Tag: reception

Former governor of Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency, Arc. (Obong) Victor Attah is an honourable man.  At least his pedigree affirms this unequivocally. His aristocratic background provided for him the best affordable education during his time- a secondary education at Saint Patrick’s College, Calabar and tertiary education abroad. The training burnished him into a thorough bred professional architect who had the enviable distinction of leading that professional body.

When Obong Attah ascended the high office of governor of Akwa Ibom State in 1999, it was seen as the return of the aristocrat to his people. Many feared that there would be lack of seam and sync given his blue blood cultivation. They further noted that his long absence from home, his lack of intimate affinity with the home people and apparent lack of grasp of political chicanery may combine to make him a stranger to the politics of the state. Despite these considered deficiencies, Obong Attah, possessing of iron-cast courage and will plunged into the exercise and made the best of it.

As governor, he broke new frontiers. During the resource control imbroglio, Attah fought doggedly, redefining the national perception of Akwa Ibom man hitherto construed to be timid. At every public forum, he gave a good account of himself in conduct and public communication. His dignified and urbane mien may have been part of the reason why he was made chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum. His conduct of the affairs of that office and his vociferous agitation for resource control gave him a notable standing in national politics.

Unfortunately, he misread the attention he received. People applauded him for having the courage to confront the then President Olusegun Obasanjo who had assumed the place of a political deity that all had to worship and pander to. Attah broke Obasanjo’s myth and earned public plaudits.

But he thought the plaudits translated to political popularity and an invitation for him to contest for the presidency. With excess cash in his kitty, he girded his loin preparatory to making his son-in-law a governor and himself President. It was to be a well-choreographed dynasty at the centre and the state. Unfortunately, sufficient thinking was not invested in the process and dispassionate and objective analyses were not done. Working from two flanks at the same time, the centre could not hold. As for the son-in-law, because of his careless attitude to the people when he was in office as commissioner, even the best salesmen in the state could not market him when it mattered most. At the centre, Attah’s ambition did not enjoy the support of the then President. In fact between the two, there was no love lost and so was made to kiss the dust at the two fronts owing to political miscalculations.

Attah’s public estimation began to flag when he adopted an adversarial role against his protégé and successor. Many were worried that having attained the almighty septuagenarian status, he should have rid himself of the baggage of pettiness. His unsavoury letter to Governor Godswill Akpabio in which he compared the latter to notorious leaders like Hitler and Mussolini was an eloquent expose of this fear. The altercation deepened necessitating many attempts at mediation. Obong Attah was said to have remained implacable further fuelling fears that he carried the baggage of hate against his son. This type of perception did incalculable damage to his well-earned reputation.

His public rating nose-dived more gravely when some ethnic jingoist goaded him into an ethnic war in which they accused Governor Akpabio of conducting pogrom against Ibibio sons and daughters through incessant kidnapping and killings. It was the most scandalous thing for someone of his pedigree to be associated. But those well-heeled in political shenanigan lured him into that booby trap and used his name to attempt at credibility with their specious allegations. Of all the names dragged into that arid piece of bigotry, only Obong Attah’s name rang a bell. The rest were mere provincial labels that stirred neither interest nor recognition.  The consistent efforts of Ibibio jingoist to pigeon-hole Obong Attah and give him the ignoble colouration of ethnic warlord or ethnic bigot is at best a disservice to him and the state.

Recently, news has been making the rounds that some of the jingoists have banded themselves together to pursue an ethnic agenda which they couched as reception for Obong Victor Attah. And when yours truly asked the purpose, one of them squawked the inanity, “that they are receiving him from the National Confab”. Obong Attah is now a pawn to be used in the pursuit of ethnic card. Seven-years ago, he was the butt of their jokes, treachery, insults and recrimination. Today, it is convenient to dust him, hoist him as a totem and use him to stoke ethnic acrimony and discord.

Obong Victor Bassey Adiaha Attah finished eight-years as governor of Akwa Ibom State; he was not received by these charlatans who confess love for him today. When he erroneously arrayed salvos against the present administration which drew a rash of criticisms from members of the public, these bigots were nowhere to be found. When Obong Attah had issues with his membership of Board of Trustees of the People’s Democratic Party, he did not as much as draw a message of solidarity or protest from these foes in sheep’s clothing. Even when the man’s wife died, their level of participation was either insignificant or non-existent. What is the value of this reception? This is not the kind of politics those who plan to be leaders should engage in. This is stoking ethnicity to an inflammatory peak.

We are told that a few moneybags who are bankrolling the dubious reception have contributed the hefty sum of N50 million. How much did they contribute when Attah’s wife died? Why was Attah’s reception delayed for seven-years after he left office? Is being a confab member greater than being a governor for eight-years? Why is this reception coming just before nomination and 2015?

It is all queer politics, ethnic politics. Former governor Attah must reason these realities logically. We must think and find these answers to avoid lending ourselves as pliable materials to those intent on playing roguish politics. We must decide as Akwa Ibom people where we stand on matters of honour and ethnic harmony. We must rise to the occasion of contending falsehood, ethnic bigotry with the saner politics of ethnic cohesion. Former governor Victor Attah must resist being used by these renegades to further their selfish agenda. He must know that he is an honourable man.

Akpan contributed this piece from Uyo.