Celebrating 82 Years of Grace & Leadership: The Enduring Legacy of Ohimegye Opanda (part 2)

                 By Matthew Tukura 

Shortly after the military regime handed over power to the civilian administration in October 1979, the first civilian Governor of the then Plateau State, (Late) Chief Solomon Daushep Lar, set up a committee to identify dedicated sons and daughters of the state working outside to come back home and put good governance in place. As the saying goes, “a golden fish has no hiding place,” Ohimegye was identified as far away as Kano and brought back home as a team player in Chief Lar’s administration. On return from Kano, he was posted to the Plateau State Ministry of Education as Secretary. He officially resumed duties in July 1980, and while at the Ministry of Education, he facilitated the establishment of Government Secondary School, Umaisha. Chief Lar gave him approval for further studies, and HRH Ohimegye left Nigeria for the United States of America (USA) for a Master’s Degree in Administration in January 1982.

Ohimegye’s life of being principled with good moral values and integrity, a devoted Muslim and God-fearing, is a result of good teachings drummed into his head and siblings by his late father, Alhaji Abdullahi Yerima Dangara, who once beat him (Ohimegye) with a folded newspaper because he broke the stand of his bicycle. Abdullahi, destined to be a traditional ruler, cried not for the pains of the beating but for making his father angry. On a day like this, Hajiya Maryam Abdullahi (Ohimegye’s mother), whom God used to bring Ohimegye into existence for service to humanity, is remembered. May Allah (SWT) grant the souls of both parents Aljannatu Firdausi, Amen.

In 1985, the then Plateau State Government appointed him the Amirul Hajj. At the same time, he headed an ad hoc committee that investigated allegations of illegal sale and misappropriation of proceeds from government vehicles in Saudi Arabia. Some other ad-hoc committees Ohimegye was involved in included Chairman of the Sharing of Langtang Local Government Assets with the newly created Langtang South. The royal father was also Chairman of the 1994-1995 Annual Budget Drafting Committee and the Committee on Grains. For a long time, he served on the Committee on Promotion/Advancement of Senior Officers in the State Civil Service, the Committee on White Paper Drafting, and was a Board member of Kaduna Polytechnic.

Happily, as we celebrate our father at 82, is the return of relative peace in Toto. How can a group of people that lived together for years, shared boundaries on their farms, went to the same market, drank from the same stream, and in some cases lived in the same villages take up arms against each other? This crisis must end, and dialogue is the best option to end it. The Toto conflict is avoidable because the will to resolve issues is within the people. The peace of Toto can be discussed in Government Houses and elsewhere, but most importantly, it is within the hearts of the people of Toto. Peace or war, according to Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff to the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, is constructed in the hearts of the people. Therefore, with the manifestation of peace within the heart of the people of Toto, a brand-new Toto is possible.

I think the best birthday gift the entire people of Toto can give Ohimegye as he celebrates this day is to resolve to live in peace with one another. A living testimony, he remains within his domain attending to the needs of his subjects.

Your Majesty, we celebrate you as a retired, seasoned, and hardworking administrator, a respected traditional ruler who is upholding the values of the institution. The people of Toto Local Government should not forget the message Ohimegye passed in a vote of thanks during a town hall meeting on 29th December, 2025, at the Abdullahi Adamu Youth Centre, Toto. Speaking through the village head of Dausu, Ohimegye urged traditional rulers, village heads, stakeholders, and the entire people of Toto to always maintain peace in their respective domains.

We celebrate you at 82. May Allah continue to give you good health, strength, and wisdom – Agaaba-Iddu!!