80 Gun Salutes To Diette-Spiff, Man Of Height And Stature

We all had our growing up days. And in our own time, just like the generations that followed ours, our schooldays were part of growing up.

For those of us who grew up in the old Rivers State immediately after the civil war, we cannot forget this school song that was a regular as we marched from the assembly ground to our respective classrooms.

Show me the way
To go to Rivers State
Show me the way to go there
O-o-o-o!
Show me the way
To go to Rivers State
I want to see my Governor

That Governor was Lt. Commander Alfred Papapriye Diette-Spiff. I remember him in his sparking immaculate naval ceremonial dress; and sometimes in the black blazers and trousers and matching cap. He was tall, slim and handsome; naval men were always handsome in their uniforms.

That song was particularly touching for school kids that spent years in refugee camps far away from home because of the war. The end of the war was double good news for them not only because it brought an end to suffering and death for victims and refugees, the end of the war heralded the emergence of a new state, which meant for them a fresh lease of life. Every Rivers person therefore became eager not just to be part of the new state, but to see their governor.

As kids, we did not know any foibles about public officers. They always stood out as exemplary citizens serving their fatherland and were perfect in their acts. The civil commissioners were usually formally dressed, as we say, in suit and tie. We took time to recite their names and portfolios printed below their photographs on the Rivers State Executive Council almanac that hung prominently in the sitting rooms of educated and prominent figures in our neighbourhoods. Prominent among the commissioners were Chief Kombo Igbeta, Dr. Lawrence Ekpebu, Dr. Obi Wali, Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye, Mr. K.B. Tsaro-Wiwa, Mr. Oluka Ngei, Dr. W.T. Wakama, Mr. Nwobidike Nwonodi, Prof. Isaac Dema, Chief B.J. Oriji, Dr. Nabo Graham-Douglas and Chief W. Daniel-Kalio, who was the Secretary to the State Government. There were also many other prominent Rivers leaders at the time like Dr. Melford Graham-Douglas, Dr. Amachree, Nigeria’s first Solicitor General, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Wenike Briggs, Chief Tienabeso, Chief Francis John Ellah, whonkater on became the SSG, Chief Melford Okilo and Dr. C.T Odu.

In my mind, that was the greatest government Rivers State has ever had. And curiously, the governor, Diette-Spiff, was the youngest among the cabinet members. He was only 24 at the time he was appointed military governor.

How the young governor managed the bigwigs and succeeded in leaving behind the deepest footprints in the sands of the state and the greatest landmarks in its history is still a wonder. He even wondered himself how he was able to do it. He once told a newspaper that he was lucky to have had two major divides among cabinet members. So, every time a matter came up for discussion in the meetings, each side marshalled their fine points and after diligently listening to the arguments he settled for one side.

On July 30th, Diette-Spiff turned 80. He is indeed a lucky Nigerian. None of his governor contemporaries is still alive except the ageless General Yakubu Gowon, who was then the Head of the Federal Military Government, and perhaps General Muhammadu Buhari, who became military governor of the North-Eastern State in August 1975.

The celebration of Diette-Spiff is well deserved because his government left behind the most outstanding achievements in the history of the state.

His administration built the 17-storey Point Block, which for a long stood as the tallest building in Nigeria outside Lagos and Ibadan. It also built the Rivers State secretariat complex, which accommodates virtually all the business of government in Port Harcourt; the Port Harcourt Civic centre that was renamed after him and, by far, the best all-inclusive multipurpose centre in Nigeria. It has facilities for international conferences, Olympic standard games and sports, modern stadium, swimming pools, and shopping malls.

His government also built guest houses called the Catering Rest House in different parts of the state, begin the construction of a standard stadium at Elekahia, which was moved from the present location of Isaac Boro Park; it also established the Port Harcourt Boat Club and transformed the Port Harcourt Red Devils Football Club to Sharks FC.

The government established the College of Science and Technology, which metamorphosed into the Rivers State University. To meet primary education needs of the state, the Diette-Spiff administration set up teacher training colleges and offered free tuition and boarding to young citizens of the state to train as teachers. It also built government secondary schools to absorb the increasing number of primary school leavers aspiring to have secondary education.

The government established the Rivers State Newspaper Corporation that published The Tide newspapers and the Rivers State Council for Arts and Culture to harness the unique but diverse cultural heritage of Rivers State.

To boost the economic and financial base of the the state, the government set up the PABOD group, an acronym derived from the five old divisions that made up the old Rivers State viz: Port Harcourt, Ahoada, Brass, Ogoni and Degema. Under the PABOD group were Pabod Finance, Pabod Breweries, Supabod Stores and a few other subsidiaries. Also in the business sector, was established the Pan-African Bank, Rivbank Insurance Company, Rivers State Transport Corporation otherwise called Waterlines that provides both land and water transportation services; Delta Hotels Limited that managed the Catering Rest Houses and the two major hospitality outfits, Hotel Presidential and Hotel Olympia, Risonpalm Limited; the Waterglass Boatyard that built boats and watercrafts and many other commercial and profit-oriented businesses. The government also had substantial investments in many of the companies that operated within the Trans-Amadi industrial layout. They included West African Glass Industry, Integrated Distilleries, Nigerian Engineering Works, Eastern Wrought Iron Limited, Michelin and other multinational industries that invested in Port Harcourt. These outfits did not only boost domestic economic activities, they provided career opportunities for the local people.

The result of the many investments in education, sports, culture and business led to the emergence of Rivers State as a powerhouse in these areas. Till date, the state is one of the leading powerhouses in sports and showcases in arts and culture in Nigeria.

When I had the privilege of interviewing Diette-Spiff during the 25th anniversary celebrations of the creation of Rivers State in 1992, he told me that there were still many programmes and infrastructure projects mapped out by his administration that were yet untouched.

Long after leaving office as military governor, Diette-Spiff maintained an active role in both the social and business lives of Port Harcourt. He played golf and won many laurels for himself and and the Port Harcourt Golf Club within Nigeria and outside the country. He was also active at the Port Harcourt Polo Club for many years. He played a very active role at the Port Harcourt chamber of commerce where he was leader for many years.

Before the creation of Bayelsa State, he accepted an offer from his people to become the King of Twon-Brass. In addition to that role, he for a long time served as Chairman of Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers. He ventured into politics in 1979 and lost in the governorship election that he ran under the banner of the Great Nigeria Peoples Party.

Those that have had the fortune of sitting with the former governor, sailor and traditional rulers always came off richer because the king is never short of stories to tell. He told me that one trait a sailor who stays on the high seas for many months away from normal life must acquire is that of storytelling, otherwise they could be bored to death. Listening to him as he personally drove me around the city of Port Harcourt before finally anchoring at the Polo Club for a drink, I recalled The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the story of the Albatross. The sailor king also has his own albatross, part of which was the treatment of Minare Amakiri, who wrote a stinker on him on his birthday. But that’s a story for another day. But I particularly enjoyed his deep baritone and the emphasis he placed on words as he told his stories.

Eighty certainly looks good on him as age hasn’t bent him one bit despite height and weight