer, please can we have a minute silence for the great man himself, the father of the Niger Delta, E K Clark, because the story can never ever be complete without him? He played a major role in the whole fight for amnesty. He has left a very big void for us all, but he fought a good fight, and he will always be remembered. Let me talk about OGBUEIFI as I usually call him, but popularly known as Tompolo. He is the main actor of the Niger Delta struggle. Without him, there won’t have been any amnesty. He was part of the struggle that led to amnesty. Tompolo is my very good friend, my brother from another mother, a man with so much enthusiasm, someone I can call a backbone anytime anyday. Tompolo is such a personality who doesn’t run away from struggle. He is the main slogan for struggle till it becomes a success. Tompolo is my powerful struggle leader. So it was the affair of the state that brought me to meet with late former President Yar’Adua and the former president Goodluck Jonathan, and I will not take the privilege for granted. So, meeting with the late president was for reassurance, and the rest is history. So farso good you know it has to be a lot of disagreement underneath, the sacrifices most people don’t get to see, but most importantly, the end result is success and that’s all we pray for, and I am grateful for that. 

You sometimes in 2009 tarred the entire roads in your community with asphalt and did drainages, built churches, police station, a two thousand-capacity school auditorium, a sport complex, and now you are building one of the biggest skill acquisition, ICT centres in the country, in collaboration with the youth of Ogbona. What actually informed your choices? 

Safety matters alot, both in the house of God and also the community, I realise we didn’t have a very good police station, and we can’t be waiting on government to do things for us all the time, so I feel if you have the capability to do something, then no need to wait for the government, because the government is all of us, we all need to make it work. So it helps reduce crime and ill manner behaviour, and also help in sanitising the community. Then of course education plays a very good role in our lives, so for those who can’t afford their children school bills, I just had to come in to support, and encourage them to be literate, and for the sport complex, like I said I am a lover of sport, so I can go to any length to make sports engagement come alive, and you already know the world is going global. The main reason for the ICT center, and to encourage the youth to learn a skill, not just getting up and thinking the easiest way to make it is fraud. Learn a skill and it will open doors for you. I don’t want to encourage laziness or being on a fast line. I mean, if God has given me the capability to be of great help, then why relent 

So many people appear to have lost hope in Nigeria because of the rate of inflation and the current wobbling economy. What is your personal opinion about the state of the nation? Any hope? 

In as much as there’s life, there will be hope. The truth is we can’t say the economy is in a good place right now, but there’s time for change and make things better, and it starts with us. If we just wake up and keep complaining about the negative side of the economy, trust me, we won’t see the positive side. It’s really not easy this time, but we are hopeful and trusting God to help our country, the leaders and individuals. 

President Donald Trump of the United States of America recently froze funding for anti-HIV programmes that cover treatment for 30 million people worldwide. What do you think may be the consequences of this decision on Africa? What is your advice for African leaders on this scenario? 

Well that’s his decision to make, which I think he should think it over, because extending help of treatment to other people aside your jurisdiction goes a long way, and it’s a wake up call for our leaders too. They shouldn’t always wait for help. Most times, that is the least they can do for their subjects, so let them put in more effort for a good change. 

Some critics said most Nigerian roads are death traps going by the trend of accidents, and it appears their agitations have not yielded much fruit. What will be your candid advice for the government on road infrastructure and its maintenance? Hmmmm to be candid, we really do need good roads. In 2009, I personally did almost all the major roads in my home town including drainage and almost all the roads are just still the same. So, if I as an individual can help do most of the roads, then why won’t the government try their best too? It is very tiring, but I believe they can actually do better, and not just doing low budget work, let them try and do well built and indestructible roads that will last, so they can now channel their energy on building other better things too. I pray that the Almighty touches their mind and keep reminding them that they have a part and promises to fulfill.