| Sports |
Curtain falls on
the Unagi era
JACK METTA pays tribute to
former MP and Port Moresby city lord mayor, the late David Unagi
THEY called him a firebrand
politician; a leader who never mixed his words. His expressions
about any issue were vocally hard-hitting and drove home the
message that he was a person, who rarely took no for an answer.
Many would view him as arrogant, self-centred or downright selfish
but that was David Unagi.
He was a typical Gun villager from Chuave in the Simbu province,
aggressive as they come and that coupled with the conviction that
he was born to lead, made him stick out like a sore thumb. And in
a city environment, where he had lived for over 35 years, one
could say, he was in his element when he is leading his people.
And lead he did, as a unionist in the 1980s until 1992 when he
entered the national political arena as the Member of Parliament
for Moresby North East until 1997 when he was ousted by former
police officer Philip Taku.
True to his conviction to lead, Mr Unagi never gave up trying to
rescale the heights of his political career, where he had served
as a State minister in several capacities including local level
government and sports, and as chairman of the National capital
District Commission and Port Moresby lord mayor.
He was a candidate in this year’s election for his old seat but
sadly, he was struck down with illness and never fully recovered
to woo the crowds as he did in all his rallies since he climbed
onto the national political stage.
Mr Unagi died on July 24, 2007. His sudden passing spelled an end
of an era of David Unagi. Many will remember him as the vocal
identity behind the union movement, the Air Niugini Rugby League
Club, national and metropolitan political and the code of rugby
league in Port Moresby.
For me personally, Mr Unagi and I go back many years to the Lloyd
Robson Oval when we locked horns on opposing sides of the field –
him playing for Air Niugini at number 8 and myself in the same
number for Gulf. As often in our time, there was never any love
lost between friends.
Mr Unagi was just as fiery in his enforcer role as lock for Air
Niugini as he was the union man for the airlines employees.
We became friends as a result of the fiery encounters on the field
because in his words “you gave as well as you got”.
I always thought of that as a compliment and a mark of respect and
after several more encounters on the field, respected for each
grew to a level where we became partners at the snooker table
after the games.
When Mr Unagi became a politician, he was a regular face at the
Port Moresby Rugby League Club and put back into the game, what he
took out it.
As patron, Port Moresby rugby league club and its representatigve
team, the Port Moresby Vipers in the Inter-city cup competition,
often benefited greatly from his generous heart, not to mention
the number of games we managed to squeeze in on a night as
partners.
Last year, when attending the 20th birthday party of his daughter
Diane at the Port Moresby Botantical Garden, I had cause to let my
mind wonder.
And you know, funny that in those moments of relaxation,
appreciation and admiration, the mind conjures up thoughts at
random, that at first, does not have any bearing whatsoever to the
situation.
Musing on those thoughts however, I deduced that great minds went
to work in their own eras from experiences such as this.
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players…
Why the thought entered my mind, I had no answer but it sort of
popped up as if the opening lines of William Shakespeare’s poem of
life’s cycle was as natural as the breeze whistling through the
trees in the garden.
They all have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts ...
David sort of fit that description on that occasion for planning
the whole show for his favourite daughter.
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances,
And so he plays his part…
A loving and caring father, Mr Unagi, a father of 15 children,
hired the Port Moresby Botanical Gardens for his favourite
daughter’s birthday party and invited 300 guests including Diane’s
friends at the law school next door to the gardens.
As the former political head of the city in his time, the gardens
no doubt received Mr Unagi’s attention during his tenure just as
much as his daughter was receiving on this very special occasion.
Someone did not hesitate to bring up the story of how Mr Unagi,
during his tenure as the city’s lord mayor brought in a shipload
of exotic trees from an Asian country to plant and grace the
streets and parks of Port Moresby. The shipment got into strife
with the local quarantine authority and had to be redirected
elsewhere.
During Diane’s birthday celebrations, Mr Unagi entertained his
guests with stories of his travels and surprised them with a claim
that ‘Unagi’ was perhaps the only Papua New Guinean name that was
practically on every Japanese’s lips.
“They’d call me by name without a second thought,” he had mused.
“Any other person of another nationality would hesitate out of
uncertainty. For me, it was one look and ‘Mr Unagi, how are you?’,
‘welcome, Mr Unagi’, and all the other salutations accorded a
visiting dignitary …”
He also found his name in writing in practically all the
restaurants and diners that line the streets of Japanese cities
and towns until, one day, curiosity got the better of him and he
popped the question.
“How come you all know my name like the back of your hands and yet
have trouble with all the
others?”
They told him ‘unagi’ in Japanese meant eel.
Now the Japanese popped the question: “How did he manage to get
the name”, and kept popping the question until Mr Unagi concocted
the story of his father being a coastwatcher during World War 11,
spying on Japanese supply ships and naval movements and reporting
these to the allies.
Then, a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the bard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel ...
“I told them some time during the war, the Japanese navy detected
his spying activities and pursued him but he gave them the slip
and was never caught. Hence, the Japanese military nicknamed him
‘unagi’— the slippery eel.
That managed to keep the inquiries at bay.
But I for one, knew better for late last year, I was privileged to
meet the man who brought David into the world – his father Unagi
Binga, a Seventh-Day Adventist pastor who had been in the service
of the Lord for over 40 years.
As a spiritual leader of the flock, perhaps Mr Binga’s leadership
rubbed off onto his son – a chip of the old block, as they say.
Mr Unagi had a heart for Port Moresby, where he had lived for over
35 years.
“Nothing much had happened in the city since 1997,” Mr Unagi told
me in a recent interview.
He said that during his term at the City Hall, NCDC achieved a lot
for the city including improved water supply and road network and
a beautification programme that had significantly transformed the
city into a garden city.
He said all these were achieved with an annual NCDC budget of K30
million.
“Now the city has a budget of K150 million and one wonders where
all this money is going to,” Mr Unagi had said.
Mr Unagi has passed on, but we are thankful of his contributions
in the capital and indeed to the nation as a whole.
And we must be encouraged by his efforts and contribution as a
leader and remember him for such. For in the words of the Wise
Counsellor: “He who loses a wealth loses much, he who loses a
friend, loses more but he who loses his courage loses all …”
 
|
