Abdul-Aziz Atta (1 April 1920 – 12 June 1972) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

administrator. He was the son of Alhaji Ibrahim Atta, Atta of Igbirra, a traditional ruler in

Kogi State Kogi State is a States of Nigeria, state in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti State, Ekiti and Kwara State, Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Fe ...

Early life

Abdul-Aziz Atta was born on 1 April 1920 in

Lokoja Lokoja is a north-central city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger River, Niger and Benue River, Benue list of rivers of Nigeria, rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State. While the Bassa Nge, Yoruba people, Yoruba Oworo peopl ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Education

Atta was educated at

Okene Okene is a town in the Nigerian state of Kogi. The town is based in a Local Government Area of the same name. Okene runs along the A2 highway. It had an area of 328 km2 and a population of 320,260 at the 2006 census. The predominant peo ...

Elementary and Middle Schools between 1926 and 1935. In 1936, he enrolled at

Achimota College Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and studied there until 1944 when he went to

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, England. Atta graduated in 1947 with a degree in

Philosophy, Politics and Economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...

Career

Atta returned to Nigeria in 1948 and joined the government service as Cadet Administrative Officer in what was then known as the Unified Nigeria Public Service. He served in

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari, Cali and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language, as the Efik people dominate this area. The city is adjac ...

Opobo Opobo is a community in Rivers state, South South region of Nigeria that was founded in 1870 . The people of Opobo are a mixture of the Ndoki tribe, Ndoki clan of the Igbo people and the Ibani clan of the Ijaw ethnic group. Their native languages ...

, Ikot-Ekpene and in the former

Southern Cameroons The Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British League of Nations mandate territory of the British Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961, it has been part of the Republic of Cameroon, where it makes up the Northwest Region and Southw ...

which were all under the

Eastern Region Eastern Region or East Region may refer to: * Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain *Eastern Region, Ghana *Eastern Region (Iceland) *Eastern Region, Malta *Eastern Region, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia *Eastern Region, Ugand ...

. He continued to serve in the Eastern Region even after the division of the Public Service. He served as

District Officer The District Officer (abbreviated to D.O.), was a commissioned officer of one of the colonial governments of the British Empire, from the mid-1930s also a member of the Colonial Service of the United Kingdom, who was responsible for a District of ...

Umuahia Umuahia () is the capital city of Abia State in southeastern Nigeria. Umuahia is located along the rail road that lies between Port Harcourt to its south, and Enugu city to its north. Umuahia has a population of 359,230 according to the 2006 Ni ...

, Nigeria before becoming the Private Secretary of Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe,

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

of the Eastern Region. Afterwards, he served in various positions such as the Secretary to the Agent-General for the Region in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

; Training Officer in the Regional Ministry of Finance, Enugu; and Secretary for Anang Province. In 1958, he became a Class II Administrative Officer for the Federal Public Service and in 1960, was promoted to Permanent Secretary. In this position, Atta was the head of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Industries, and Ministry of Finance. He occupied the important post of Permanent Secretary of Finance, from 1966 and throughout the civil war with all its effect on the country's economy. In December 1970, he was appointed Administrative Officer (Principal Grade) and became Secretary to the Federal Military Government and Head of the Federal Civil Service.

Personal life

Aziz was married to Iyabo Atta and had four daughters and a son. One of his brothers, Alhaji Abdul Maliki Atta was Nigeria's first High Commissioner to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He belongs to the same ruling family as Prince Attah Abdulmalik Danjuma of

Kogi state Kogi State is a States of Nigeria, state in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti State, Ekiti and Kwara State, Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Fe ...

Death

Abdul Aziz Atta died on 12 June 1972 at the

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barnet Ho ...

, London, after two years in the highest administrative post in

, and was buried in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atta, Abdul Aziz 1920 births 1972 deaths Nigerian civil servants Alumni of Achimota School People from Kogi State Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford