Profile of Engr. Emmanuel Frank-Opigo

 

ENGR. EMMANUEL AYIBAEMI FRANK-OPIGO, FNSE, FANA

Author of the Month of November, 2025

Engr Emmanuel Ayibaemi Frank-Opigo is from Angiama in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and is registered with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN). He is also a Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). He was educated at St Paul’s Primary School, Diobu, Port Harcourt (FSLC 1971), Enitonna High School, Port Harcourt (WASC 1976), the Federal Government College, Port Harcourt (HSC 1978), and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (B.ENG.  Civil Engineering, 1984). He was Senior Prefect and Editor-in Chief of the School Magazine (The Dove) at Enitonna High School and also Editor-in-Chief (Bits of Greenery) at the Federal Government College, Port Harcourt. He did his National Youth Service at Ondo Town, Ondo State, between 1984 and 1985 and returned to Port Harcourt to work in various outfits including Frank & Sons Limited, Project Engineering Associates and then the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.

In 2006, after working for 19 years in Shell, he applied and got employed as Director of Works and Services at the Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State. After serving one year at the University, he was appointed Commissioner for Works and Transport in Bayelsa State and served in that position from 2007 to 2011.  He returned to his position at the Niger Delta University in 2011 and retired in 2025. In 1990, Frank-Opigo worked with Captain Elechi Amadi, Ken Saro-Wiwa (then National President of ANA) and others to birth the Rivers State Chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors.  His collection of poems, “Frothy Facades” (later retitled Masks and Facades) won the first Rivers ANA Poetry Prize in 1995.  He was the Production Editor of the Branch magazine “rivANA”.

He was elected Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Bayelsa State Chapter in 2013 and served for two years.  As Chairman, he also doubled as Editor-in-Chief of the Branch’s literary journal THE MARINER.

His service at the National level of ANA include:

l  Secretary, ANA Land Review Committee, 2020

l  Chairman, Electoral Committee, 2023

l  Chairman, Electoral Committee, 2025

He has published the following books:

l  Masks and Facades (poetry)

l  Vowels in the Air (essays)

l  Clean Your English (text)

l  The Song of Our Father (narrative poetry)

l  Poems Ancient and Modern (collected poems)

l  Quarter Century: A Works’ Eye View of NDU (memoir)

Another volume of poetry (Acrostics) is in the offing as well as a second volume of essays (Random Consonants).  The latter includes, amongst others, lectures he had delivered in recent times including:

l  Go To The Ant: Harnessing the Principles of Sciience in the Engineering of a Sustainable Society

l  What on Earth Is Not Chemistry: The Exception Proves the Rule, and Rules the World

l  The Dubai Talk: Let’s Do-Buy The Walk

In 2014 he became the pioneer Editor-in-Chief of the Niger Delta University magazine, NDUdigest,later decame the Editorial Adviser which position he held until his retirement.

Altogether, he has edited the following magazines:

l  The Dove, 1975/76 (Enitonna High School, Port Harcourt)

l  Bits of Greenery, 1977/78 (Federal Government College, Port Harcourt)

l  rivANA, 1999 - 2006 (ANA Rivers - as Production Editor)

l  The Mariner, 2013 - 2017 (ANA Bayelsa)

l  NDUdigest, 2014 - 2015 (Niger Delta University)

Besides engineering and reading and writing, Engr. Emmanuel Frank-Opigo spends most of his leisure time in playing games, especially Chess and Scrabble, where he has won State and National laurels in the past. Engr. Frank-Opigo’s interest in board games goes beyond just playing them as he is also an inventor of board games.  He has to his credit a Nigerian patent for a board game titled CAMPAIGN (1980) and a United States patent and Trademark for another game titled MAJORITY (1997).  The game MAJORITY has been produced in physical and online versions and is currently on sale in the United States.

He is married to Mrs. Sai Frank-Opigo and they have two children - Naomi Ayibaemi (a soon to qualify medical doctor) and Emmanuel Ayibamieye (a computer scientist).