Obong Victor Bassey Attah (born 20 November 1938) was

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. He was a member of the

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

(PDP), but has since joined the

All Progressives Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, the ...

Background

Obong Victor Attah was born on 20 November 1938. He completed post-primary education in 1956. He gained a degree from

Leeds College of Art Leeds Arts University is a specialist arts further and higher education institution, based in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a main campus opposite the University of Leeds. History It was founded in 1846 as the Leeds Scho ...

and a post graduate diploma in Building Science from

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

in 1965. He won the scholarship to study at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York, where he obtained an MA in Advanced Architectural Design and Planning. He also attended the Kennedy Graduate School of Governance at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. After completing his education, he practised as an architect in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and

. He served as the National President of the

Nigerian Institute of Architects The Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) is a professional body for architects primarily in Nigeria. History The idea for the formation of an independent professional architect's organization in Nigeria was first conceived and motivated by three ...

Governor of Akwa Ibom

He was part of the Peoples Democratic Movement led by

Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Shehu Musa Yar'Adua (5 March 1943 – 8 December 1997) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who was the ''de facto'' vice president of Nigeria as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters when Nigeria was under military rule from 1976 to ...

in the aborted

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...

transition program together with politicians such as

Atiku Abubakar Atiku is a given name and surname. It may refer to: Given name *Atiku Abubakar (born 1946), Nigerian politician and businessman, Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 *Atikur Rahman Mallik, Bangladeshi film editor Middle name *Abubakar Atiku ...

Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila (21 March 1946 – 11 January 2003) was a Nigerian politician and administrator. One of the first administrators to inherit the post first republican administrative structure instituted by the military, served the Local Edu ...

Magaji Abdullahi Engineer Magaji Abdullahi (22 November 1947 – 24 July 2016) was a Nigerian politician. He was the deputy governor of Kano State between 2003 and 2007. Abdullahi led the Water Resources Engineering and Construction Agency (WRECA) in Kano State ...

Chuba Okadigbo Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo (17 December 1941 – 25 September 2003), was a Nigerians, Nigerian philosopher, academic, writer and political scientist. He served as President of the Senate of Nigeria, Senate president of Nigeria from 1999 to 20 ...

and Sunday Afolabi. Victor Attah was elected governor of

Akwa Ibom Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe ...

in 1999 on the

Akwa Ibom PDP The Akwa Ibom State Peoples Democratic Party, based in Uyo is the official state level chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the ...

platform, and was re-elected in 2003. He was elected Chairman of the Forum of the 36 Governors of

in 2003. In 2001, Attah travelled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with as many as 21 people in search of foreign investors. This visit and others produced tangible results. He promised to improve telecoms, power supply, and air transport infrastructure, and to replicate Silicon Valley in

Uyo Uyo is the capital city of Akwa Ibom in South South Nigeria. Ibibio is the language spoken in Uyo. It became the capital on September 23, 1987 when Akwa Ibom was created from the former Cross River State. According to the 2006 Nigerian Cens ...

. He planned to build an airport in

before he left office in 2007. He laid the foundation for the establishment of the Akwa Ibom State University of Technology. Attah ran for the presidential nomination of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2007, but later withdrew.

Later career

Obong Victor Attah retired from politics after losing the PDP candidacy for presidency in 2007. He spent time with his Wife Alison who is suffering from Type 2 Diabetes. In March 2008, Victor Attah joined ExecutiveAction, a consultancy that helps firms manage problems in difficult business environments.

Honour

On November 24, 2018, in a public statement, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom state, renamed

Akwa Ibom International Airport Victor Attah International Airport , is an airport serving Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria. The airport is southeast of Uyo, and northwest of the river port of Oron. The Akwa Ibom non-directional beacon (Ident: AI) and Uyo VOR- ...

to Victor Attah International Airport, It was named after the ex-governor to honour him for being the founder of the airport while he was in power from 1999 to 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Attah, Victor 1938 births Living people Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni Peoples Democratic Party state governors of Nigeria Governors of Akwa Ibom State Alumni of Leeds Arts University Harvard Kennedy School alumni All Progressives Congress politicians Nigerian expatriates in the United States Founders of Nigerian schools and colleges University and college founders 20th-century Nigerian architects

Background

Governor of Akwa Ibom

Later career

Honour

See also

References