OBONG VICTOR ATTAH:OUR LAST GOVERNOR UNTIL GOD BRINGS ANOTHER. [OPINION]O

Obong Attah

by Omen Bassey
"A functioning, robust democracy requires a healthy, educated,participatory followership,and an educated, morally grounded leadership "----Chinua Achebe.
Obong Attah was Governor of Akwa Ibom State between 1999 and 2007.To the best of my knowledge, he is the only Governor of the State in this democracy who fits Achebe's recommendation of a knowledge based and morally grounded leadership.
Attah's thorough education cannot be debated even by his most ardent critics.His logic is often difficult to fault.He deployed his depth of intellect a great deal during his stint as Governor, particularly during the epic struggle for the abrogation of the Onshore/Offshore Dichotomy.That soundness of reasoning, again came handy in his comments on the Supreme Court judgements on Akwa Ibom and Rivers States governorship election disputes.
Out of that sound mind emerged today's Akwa Ibom State despite the paucity of funds then, occasioned by the introduction of the obnoxious oil dichotomy which made payment of salaries a huge challenge in the State. Out of his glorious era emerged L' Meridian Hotel, Independent Power Project (IPP),airport, Akwa Ibom State University, dualization of Oron Road from Ibom plaza to the airport, dualization of Nwaniba road from Oron road (near the plaza) to L' Meridien,construction of the 2nd phase of Idongesit Nkanga Secretariat(arguably the best in the country),construction of Edet Akpan Avenue(four lanes),Nsikak Eduok Avenue(two lanes) ,Atiku Abubakar Way, Uyo-Abak Road, hospitals and schools were built/renovated and rural electrification projects undertaken across the State.
I'm always appalled when people, deceived by propaganda try to portray Uyo as one big bush before the advent of the defeaning noise of 2007 to 2015.Residents of Uyo who have not abandoned their memories would remember that many of the arterial roads currently enjoyed in Uyo were tarred by the Attah administration.We admit some of the local contractors patronized by that government couldn't deliver quality jobs.But we cannot also fault the determination of Obong Attah to halt capital flight.Despite the lean purse of that administration,we witnessed how Akwa Ibom money circulated in the State.
I believe our indigenous construction companies would have achieved an appreciable level of expertise if his successors had sustained that legacy.The ill-advised attempts by his successor to either appropriate or obliterate Attah's legacies is partly responsible for our failure to maximize the opportunities offered by the revenue boom of 2007-2015.
Obong Attah is a thinker, visionary and long distance runner.He worked to lay the foundation for the industrialization of the State and he did it systematically. Not noisy ground-breakings and a phantom paints factory in Etinan.
It's instructive that most Akwa Ibom people never knew Obong Attah's village nor did they know his siblings and cousins. Government wasn't a family affair.At times I wonder how we got here.
From 2007 till date,governance in Akwa Ibom State has been reduced to a pedestrian affair.Every Governor now wants to replicate Government House in his village.Throughout his tenure,Obong Attah lived and conducted every government business in Government House.(It wasnt nearly as beautiful as it is today)He only managed to build a modest duplex in Shelter Afrique towards the end of his second term.
The man himself has announced several times that his administration received less than Five Hundred Billion Naira (‪#‎500b‬) in eight years.This was about one annual budget of his successor.And that was what he spent to achieve all that he did.Ironically, his successor, a self styled Uncommon Transformer has never found the courage to disclose what the State earned as revenue under his watch.Even the debt profile of the State as at the day he handed over, is one of the best kept secrets in the world, and perhaps Governor Udom Emmanuel's greatest achievement so far.
I'm proud to identify with this Icon as my former Governor. He's undoubtedly intellectually deep, morally sound,broad minded and disciplined. He combined sound character with workable vision. Ever since he left Hilltop Mansion in May 2007,we are yet to have a Governor who embodies all these virtues.
When will God bless us with another sound mind and moral voice like Obong Victor Attah?
I hope not too long from now.
Omen Bassey is a Public Relations Consultant.