Follow Us on Google
From Okwe Obi, Abuja
A former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida; former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan; and the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, among others, have hailed the former Akwa Ibom governor, Obong Victor Attah, on his 87th birthday.
They spoke yesterday in Abuja during the presentation of a book entitled Attah: Architect of a New Democratic Dawn, authored by Dele Sobowale.
Babangida described him as a thoroughbred politician and a professional architect.
Obasanjo, who sent in his tribute, said: “My dear Obong, we give thanks to the Almighty God for your inspiring career as a professional architect and town planner, over the last six decades and your tremendous contributions and service to your people as a two-term Governor of Akwa-Ibom State.
“You have lived a well-fulfilled life and God has been kind to you in very many ways. You have shown the path to millions and nourished positive and creative thoughts in many.
“Over the decades, you have shown uncommon courage, leadership, vision, loyalty and unbounded patriotism to your people in the Niger Delta region in particular and your country, Nigeria, in general.
“You have been an embodiment of love, compassion, hope, affection, discipline, and identification with the common good.”
Also, Jonathan, who served as chairman of the occasion, described him “as the man whose courage and stubborn insistence on fairness fundamentally transformed the economic destiny of the Niger Delta.”
The former president, who recounted working at OMPADEC as a young technocrat, said Akwa Ibom’s allocation at the time was so meagre that it barely registered at the federal level.
“Akwa Ibom was receiving only one per cent. One per cent. Those who enjoy the huge revenue today must understand the struggle that made it possible.
Other News
“And at the centre of that struggle,” he said, “stood one man.
“Victor Attah was not just part of the fight. He was the lion leading the charge. Others fought, yes. But Attah was the champion—number one.”
Jonathan described the tense days following the Supreme Court’s judgment denying oil-producing states offshore revenue, saying that many governors stepped back except Attah.
“Even after the Supreme Court ruled against him, he did not rest. He was not afraid. He refused to accept a verdict that threatened the future of his people,” he said.
The Ooni thanked God for his life, describing him as an elder statesman who governed Akwa Ibom State with the fear of God.
The celebrant charged politicians to find something else to do beyond politics.
According to him, Nigeria’s democracy should be strengthened to birth good governance.
“I was a professional in politics, not a professional politician. If Jimmy Carter could return to a peanut farm after being the President of the United States, I feel no compunction whatsoever about returning to my profession as an architect and town planner after my tenure as governor of Akwa Ibom State.
“I want to believe that someday, we in Nigeria will get our priorities right; that we would have woken up to a democracy renewed. And then—Nigeria will be great again,” he added.
