Ibrahim Atta: Remembering the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland (1884- 1964)

As a young man, he learnt the art of statesmanship from his grandfather, Atta Omadivi; he also learnt business from his industrious mother, a widely travelled woman. He was a fast learner and learnt to speak different languages – Hausa, Nupe, Igala, Edo, Tiv, Yoruba, Igbo, Pidgin English.Atta Ibrahim ruled over Ebiraland between 1917 and […]

As a young man, he learnt the art of statesmanship from his grandfather, Atta Omadivi; he also learnt business from his industrious mother, a widely travelled woman. He was a fast learner and learnt to speak different languages – Hausa, Nupe, Igala, Edo, Tiv, Yoruba, Igbo, Pidgin English.
Atta Ibrahim ruled over Ebiraland between 1917 and 1954. He was the first British appointed chief who exercised influence over the entire Ebiraland. He demonstrated great patriotism and devotion to his domain, evidenced in the many developmental projects he accomplished during his reign. As early as 1923, he made Ebiraland the first to have pipe borne water in the whole of Northern Nigeria. He built the only existing Prison in Okene in 1927 and the Native/Customary Courts in Ebiraland. Some of the roads he constructed many years ago are still existing in very good shape. He also founded the first Native Authority School (NA) in Okene. His appreciation of education as a tool for the future saw his own children pursuing scholarship in and outside Nigeria. Among his many distinguished children are  Alhaji AbdulMalik Atta, Nigeria’s first High Commissioner to the United Kingdom; Abdulaziz Atta, Nigeria’s first Head of Service and Secretary to the Federal Military Government during Gowon regime; Dr. AbdulMumini Atta, the second qualified medical doctor in Northern Nigeria and Alhaji Adamu Atta, first Executive Governor of Kwara State.
Others are Judith Sefi Atta, first female Chief Education Officer in the North, Ambassador to Italy and first Minister for Federal Ministry of Women Affairs;  Alhaji Aliyu Atta, former Inspector General of Police; Ado Ibrahim, present Ohinoyi of Ebiraland; Alhaji Mahmud Atta, Protocol Officer to the Premier of Northern region and later, Chairman of First Bank Nigeria; Mrs. Rekiya Scott, first qualified Nursing Sister in the North and Alhaji Abdullahi Atta, first Nigerian Resident Ambassador to Cuba and later to Canada.
Also on the list are Alhaji M.O Atta, a prominent businessman in Kaduna and Alhaji Idris Atta, a former General Manager at Ajaokuta Steel Project.
The Atta exposed his domain to the outside world through the construction of a network of roads, effectively positioning Okene as the link between the North and South.
Realising the essence of portable water for the health of his people, the Atta, in 1937, constructed a dam for Okene to provide pipe borne water for the township.
He was the first Ebira to learn the Quran and spearheaded the construction of a befitting central mosque at Okene. He also accommodated the first missionaries who freely propagated Christianity without any hindrance.
As we mark the 49th anniversary of his passing away, may Allah grant him mercy and Jannatil fidaus and further strengthen the legacies he bequeathed to his many descendants, ameen.