As Akwa Ibom State marks 39 years of statehood, national attention has turned to one of its most distinguished sons, Atuekong Donatus Obot Etiebet, CON, celebrated for his pioneering role in Nigeria’s technology sector and decades of service in business, politics and academia.
Etiebet, widely referred to as the “Father of Computer in Nigeria,” built a career that spans science, entrepreneurship, politics and national service, placing him at the centre of some of the country’s most important developmental chapters.
Born on September 15, 1944, in Ikot Ekpuk, Oruk Anam Local Government Area, Etiebet had his early education at Government School, Ikot Ibritan and Holy Family College, Abak, where he obtained his WASC in 1962. He later attended College of the Immaculate Conception, Enugu, before proceeding abroad for higher studies.
He earned a BSc Special Honours degree in Petroleum Technology from Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, between 1966 and 1969, and a Master of Science degree in Applied Geophysics from the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He also taught Physics and Applied Geophysics at the University of Western Ontario and later at the University of Ibadan, and worked with Shell-NAM in Holland and in mineral exploration in Canada.
Etiebet returned to Nigeria in 1971 and launched what would become a landmark entrepreneurial journey. In 1972 he founded Earth Sciences Limited, offering geophysical exploration services. By 1974 he had established a computer centre to process geophysical data for government and oil companies a rare venture at a time when computers were largely unfamiliar in Nigeria.
The computer division later became Data Sciences Nigeria Limited, DSNL, in 1979. The company supplied, installed and maintained computer hardware and software across petroleum, banking, education, telecommunications, utilities and public administration. Between 1990 and 1993, Etiebet also developed and marketed the Obodex PC, the first Nigerian-branded personal computer.
His institution-building efforts extended to the professional space. He served as President of the Nigeria Computer Society from 1983 to 1987 and is a Life Fellow of the Society. He was also Chairman of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Bureau for Informatics Regional Training Centre for English-speaking African States and a pioneer member of the Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission.
Etiebet’s foray into politics began in the late 1970s. In 1996 he founded the National Centre Party of Nigeria, NCPN, and contested for president during the military transition programme. He was arrested and detained in 1997 before the transition was aborted.
With the return of democracy, he became one of the founding figures of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and contested the party’s presidential nomination in 1999. He later served on the PDP presidential campaign team that secured victory in the 1999 general elections.
Prior to that, his background in petroleum and geophysics earned him national appointment as Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources from August 1993 to February 1995. He also served as Secretary for Petroleum and Mineral Resources in the Interim National Government. During his tenure, he relaunched the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, project, introduced monetisation measures in the NNPC, and restructured the Department of Petroleum Resources.
Etiebet also served as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Jos from 2013 to 2017, and has been involved in several national science, technology and economic development bodies.
Honoured with the national title Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON, Etiebet remains one of Akwa Ibom’s foremost leading lights, recognised for laying the foundation for computerisation in Nigeria and for his contributions to governance, education and industry.
