Rivers  Political Crisis: Why Wike Must Reconcile With Sim‍

By Tekena Amieyeofori

 

Rivers State has continued to regale the nation with many unsavoury events in the last eight months. The musical chairs in the state house of assembly, the emergence of factional political groups baying for blood and their utter disdain for the rule of law foretell an imminent conflagration in the “Nation’s Treasure Base.”

Regardless of an impending anarchy, the major actors (Chief Nyeson Wike, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and their supporters) are fighting relentlessly in the battle for the soul of Rivers State. Needless to say, what plays out is a macabre dance that would unleash an untold havoc on the oil-rich state in no distant time.

Expectedly, the political impasse in Rivers State continues to generate reactions from commentators, most of whom rightly attribute it to one man’s insatiable appetite for power. Immediate past Governor Wike leaves no one in doubt that he’s bent on calling the shots, despite having vacated the seat of power since May, 29, 2023. This is very obvious when he accuses his estranged political godson and immediate successor, Governor Fubara of dismantling his “political structure” in Rivers State.

After taking a critical analysis of the bone of contention between the feuding parties, I have come to the conclusion that what Wike actually means by “political structure” are a combination of his political machinery and the control of election war chest in readiness for the politics of 2027.

The implication is that the former Governor would rather have a successor who religiously does his biddings like an Arabian horse, even when they leave a sour taste in the mouth. From all indications, Wike saw in Fubara a pliable lackey who would remain in the Brick House as a figurehead, devoted to his whims and fancies in the governance of Rivers State.

With the benefit of hindsight, Wike misconstrued the actual persona of his erstwhile political ally. Governor Fubara is a man of few words who naturally displays meekness in his utterances and actions. Unknown to Wike, such men have the unimaginable capacity to bite without barking.

Acting true to type, the Governor has thrown his hat in the ring, challenging his detractors to a combat. This is evident in his declaration that the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers do not exist in the eyes of the law. Admittedly, the legislators lost their seats, legally speaking, when in December last year they dumped the People’s Democratic Party on whose platform they were elected to represent their constituencies in the parliament.

The intention here is not to demonize Wike and canonize Fubara under any guise, but to emphasize that the former failed to realize that he cannot be Governor in perpetuity. It is up to the sitting Governor to decide whether to follow the path of his predecessors or institute a disconnection from the past.

To empathize with the Governor, it would have been suicidal to continue in a path that has left the political space heavily tensed in Rivers State under the Wike administration. Without a shadow of doubt, a new political dispensation had become inevitable.

As Wendell Phillips observes, “Political convulsions, like geological upheavings, usher in new epochs of the world’s progress.” Evidently, the winds of change have become a force to reckon with in political systems from time immemorial. Therefore, any attempt to resist the powerful force that comes with an emerging epoch, such as Wike has done, is like flogging a dead horse.

To begin with, Wike brazenly dismantled the “political structure” of Rotimi Amaechi, his immediate predecessor, when he abandoned the laudable social infrastructure put in place to tackle endemic poverty in Rivers State.

Under his “New Rivers Vision”, Wike adopted a brick and mortar approach to governance and focused on building roads and bridges that are concentrated in urban areas like Port Harcourt and Oboi/ Akpor. For eight years, the former Governor refused to maintain state-of –the –art schools built by his predecessor across 23 Local Government Areas of the state, leaving them to completely rot away by the time he left office.

In the same vein, the fish farm project in Buguma, the Shongai farm project and many others were killed under the Wike administration. Interestingly, the former Governor was at liberty to govern Rivers State without any form of bullying by his political benefactors. In other words, Wike was neither teleguided nor coerced to follow any script prepared by those who facilitated his rise to power.

It beats one’s imagination, therefore, to think that a man who came to power by the benevolence of others who gave him the latitude to govern the state as he wished has become a meddlesome interloper in the affairs of a state he once governed with much display of hubris and conceitedness.

It is no bogus claim to suggest that Rivers State is first among equals in the comity of states. The state is endowed with vast natural and human resources that have made it outstanding since its creation in May, 1967. The old Rivers State, comprising present day Bayelsa State, had the great fortune of excellent leadership under successive administrations.

Many recall, with a sense of pride, how HRM Alfred Diette-Spiff laid the solid foundation for the growth and development of a young state as its first Military Administrator between 1967 and 1975. As a matter of fact, Diette-Spiff who is now king of Twon-Brass had simultaneously implemented balanced development policies that remain unrivalled till date.

