Meet Professor Daniel Gberevbie Who Would Have Become “Okada” Mechanic

By Ayo Ajayi

Professor Daniel Eseme Idowu Gberevbie was born on the 21^st July 1961 (60 years) to the family of late Mr. and Mrs. Robinson Gberevbie of Amuokpokpo, Orerokpe, Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria.

At the age of 15 years in 1976, he ran away from school because he preferred to be a motorcycle (Vespa) mechanic due to peer pressure.

His mother was so upset and reported him to his elder cousin who made him kneel on Periwinkle shells as punishment for running away from school.

It was under that terrible pain of kneeling on Periwinkle shells, that Daniel promised his mother and cousin that he would abandon the mechanic apprenticeship to face his studies at the Technical College.

While at the Technical College (Sapele Technical College, Sapele, Delta State), Daniel studied Furniture Craft (Cabinet Making). In 1983, he obtained a Federal Craft Certificate and Trade Test Grade One Certificate in Cabinet Making.

It was with these certificates that he enlisted into the military service in 1984 as a non-commissioned officer (NCO).

While in the military training in Kaduna, he saw how those who were training to become commissioned officers were “pampered” in terms of early morning long-distance joggings, feeding, and accommodation, and how those who were training to become non-commissioned officers (NCOs) were “brutalised” in terms of the physical impact of the training on the individual trainee.

It was this experience in 1984 at the training camp that made him determined to further his education.

As a result, in 1985, he enrolled for GCE O/L coaching class under the then famous Exam Success Correspondence College based in Lagos. By 1986, Daniel wrote the GCE O/L examination in Kaduna.

In addition, in November 1990, he got married before enrolling for University Matriculation Examination (UME) in the 1991/92 academic session.

He was admitted to the University of Benin, Benin City, where he started his university education at the age of 30 years as a 100 Level student.

While in school, and due to his focus, hard work, and determination to succeed, he was able to combine his studies with the ever-tasking military service. And he eventually became an award winner as a University Scholar, Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Benin, Benin City in the 1993/94 academic session.

He carried out his military service in Kaduna, Kano, and Benin City, before he voluntarily disengaged in January 1999, after 15 years of meritorious service.

Presently, the young Daniel of 15 years old in 1976, who was to become a motorcycle mechanic and later trained as a Cabinet Maker, now has a B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in Political Science and Public Administration.

Also, he is now a Professor in one of the Nigerian foremost universities, Covenant University.

He obtained a B.Sc. Degree in Political Science and Public Administration and M.Sc. Degree in Public Administration from the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria, between 1992 and 1998; and a Ph.D. Degree in Public Administration from Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria, in April 2008.

Professor Daniel Gberevbie started his academic career as an Assistant Lecturer on 1st September 2003, at the then Department of Policy and Strategic Studies, now Department of Political Science and International Relations, Covenant University where he rose to become a Professor on 1^st August 2015.

Professor Daniel Gberevbie was appointed the Deputy Dean in-charge of the School of Social Sciences, made-up of four Departments: (a) Economics and Development Studies, (b) Mass Communication, (c) Political Science and International Relations, and (d) Sociology, all in the then College of Business and Social Sciences (2012-2015). He is the current HOD, Political Science and International Relations (2021); and a member of Covenant University Senate (2012 – date).

 Professor Daniel Gberevbie has served on various committees of the University as Chairman or Committee member of Covenant University Road Safety; Covenant University (CU) Postgraduate Board; University Curriculum Development Committee; Security Committee; Research, Innovation, and Discovery; Quality and Academic Standards; Ad-hoc Committee on Excess Workload; Strategic Planning Committee; Faculty Appointment and Promotion Committee; Library Committee; Staff and Students’ Appellate Committee; and Covenant University Ad-hoc Committee on Salary Structure, so on and so forth.

He has served as a Keynote Speaker and also delivered public lectures in various areas of human endeavours.  

In addition, Professor Daniel Gberevbie has been an internal assessor, external assessor, and examiner for the School of Postgraduate Studies of Covenant University, several universities in Nigeria, and the United Kingdom.

Furthermore, he has attended and presented academic papers in international conferences both at home and overseas.

He has published research articles in reputable and high-impact journals in the fields of Political Science, Public Administration, Public Policy, and Personnel/Human Resource Management.

Professor Gberevbie is the author of a popular book on Public Administration entitled: “Public Administration: A Conceptual Perspective.”

He has supervised 5 Ph.D. Theses in the fields of Political Science, Public Administration, Industrial, and Human Resource Management, 10 M.Sc. and 3 MPA Dissertations, 1 PGD project, and 110 undergraduate final year Projects.

Professor Daniel Gberevbie has also been appointed as a member of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Team on Academic Programme Accreditation of Public Administration and Resource Verification of Human Resource Management Programmes in Nigerian Universities.

Professor Daniel Gberevbie’s research interests include Personnel/Human Resources Management, Corporate Governance, Security Studies, Ethical Issues and Accountability, Governance, e-Government and e-Governance, Public Policy, Leadership, Development Administration, Gender Politics and Local Government Administration.

He is a professional member of the Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA), Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), and Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPMN).

He is happily married to his beloved wife, Mrs. Chinyere Josephine Oguike-Gberevbie, and is blessed with children.