Former Akwa Ibom State governor, Obong Victor Attah, has criticised Nigeria’s current political structure, warning that the nation cannot achieve peace or stability without a constitution truly fashioned by its people.
Attah, in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, reflected on the ongoing controversies around the state of emergency in Rivers and wider national politics, argued that governance in Nigeria has strayed far from democratic principles.
“What is the governor? Who is the governor expected to serve? An elected person is expected to serve the people who elected him. But today, governors are bound by agreements and undertakings, not the will of the people. It makes nonsense of the office of a governor,” he said.
He noted that the 1999 constitution, which still guides Nigeria, was imposed by the military and not by consensus among Nigerians. He stressed that the last time the people sat together to determine their own constitution was in 1963.
“Nigerians didn’t make the present constitution. It was literally dictated by the military. Unless and until Nigerians come together and agree on the terms and conditions of staying together, there will be no peace.”
On the issue of subsidy removal, Attah criticised the one-sided decision-making process. “Everybody says it was right to remove subsidy but wrong the way it was done. What is wrong is the coalition that made it possible for anybody to act unilaterally.”
Turning to institutional weakness, he accused the legislature and judiciary of failing to defend their own independence. “You talk about these institutions having been weakened. Who weakened them? They weakened themselves by their actions.”
He cited the Supreme Court’s ruling on the boundary between Akwa Ibom and the federal government as an example of legal inconsistency that undermined trust in justice.
On the controversial 76 oil wells dispute between Akwa Ibom and Cross River, Attah asserted “Cross River is not a littoral state. Being on a river does not make it a littoral state. If oil wells fall within your boundaries, they are yours, if not, they don’t belong to you. Full stop.”
Reflecting on Nigeria’s debt and infrastructure debates, Attah highlighted his own tenure as governor, where he said vision and strategic investment mattered more than reckless borrowing. “I borrowed money and bought shares in Econet. When Obasanjo reduced Akwa Ibom to a non-oil producing state, I sold those shares to keep the state going. That’s how I built the airport, the power plant, and kept salaries paid.”
For Attah, the heart of Nigeria’s political crisis lies in leadership failing to follow principles and institutions failing to protect themselves.
“We now have the rule not of law, but of good lawyers, warning that unless Nigerians rewrite their constitutional agreement, instability and insecurity will persist.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
Follow us on:
