Governor Victor Attah

By Kevin Lambert and James Overly

Good governance is not a concept that springs to mind when Africa is mentioned. African politicians have too often considered their offices as means to a personal fortune, rather than public service. That ethic reaches levels more suited to the theatre of the absurd than responsible politics, culminating perhaps with Jean-Bedel Bokassa, Emperor of the Central African Republic. He once spent an entire year’s foreign aid package on his coronation ceremony, where he proclaimed himself, among other things, best soccer player.

On November 27th, Governor Victor Attah will be honored at a far different ceremony. He will be flying to Pretoria, South Africa, to accept the Key to Africa Leadership Award, the African Leadership Award in Good Governance, as best African governor of the year (2005/2006) in grassroots empowerment.

The award will be presented by the Dr. Kenneth Kaunda Foundation in collaboration with the African Union Media Group in South Africa. This will be the first in a series of annual awards to honor African leaders who have contributed to uplifting the continent, and to recognize African premiers or governors who have performed tasks with excellence.
Another Nigerian governor, Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State, will also receive an award for his contributions to West African agriculture. He has done a lot; including inviting displaced Zimbabwean farmers to set up farming in his state.

In the words of Thulo Edmin Magudulela, Executive Director of AU Media Forum, "Governor Attah was chosen for the proactive role he played as governor of Akwa Ibom State." Cited were his "triumphs in the area of resource control, and the developmental projects and programs he embarked upon, all aimed at empowering the African personality." Governor Attah pronounced himself "totally surprised. But it makes me feel that I have not failed in my mission."

The Nature of The Award
The Key to Africa award is the child of three organizations; the Kenneth Kaunda Foundation-Children of Africa and Key-to-Africa, and The African Union Media. Key to Africa is a new company, sponsored by the Pretoria-based African Union Magazine. Key to Africa intends to become a channel through which Africa can be assessed, and through which Africa can be positively marketed to the rest of the world.
The organization intends to showcase good African government and the products and services of local and multinational companies. Its implicit mission is to shine a light on African governance, and provide a forum for those African leaders who do the right thing. It has the vision to proclaim Africa’s pride and its rightful position as one of the richest continents on the world stage.

Sello Tang, editor of AU Magazine, said "Governor Attah won, first, for his character and overall achievements in taking the state from where it was to where it is today. The people of Akwa Ibom are definitely better off today than they were before. Projects like the science park definitely illustrate Governor Attah’s commitment to empowerment."

The keynote speakers will be Kenyan Prof. Ali Mazrui, BBC Reith lecturer, author, and one of Africa’s most honored scholars and thinkers; and Hon. Justice Hansine Donli, taking time from her role as President of the Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West Africa States). To illustrate the importance of the event, Nelson Mandela, one of the planet’s few genuine heroes, will also attend.

Why He Won It
When Governor Victor Attah entered office in 1999, he had to deal with a state economy in deep despair. Youth unemployment was 60 percent, and the average per capita income was $10 a month. Corruption and federal government policy had denied infrastructure development funds to the state. Roads were impassable. Electricity was off more than it was on. Certain basics, from potable water to telephones, were affordable only to the rich. The people felt as bleak as their surroundings.

The governor, who was already famous as an architect, saw that he had to build his foundations, and he chose to define that as both the actual bricks and mortar and the character of the people who live in it. Roads and institutions of learning were designed with equal enthusiasm.

The governor is trying to change the direction and the future of young people, so education in Akwa Ibom has received the largest chunk of the budget. In the last six years, school enrollment has risen from 672,320 in 1999 to 1.5 million today. The governor has repaired or redone the roads in his state, and introduced the IPP, Akwa Ibom’s Independent Power Plant, scheduled for completion in 2006. This will supply steady, consistent power, a basic ingredient for foreign investment. No one who has visited West Africa, notorious for brownouts, can fail to appreciate the significance of this.

According to Professor Turner Isoun, Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology, the state is set to take full advantage of the power of information technology in the 21st century, and he invited other governors in the South-south and country at large to "take a cue from the governor of Akwa Ibom."
All of this fits under Governor Attah’s definition of good governance: "satisfying the wishes of the people toward sustained development programs."

That this sort of infrastructure re-invention is paying off is evidenced by the uptick in investment, employment and even self-esteem. The government has been praised by overseas investors in a big way. The British deputy high commissioner, Peter Waterwork, expressed satisfaction at the basic infrastructure requirements for smooth, hitch-free operations.

Governor Attah is a man who believes that prosperity can only be built by people working together. He has been able to blend the interests of both poor Africans and overseas multinationals to the larger benefit of his state. In the Niger-Delta sub-region and particularly, the South-south geopolitical zone, Attah represents a platform for the struggle of people in the zone. Malachy Ogbu, a South African writer, recently wrote that "Governor Attah is one… who prices the interest of the people high."

Upon hearing the news of his win, the governor was asked if this sort of award would turn out to be an inspiration to other African leaders. "I expect so," he answered, but it is also a challenge to me, a challenge to do better."