Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has conferred a posthumous award on the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, praising him for creating the state and liberating the Ijaw people from decades of political marginalisation.
The honour was presented on Thursday night at a dinner and awards ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of Bayelsa State. The event, themed “Celebrating Legacies,” took place 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. While Abacha’s rule remains one of the most controversial chapters in Nigeria’s political history, Diri said Bayelsans view the late general primarily through the prism of the state’s creation and its profound impact on the Ijaw nation.
“General Abacha might mean different things to different people, but to Bayelsans, he is the one who freed us from oppression,” the governor declared. “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.”
Diri explained that the creation of Bayelsa brought together predominantly Ijaw communities previously scattered across different states, ending what he described as years of oppression, injustice and political exclusion.
The governor framed the anniversary not merely as a celebration of statehood but as an opportunity to recognise those who shaped Bayelsa’s political and developmental journey. He noted that the state, which began with virtually no tertiary institutions, now boasts more than five, including universities, polytechnics and a college of education. Road infrastructure has also expanded dramatically from the single-lane Mbiama-Yenagoa road at inception to a network of dualised highways and senatorial roads linking communities across 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.
In total, 63 individuals and institutions were honoured for their roles in the creation and development of the state. Among the recipients were former President Goodluck Jonathan; the late Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, Bayelsa’s first civilian governor; Ijaw activist Isaac Boro; politician Harold Dappa-Biriye; former governor Seriake Dickson; and former military administrators including Caleb Olubolade, Phillip Ayeni, Habu Daura and Edor Obi.
The ceremony drew a high-profile audience, including former President Jonathan and his wife Patience, members of the Abacha family (Abba Abacha and Fatima Gumsu Abacha), lawmakers, diplomats, business leaders and government officials.
Speaking on behalf of the awardees, Jonathan dedicated his honour to the late Alamieyeseigha, who appointed him as deputy governor. While acknowledging the progress made over three decades, Jonathan noted that the state has yet to reach its full potential.
“Although we have not reached where we are supposed to be, I am happy where we are. I am happy that Bayelsa State was created, and we have gained tremendously,” he said. He expressed lasting gratitude to Abacha, adding: “Bayelsans will always remain grateful to late Gen. Sani Abacha who made it possible for Bayelsa to be among the last six states he created.”
Jonathan also commended Diri for using the anniversary to recognise those who contributed to the state’s emergence and growth.
The event effectively transformed the 30th anniversary into a celebration of Bayelsa’s political history, with the state government honouring both the figures and institutions central to its creation and subsequent development.
