Chief Hope Harriman, Delta's foremost chartered surveyor, industrialist and community leader, who passed on at the age of 79 in the United States of America on Wednesday after a brief illness, has been described as a detribalized man who crisscrossed the ethic divide in the state to the benefit of all.
His death took many by surprise being always physically strong despite his age.
Former Commissioner for Information in Delta state and renowned lawyer, Mr. Bolatsi Dudu, described Harriman as a good, fearless, very humorous man.
He said: I related with him (Harriman) for many years on the Committee of Concerned Itsekiri. He was a great guy. What I will miss Chief Harriman for most was the sense of humour. He always made us laugh.
"It was usual for him to come to our meetings late and he would throw banters all over the place to the extent that he would almost disrupt the meeting but despite that aspect of him to come to meeting late and turn everything to a joke, he was a great contributor of ideas and, above all, he always made us laugh. I admire him a lot
"I will tell you something I will remember him for till I die: there was this day we were in a bus to tour the mountains in Denver, Colorado, USA, and he was talking about how he had returned to Nigeria from a trip to, I think, Japan, before he came to the United states to the convention we both were attending, in 2003. And I said to him, you are all over the place, you don't sit in one place. He said to me 'Bolatsi, you know what, if you want to live long don't stay too long in Nigeria all the time, if you can afford it, the country can be so hard and frustrating' and that is why he takes off once every month or so and I have learnt that from him. He always travels out from time to time to cool down his pressure of life in Nigeria and I totally agree with him."
On the possible cause of death, Dudu said: "I would imagine he died of old age, uncle Harryman wasn't too young. The last time I was with him he looked well and he took very good care of his health. I remember about three years ago when we were discussing how prostrate illness could incapacitate a man and he said he was doing well with his and in perfect shape."
Chief Bright Okumagba , Warri based politician, described late Harriman as a detribalized man, saying "I related with him when I was involved in Delta PDP politics and when his daughter was running for the House of Assemble. To make his daughter acceptable to the people, he showed his respect and humbleness. He was very straight forward when handling land dealings. His death is very unfortunate. "
Chief Hope Harriman was born in Warri, Delta State. He is a Chartered surveyor by profession, a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Nigerian Institution of Management.
He attended Christ College, Cambridge 1955-1958. He headed boards of numerous companies such as NDCC, NBTC, Evans Medical Plc in his memorable career as an industrialist.
