HRM ORCHIVIRIGH PROF. JAMES IORZUA ORTESE AYATSE {TOR TIV V} COFFERED WITH NATIONAL HONOUR AWARD WITH THE RANK OF COMMANDER OF THE ORDER OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC (CFR)

 HRM ORCHIVIRIGH PROF. JAMES IORZUA ORTESE AYATSE {TOR TIV V}

 COFFERED WITH NATIONAL HONOUR AWARD WITH THE RANK OF COMMANDER OF THE ORDER OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC (CFR)

 BIRTH EDUCATION AND FAMILY LIFE

HRM Prof. JAMES I. O AYATSE, an indigene of Mbakan, Shangev- Ya, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State was born on the May 12th, 1956 to the family of late Iorzua Ayatse and Mrs Adeior Iorzua ( nee Achaa, Mbarumun, nanev)

He attended LGEA school, Orbiam, ikov, Ushongo LGA : LGEA school, Mbagbegba, Shangev - Ya and St Anne's primary school, Adikpo where he obtained the first school leaving certificate. 

He attended Government Secondary School Gboko (GSS GBOKO) and passed out with a WASC, division one certificate,  Armed with the excellent WASC certificate. 

Prof. Ayatse proceeded to the prestigious University of Ibadan and graduated with a BSc Biochemistry, he was the best graduating student in the department. He thereafter obtained his MSc at the University of calabar where he passed out as the best graduating student. Prof. Moved to the university of Surrey, England as a commonwealth student for his PhD in Biochemistry. He returned to University calabar for his MBA.

Prof Ayatse has had a sterling career in academics and educational management. He started his career in 1980 as a graduate assistant in the university of Calabar and rose steadily and rapidly in the university system to attain the highest rank of a professor of Biochemistry in 1993.

Prof Ayatse rose to the rank of Professor in 1993 in his thirties, becoming the first ever and perhaps still the only professor of Biochemistry of Tiv extraction.

He has held virtually all important positions in the university. 

He has lectured at the following Universities

> University of calabar

> University of Uyo

> Benue state University

> University of Agriculture Makurdi, 

> University of Abuja 

> Federal University Dutsin-Ma.

Prof Ayatse has taught Biochemistry, Business Management and public administration to different groups of students and produced several BSc, MSc, MBA, MPA, and PhD.

> He has served as external Assessor for professional appointments /promotions and external examiner to several universities.

> He has chaired the national universities commission committees on performance indicators and minimum bench mark for science programmes for Nigerian Universities.

> He has chaired several panels for the accreditation of science programmes in Nigerian Universities.

> He has also served in the capacity of chairman or member of of several communities or governing boards at international, National and state levels.

> On three different occasions he was involved in formulation of the vision and blueprint for the development of Benue State.

> He served as chairman of the visitation panel to the Benue state University.

He has numerous scholarly publication in both reputable national and international journals.

Prof Ayatse is the only Tiv man who has served as as Vice chancellor of two different federal universities in Nigeria namely :

¡. Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi in Benue State 2001 - 2006

¡¡. Federal university Dutsin-Ma in Katsina State. 2011 - 2016

At the University of Agriculture Makurdi, a once restive University,

Prof Ayatse used his sagacity and astuteness to restore peace and stability. He eradicated the menace of staff union strikes and violent students' demonstrations. All through his tenure there was no strike nor student demonstrations arising from internal problems.

He inherited gigantic debts, but paid all of them and left a healthy balance for the institution. There was massive and rapid expansion of the University which led to the establishment of various new departments and colleges and the students population soared from the below 2000 he inherited in 2001 to about 7000 before the expiration of his tenure.

As vice chancellor of the Federal University Dutsin-Ma, prof Ayatse brought his experience to bear on the newly established university. He was the first vice chancellor out of the Nine federal universities established at the time to graduate students and mobilise them for the mandatory NYSC. 

He also conducted the first ever convocation of the university before completing his tenure.

He laid a sturdy foundation for an ICT driven university with computerized and online services. In January 2015 and 2016, webometric, world Ranking of universities rated Federal University Dutsin-Ma as the 14th Best university in Nigeria ahead of many older institutions.

He was a member of the governing Council of the National Youth Service Corp and later Michael Okpara University, Umuidike.

In all the position he has held, he has used them for the good of humanity. He has facilitated the employment of several Tiv sons in universities and other establishments.

Prof. Ayatse is intelligent, hard working, self motivated, focused, result and , achievement oriented.

He is God fearing, trustworthy, reliable, resourceful, dependable honest,and disciplined with a high level of integrity.

He is an excellent planner, organized and frugal: an efficient manager of human and material resources, a team player and respects and is loyal to constituted authority.

He is irredeemably committed to the belief that the Tiv Nation can be repositioned to take its rightful place in Nigeria.

Prof Ayatse has enormous capacity to build consensus from divergent interests and opinions, believes in and practices inclusiveness, fairness and equity. He is humble, unassuming and a silent achiever.

He has worked in and with several group of people in many places across Nigeria as as such has built a wide network across the length and breadth of the country.

A widely traveled person as such well exposed. He has visited several countries across all the continents of the globe.

He believes that the way forward for the Tiv Nation is to return to God and seek HIS mercies and help to heal the land and the wounds that have so deeply divided us, reconcile and build bonds of unity and common destiny.

He feels strongly that the Tiv Nation has to rediscover and renew the virtues that us strong and discard the borrowed vices that have weakened us as a people.

That the Tiv Nation must develop an all inclusive agenda that gives us the focus in our collective resolve and importantly strengthen our cultural practices and language that make us stronger and more progressive and that we must as a nation discard the retrogressive customs that enslave and / or slow us down.

Prof Ayatse holds firm that the time had come to prayerfully develop a smooth and cordial working relationship between the political class and the traditional leadership that is acceptable and respectful, and leaves the traditional institution with the integrity of and honor to justifiably mediate or intervene in moments of crisis or conflict as well as be the bastion of hope for our people.

Today  the Paramount Ruler of Tiv Nation, and Chairman, Benue State Council of Chiefs, HRM Prof. James Ortese Ayatse, Tor Tiv V has been recognize by His Excellency president Muhammadu Buhari  in the just concluded Nigeria's National Honours Award, with the conferment of national honour in the rank of the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR).

Congratulations

Long live, the Tor Tiv

Long live, the Tiv Nation

Long live, Benue State.