From Odi to Empire: The Policeman Who Built a Dynasty

ROOTS

Matthew Teibor Etebu was born October 5, 1932 in Odi Town, Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA, Bayelsa State. He was the son of Mr. Teibor Etebu and Mrs. Enwefa Etebu, both proud children of Odi. It was revealed that he grew up alongside two sisters who survived him: Mrs. Dallima Gbenzi and Mrs. Bassey Smart. Raised by his mother and elder brother Kaye Etebu, tragedy struck early when Kaye died in a car accident. That loss forged Matthew’s resolve: he would build something that outlives pain.

EDUCATION & EARLY GRIT

He attended St. Andrew CMS School, Umuolu and Kaduna Government School, earning his First School Leaving Certificate.
Undeterred by limited schooling, he took correspondence courses in Business Commerce and Store Keeping — the tools he would later use to build an empire.

THE MAKING OF A MAN

1. Service in Uniform — 1950 to 1959

He enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force in 1950 and rose to the rank of Sergeant. In 1959 he resigned voluntarily, because his calling was to build, not just to keep order.

2. The Business Titan — 1966

In Lagos, he founded Ogien-Ama Trading Company. Through sheer discipline, it became a major award-winning distributor for Nigerian Breweries Limited and Guinness Nigeria Limited. His excellence earned him shares, awards, and respect across the beverage industry — one of the first Ijaw men to break that ceiling in 1960s Lagos.

3. The Builder of Homes and Minds

After the Civil War he returned to the Niger Delta. Through M.T. Etebu and Company, he constructed Government Secondary School Odi and blocks of flats at Rumuibekwe Housing Estate, Port Harcourt. To fight ignorance, he opened Dennis Matthew and Company Bookshop in Port Harcourt — a haven for books and stationery.

4. Faith and Community

Born Anglican, he later joined God’s Kingdom Society (GKS) in the late 1950s. He served as Choir Master and helped establish new GKS branches. His home in Lagos and Port Harcourt became the unofficial headquarters for Ogien-Ama communities — a place of unity, counsel, and support.

FAMILY — HIS GREATEST LEGACY

In 1954, Matthew married Mrs. Winneba Obudah-Ibe (née Etebu). Their union produced several children, and in total Matthew was blessed with 12 children and 37 grandchildren. Among them: Professor Ebitimitula Nicholas Etebu, a renowned pathologist — living proof that Matthew’s investment in education bore fruit for generations.

He was a relentless philanthropist, sponsoring the education of both relatives and strangers. For him, lifting others was not charity. It was duty.

FINAL BOW

Matthew Teibor Etebu passed peacefully on April 26, 2014, at age 82, in Port Harcourt, surrounded by the family he built and the community he served.

“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.” — William Shakespeare

Matthew Teibor Etebu: Son of Odi. Sergeant of the People. Builder of Schools. Father of a Dynasty. His light still guides us.