Victor Attah At 70: A Villain ?

“Attah is the Commander-in-Chief of the resource control army in the Niger Delta region. The oil-producing states wanted to control this vital national resource… the late Bola Ige was the Attorney General and Minister of Justice… he sought for an arbiter in the Supreme Court of Nigeria. 'During the hearings in Abuja, Attah was the towering presence, a David taking on a Goliath. In April, the court ruled in favour of the Federal Government.
'The worst part was this: Akwa Ibom suddenly became a non-oil producing state. Its oil revenue crashed… to zero…
'The state's share from the federation account could not pay the salaries and wages of civil servants… Attah refused to give up. He badgered. He threatened. He fought in the open. He fought in the dark. The ground shifted. President Obasanjo settled for a political solution. He sent a bill to the National Assembly to abolish the controversial on-shore off-shore dichotomy among the oil producing states. The National Assembly said yes to the bill. Good news. Akwa Ibom has become a rich, oil producing state again”.
That was how Dan Agbese, in an article “Man of the moment” published in Newswatch of November 25, 2002 captured Architect Victor Attah's engagement with the issue of the time during his first term in office as Governor of Akwa Ibom State.
The story of mankind and nations is replete with examples of men and women who are challenged by circumstances to intervene singularly in the destiny of their people. Some, like Moses in the Bible abandoned the comfort of life as a prince in pharaoh's palace to lead the exodus of Jews to the Promised Land. The United States of America had the likes of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Truman, Eisenhower and now Barrack Obama while Great Britain had Winston Churchill and several others.
Back home, this country was lucky to have such political titans like the great Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello, Michael Okpara all of blessed memory who lit a torch to brighten the pathway for their people. There may be hundreds of worthy successors of these exemplary politicians in all parts of the country today but perhaps one of the finest cast in that mould is the accomplished architect and visionary statesman, the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Bassey Attah. Attah joins the eminent club of septuagenarians in the world today.
A man imbued with a deep and expansive intellect, Attah has an outstanding pedigree. He was born 70 years ago into the prominent family of Chief Bassey Udo Adiaha Attah of Ikot Akpan Ndua in Okop Ndua Erong, Asutan Ekpe in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. His late father had the privilege of being one of the six pioneers of Ibibio scholarship promoted by the Ibibio State Union to study in the United States of America and Britain. On the basis of such a background, Obong Victor Attah enjoyed the advantage of an enlightened, loving, stable and disciplined childhood upbringing, a factor that shaped his world view and character.
This bold and very articulate statesman attended renowned schools in Uyo, Calabar, Zaria, England and the United States of America. His professional landmarks include the University of Calabar master plan, the University of Port Harcourt master plan, the Akwa Ibom State Regional master plan, the Nigeria Defence Academy, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Head Office in Abuja, the Maiduguri International Five Star Hotel and the Sandy Lane Hotel, Trinidad and Tobago among others.
Victor Attah's detribalized attitude was shaped by the nature of his father's work in the field of agriculture which took the family to Ibadan, Nsukka and other locations in Nigeria. He exhibited this courageously when against majority opinion, he shifted power in his state to the Annang minority group after his tenure. After his return to the country from Europe and the America's, Attah settled in Kaduna from where he worked and built up solid relationships in Yola, Bauchi and Maiduguri before he moved to Lagos and Abuja.
His engagement with politics has made the amiable icon a reference point as he is totally committed to one united but truly federal Nigeria. This was best displayed while he served with other Nigerian patriots at the 1994/95 constitutional conference. He vigorously articulated the need for a truly federal system in Nigeria and distribution of oil revenue on the basis of derivation. Attah was one of the shining lights of the National Centre Party of Nigeria (NCPN) and was also one of those who fought for the emergence of the present democratic dispensation under the auspices of the G. 34. As one of the founding fathers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it was Attah, the quintessential architect who designed the symbol of the party, the umbrella.
Victor Attah wrote his name in gold in the political canvas of Nigeria when he emerged as the second elected civilian Governor of Akwa Ibom State in 1999, a responsibility he fully prepared to discharge having clearly spelt out his agenda in his manifesto “Come Let Us Build Together”. Attah took the reins of leadership in a state whose people were wrongly stereotyped as drivers, gardeners, cooks, stewards, houseboys, gatemen. Then, any good-for-nothing Nigerian who could not express himself properly in the English Language would certainly be from Akwa Ibom.
As the people existed, weighed down by this negative perception occasioned by low self-esteem, the federal government re-introduced the obnoxious off-shore on-shore oil dichotomy. Victor Attah rose to the occasion and in his bold, articulate, self-assured oratory re-invented the new Akwa Ibom person. Thanks to Attah's psychological empowerment, Akwa Ibom people now hold their heads high and bubble boldly everywhere chalking up successes in politics, business, the professions, the academia and in all facets of life. The billion Naira allocations that now accrue to the Niger-Delta states owes to the dogged fight of Attah.
