Attah’s passionate appeal to Eno as Akwa Ibom celebrates ex-governor at 86

Despite mourning the passing of their First Lady, Patience Eno, the government and people of Akwa Ibom State took time over the weekend to celebrate Victor Attah, a former governor of the state who turned 86 on 20 November.

Mr Attah, an architect, is revered as the father of modern Akwa Ibom because of the revolutionary course he charted for the state during his time as governor.

For instance, he conceived and built the Akwa Ibom airport, named after him, which provided the foundation for the state-owned Ibom Airline and the Ibom Power plant. This has rendered Akwa Ibom immune to frequent power outages experienced by other states in Nigeria.

He was governor from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007.

On Saturday, 23 November, government officials, entrepreneurs, professionals, clerics, and people from all walks of life gathered at the Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort, Uyo, for the annual Victor Bassey Attah Golf Tournament, which was organised by the Ibom Golf & Country Club.

During his administration, Mr Attah also conceived and built the five-star Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort, which has a beautiful waterfront and a beach called Marina.

Attah’s appeal to Gov Eno

Mr Attah was full of excitement when the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in the state, Charles Udoh, during his opening remark at the event, informed the former governor that Governor Umo Eno was planning “a total revamp” of the Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort.

“I am the one that visualised this place,” Mr Attah said, responding to the commissioner’s remarks. “Tell him (governor) I will charge nothing for at least reviewing the drawings of the consultants.”

“If it (the drawing) is in conformity with the original vision, it will be a lot easier to achieve,” Mr Attah added.

The crowd, including the commissioner, laughed and clapped in delight.

Mr Attah said he envisioned the hotel for high-end sports like golf, polo, and fishing. “And by the way, it’s 25 minutes in a boat from that the Marina to Tinapa (Cross River State),” he said.

“I want to suggest to the government, please consider bringing polo to Uyo. It will bring in a lot of crowd, in addition to the crowd we are getting from golf, and the one we could get from fishing.

“It will triple your joy, and I will be very happy to see that has happened. Please work on the Marina and make it possible for people to sail out from there and go fishing.

“I congratulate the governor for having this vision (of revamping the hotel).”

Mr Attah said when his administration opened the hotel, he had considered bringing in international golfers like Tiger Wood, but that the golfer’s father was ill and later died of cancer, and that he was able to bring to the Ibom Golf Course, a Scottish professional golfer, Colin Montgomerie and an American golfer, Nancy Lopez, and one other.

“I suggest that you reach out to those people when this place has been revamped. Please bring them so that you can give it the international exposure that it needs.

“When you want to reopen this facility, please bring the international flavour to it,” the former governor said.

Earlier, the commissioner, Mr Udoh, told Mr Attah, “Sir, we adore you. You are truly a gift to Akwa Ibom State.”

Mr Udoh said Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort was a major driver of tourism in Akwa Ibom.

He presented a cake and a drink as birthday gifts from the hotel to the former governor.

A former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Umana Umana, was among the dignitaries at the event.

“Many people in Akwa Ibom did not see this vision. Some saw but did not understand the vision,” Mr Umana, who was the finance commissioner during Mr Attah’s administration, said of the hotel while praising Mr Attah for his legacy.

“Sir, we thank you because you saw the future, which is why we are here today. I believe this is the strongest asset that will promote tourism in this state. We thank God that the government of the day has decided to turn this place around and complete what you had started many years ago.”

Mr Umana, a golfer, told the former governor that golfers from different parts of Nigeria derive great pleasure from playing at the Ibom Golf Course.

“I have also moved around. I have played in Lagos, Abuja, and elsewhere. I can say that this is the best-designed golf course in Nigeria.

“We are very proud of you. Akwa Ibom is proud of you. Nigeria is proud of you. We will continue to honour and celebrate you,” Mr Umana told the former governor.

A very blessed man

A former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, Nsima Ekere, in his praise of Mr Attah, said the former governor is “a very blessed man”.

“Sir, you are indeed a very blessed man; a lot of people get honoured and recognised after they have passed, but you are being recognised while you are here (with us), while you can share in the champagne and all the merriment,” Mr Ekere, a former managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, told Mr Attah.

“You fought for resource control, but unfortunately, the resources did not come while you were governor. And so you had to work with very limited resources. But if you could achieve the things you achieved during your tenure with the limited resources that you had, what would have happened if you were governor at a time when Akwa Ibom is the way it is today?

“We cannot turn back the hand of the clock, but we can only thank God for giving you to Akwa Ibom State. We thank you for your service and sacrifice, love and patriotism to this state,” Mr Ekere said.

Mr Ekere, also a golfer, corroborated Mr Umana’s claim that the Ibom Golf Course is among the best in Nigeria.

“What makes Ibom Golf Course very significant is that at the time you conceptualised this project you were not a golfer, and still you are not, but you brought this to being. We celebrate you, Sir.”

The Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of Ibom Air, George Uriesi, said the projects Mr Attah did in Akwa Ibom within his eight-year tenure are the most visionary in Nigeria.

“The first time I came to Akwa Ibom and saw the MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility at the Victor Attah International Airport), I knew you were not an ordinary man,” he said of the former governor. “You started building an airport when no state in Nigeria could even think of such. There are only three of such MROs in Africa – one in South Africa, one in Cairo, Egypt.”

Dwindling fortune of Ibom hotel

In March this year, the Akwa Ibom State Government terminated its contract with Icon Hotel Group for the management of the 163-room five-star hotel.

The hotel, initially known as Le Meridien Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort, changed its name in 2020 to Ibom ICON Hotel & Golf Resort after the state government parted ways with the first set of managers, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

The golf resort, a key component of the hotel, has hosted many local and national golf tournaments over the years.

However, the quality of services in the hotel continued to drop over the years, especially after the exit of Starwood.

Guests at the hotel sometimes complained of leaking roofs, non-functional intercom services, and poor water supply to the rooms.

Akwa Ibom has a four-star hotel, Four Points by Sheraton, at Ikot Ekpene, which appears to enjoy more patronage than the hotel in Uyo, for now.