Bayelsa Honours Abacha 30 Years On, Diri Says Ex-Military Ruler ‘Freed Ijaw From Oppression

…Jonathan, Abacha’s family, others honoured as Bayelsa celebrates three decades of statehoo

Daud Olatunji

Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has conferred a posthumous award on the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, crediting him with the creation of the state and what he described as the liberation of the Ijaw people from political marginalisation.

Diri honoured Abacha on Thursday night during a dinner and awards ceremony organised to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Bayelsa State.

The event, themed “Celebrating Legacies,” was held at the Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, Government House, Yenagoa.

Bayelsa was created on October 1, 1996, by the Abacha military administration alongside five other states.

The governor’s decision to honour the late military ruler is notable because Abacha’s years in power remain a controversial chapter in Nigeria’s political history. However, Diri said Bayelsans viewed the former military leader primarily through the lens of the state’s creation and its significance to the Ijaw people.

Diri said the creation of Bayelsa brought together predominantly Ijaw communities that had previously been divided among different states.

According to him, the development ended what he described as years of oppression, injustice and political marginalisation of the Ijaw people.

“General Abacha might mean different things to different people, but to Bayelsans, he is the one who freed us from oppression,” Diri said.

He added, “He freed us from injustice and gave a homogenous state for a people that had been balkanised into various states and making us minority in some.”

The governor said the anniversary was therefore not merely a celebration of the creation of a state but also an opportunity to recognise individuals whose contributions had shaped Bayelsa’s political and developmental journey.

Diri said Bayelsa had recorded significant progress since its creation, despite starting with limited infrastructure and institutions.

He recalled that the state had no tertiary institution at inception but now had more than five institutions, including universities, polytechnics and a college of education.

He also highlighted the expansion of the state’s road infrastructure, noting that Bayelsa had moved beyond the single-lane Mbiama-Yenagoa road that existed at its creation to a wider network of roads, dualised highways and senatorial roads linking different parts of the state.

“Do we talk about the healthcare transformation? So much has been done, and we can rightly say that Bayelsa has moved forward and is no longer where it used to be,” Diri said.

The governor subsequently honoured 63 individuals and institutions for their roles in the creation and development of Bayelsa.

Among those recognised were former President Goodluck Jonathan; the late Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, the state’s first civilian governor; Ijaw activist Isaac Boro; politician Harold Dappa-Biriye; former governor Seriake Dickson and former military administrators of the state, including Caleb Olubolade, Phillip Ayeni, Habu Daura and Edor Obi.

Former President Jonathan and his wife, Patience, members of the Abacha family, including Abba Abacha and Fatima Gumsu Abacha, as well as lawmakers, diplomats, business leaders and government officials attended the ceremony.

Jonathan, who spoke on behalf of the award recipients, dedicated his award to Alamieyeseigha, who had appointed him as his deputy when he served as governor.