Attah's visionary blueprint to catalyze Nigeria's 21st State into the 21st century during his first term in office was stymied by paucity of funds from the federation account but while he fought against that injustice, he changed the psychology of his people positively and changed their perception by others too. He worked hard to empower his people through Co-operatives. Beneficiaries included motorcyclists, farmers, churches, fishermen and the Interministerial Direct Labour Committee was set up to take such bread and butter dividends of democracy like water, electricity, massive renovation of schools and health centers to all the wards in the state.
The success of his empowerment schemes which included patronage of local contractors saw to the transformation of the skyline in the state as new and magnificent buildings sprang up everywhere and the roads became filled with assorted vehicles. Attah moved into another area of basic need for the people by building 50 units of housing in each of the 31 Local government Areas of the State. He built roads in each of the ten federal constituencies of which Abak road, Uyo village road, Nwaniba road and Oron road including the 6 lane Nsikak Eduok avenue stand out as flagships. His focus in the health sector brought ultra modern hospitals to Ikpe Ikot Nkon in Ini, Ukpom Abak and Okobo. His believe in the future made him to initiate the building of nine model science secondary schools across the state and miffed by the poor circumstances of tertiary education in the country, took too much time to plan for a university of Science and Technology which as in everything he imagined would have been a model. As Governor, he settled the examination fees of all final year students of the state origin in secondary schools.
Also standing to his pride are such magnificent monuments as the renovated Uyo township stadium, the Governors lodge in Abuja, the Nigerian stock exchange building which has eased capital market transactions in the state and the new Akwa Ibom House near ICPC headquarters, Abuja in addition to the Akwa Ibom museum of history located in the lush greens along Udoudoma avenue, Uyo. Perhaps, what sets apart visionary leaders from the run of the mill politician is how they are misunderstood while in pursuit of their big and uncommon dreams. Attah was not spared when he set out to recreate Uyo's city center into what has turned out to be, arguably, one of the best such sights in Nigeria. The Ibom connection provides a good lesson in urban renewal just as the motor parks he built are the best in the country.
Attah believes that any responsible government must provide the basic infrastructure for its people. He believes that what defines a government and a leadership is how such a government engages the present to secure a better future for its people.
This was what drove him to seek to call a halt to the bluff in the power sector by embarking on the establishment of the Independent Power Plant (IPP) at Ikot Abasi which the federal government finally took over.
In his view, round the clock power supply in the state, would unbound the state from the shackles of backwardness and turn it into an industrial haven.
He also opened up the state to the outside world by buying into a GSM firm, which forced the extension of services to Uyo, making Uyo, one of the first four cities in the country to talk and be heard across the world. This singular decision linked up Uyo in the global communication web. Hitherto, Uyo was an analogue state with all the frustrations. Attah set his sights on the future. He appreciated the nature of the black gold as a wasting resource and in his bid to diversify and expand the economic base of his beloved state worked to turn Akwa Ibom into an Information Communication Technology hub by setting up the Victor Attah Digital Opportunities Centre (VADOC). The aim was to lay a foundation for a Science and Technology park in Uyo. He knows that someday, oil would tumble and that countries like India are powered by ICT.
He got worried about the situation whereby Nigeria did not have a hanger facility and he moved to establish an international airport with a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility. Attah imagined the potential effects of that infrastructure on the economy of the state and Nigeria. And to concretize his dream of turning Akwa Ibom into a place to go for business and leisure, Attah built a model five star resort hotel, L'emeridian Ibom Hotel complete with an 18-hole-golf course described as one of the best in the continent by golfers.
It is a pleasant coincidence that Attah and his wife of more than 40 years, Alison, were born in the same year. Both are 70. Alison, a Barbadian Nigerian is a strong pillar behind her husband. Both have total respect for each other. Very loving, Alison was not an over bearing first lady. She stayed at the background and pursued her pet project, the Child Development Trust without state government funds. The programme aimed at the development of the physical and mental strength of children. She believes that if a child did not have good physical health, everything is lost. Alison believes that there is no amount of teaching or exposure that would help a child develop mentally when the brain was not properly fed. With this scheme, she tackled malnutrition, kwashiorkor and built a small factory to produce food supplements for malnourished children.
Victor Attah's politics is not transactional. His political agenda is tranfomative of people and the environment. In the lecture circuit he delights his audience whether at Lagos, Kaduna, Abuja or outside Nigeria. As Governor, he designed a web where every idea, every step he took and every project were closely linked to his resolve to unbound the state and lift it to become a frontline location in the world.
Victor Attah is human, he made mistakes. He trusted people too much, like a child. He forgot William Shakespear's evergreen thesis that “there is no art to find the minds construction in the face”. However, a worthwhile tribute to the uncommon ideas of Attah is that the present government in Akwa Ibom State under the youths and men he empowered are resolved to complete those laudable projects he envisioned. At 70, Attah still maintains a routine of waking up early, a staunch catholic, he attends the early morning mass and still reads voraciously. He is fresh and still stands strong. His physical appearance and his work schedule belie his age. IS ATTAH A HERO OR A VILLAIN? May he live longer to see his vindication.