The late Melford Okilo who succeeded Diette-Spiff as first civilian Governor of old Rivers State made spirited efforts to consolidate on the gains of his predecessor with a policy of even and rapid development of the state. This informed his policy of designating development hubs across the state namely, Port Harcourt, Ahoada, Bori and Degema (PABOD).

Under Chief Okilo, Rivers State launched trail-blazing media outfits like Radio Rivers and Rivers State Television. These were veritable instruments used to propagate the strength, uniqueness and oneness of a state where different tribes and tongues coexisted harmoniously. It is on record that Chief Okilo’s government (1979-1983) vigorously pursued an agenda to inculcate values in the citizenry and encouraged unity and accommodation amongst its peoples.

Unfortunately, the Rivers State we all knew suddenly degenerated to become a theatre of political brigandage, intolerance and divisiveness in 2014 when former Governor Wike aspired to take over the leadership mantle.

It would be recalled that the leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly became factionalized when two Speakers emerged for the first time in 2014. Exactly 10 years after, bad history is repeating itself in the state assembly which has been bedeviled by leadership crisis on the eve and in the aftermath of Wike’s reign as Governor. Apparently, Wike leaves a terrible legacy of divisiveness and acrimony in the politics of Rivers State. Out of office, he still enjoys the loyalty and support of a blind bandwagon of hangers-on who would stop at nothing to make the state ungovernable, in their desperate bid to satisfy the wish of their god. As things stand, the conflict between Wike and his successor is already at a crisis stage, waiting to explode and destroy lives and property at unimaginable proportions.

In this entire episode of political intrigues playing out in Rivers State, it has become obvious that Wike is obsessed with power and is afraid of losing his grip of it in the politics of 2027, forgetting that power is ephemeral in nature. I was particularly disappointed the other day when he openly boasted that the chickens would come home to roost for Governor Fubara in 2027. That was by all means an insensitive comment made by a leader at a time Rivers people and the rest of Nigerians are going through the most difficult times in throughout the history of Nigeria. This goes to show that Wike and his ilk are interested not in the welfare of the ordinary people, but in their selfish gains from state capture.

I would like to use this medium to appeal to Wike to reflect on the unpalatable political events happening before, during and after his government in Rivers State. For only then will he realize that the seed of discord he planted has sprouted and is flourishing anew, tearing Rivers State apart. It is no gainsaying the fact that the FCT minister goes to equity with unclean hands in the current battle for the soul of Rivers State. He cannot afford to bite the fingers that once fed him and expect that those he fed would be kind to him. My fear is that Nemesis, the remorseless daughter of the night, is inching very close to his door step. But he can avert an imminent political misfortune by quickly retracing his steps. The former Governor should come to terms with the fact that Rivers State has no place for political godfathers who only think about the next election and what they stand to benefit therefrom. Rather, the state is in dire need of statesmen who can push for generational change in trying times.

Looking back, the former Governor should be eternally grateful to his creator for catapulting him from an ordinary council chairman to a state Chief Executive, and now an influential cabinet member of the Tinubu administration.

The Rumueprikom-born politician has the option to engrave his name in gold by making peace with his political godson or continue in a battle that he has lost from the onset. He is expected, therefore, to assume the role of a true father (not a political godfather) and mend fences with his protégé who may have been influenced by youthful exuberance. But to be fair to Governor Fubara, he has demonstrated uncommon maturity and resilience in the face of unwarranted provocation by Wike loyalists who chose to disrespect him, regardless of the fact that he’s the current number one citizen of Rivers State.

 

In conclusion, Governor Fubara must be circumspect in his moment of travail. He needs to embrace dialogue, but refrain from negotiating peace on Wike’s terms. Having gone this far in the battle for the soul of Rivers State, pandering to Wike would be a lose-lose for Fubara and the state in the long run. The Governor’s current predicament demands that he takes sides with the people and remain committed to their welfare. Moreover, he should be wary of self-seeking politicians masquerading as genuine political allies in the fight to restore the dignity of Rivers State and its people. My candid advice to the Governor is to remain resolute and focused in the discharge of his duties and try to, as much as possible, resist the temptation of getting intoxicated by power.

Tekena Amieyeofori, a Port Harcourt-based Journalist and Conflict Analyst,   can be reached on tekena4real@gmail.com