Issues
In The Eye Of The Storm …If I Were Godsday Orubebe
These are strange times. Times when one’s growth and survival depend on the colour and strength of a capestone on which one stands. Cape stones that do not merely affirm one’s contributions to a successful goal but in recompense makes one untouchable, super and free from criticisms. Sometimes, even above the law. These are strange times, when, where one stands marks one out either as a man or woman of character or an endangered political specie. These indeed are time when, a good fisherman must carefully read both the tide and weather before any expedition to avoid a distress.
These are strange times when even civil society groups stay deaf and dumb to national worries, in the hope of having a capestone to stand on and enjoy rewards of their secret incursion into partisan politics. These indeed are times when wise politicians fly low, talk less, make little or no public appearances and indeed dress modestly not to offend the high currents of the secret submarines at war against corruption.
These indeed are times when corruption is corruption depending on where on stands, when audacity and temerity replace impunity in public affairs.
These are strange times when, the once respected whistle blower must not merely know what to say to his listeners, but must also avoid what the ravaging bulls of war would not want to hear. These are also times when a good politician without concrete capestones, must stay out of trouble by living in the village and be forgotten by the enemy, for, only the firmly rooted can regale in self righteous indignation and walk about proudly like peacocks and super ministers no matter the protests over the filt of their under pants and or skeletons in their cupboards.
These are days of the return of the night soil man, who was never wrong because of the nature of his duty. In Port Harcourt in the early seventies and eighties, the powers of the night soil man were abrasive and viscious. They were masked men whose responsibility it was to evacuate human wastes from residential homes, but never proud of their job, they responded aggressively to any whimper by a child and discharge such wastes at the door posts of any unfortunate residential area.
To be saved the anger and wrat of the night soil man, concerned residents must approach him in supplications, pay him for his sins of discharging wastes by their door ways and even assure him that not even a baby’s cry would be heard whilst he worked.
Such are these times, when the lines between truth and falsehood, right and wrong, stainlessness and corruption are so lean that they rarely exist. This is because, these are strange times when, what one becomes depends largely on the right kind of capestone on which one stands.
These indeed are days of retributive justice, when the sins of the past are excavated and sinners punished. These surely are pay-back times, when in the name of an anti-corruption crusade, little sins attract capital punishment to ensure silence and obedience to new rules.
At the receiving end of these strange times are members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who now near frequently scream blue murder, claiming that the new government’s anti-graft campaign seems to be trargeting only their own members. In their criticisms, they point very quickly to accusations and or petitions of corrupt actions against former governors Raji Fashola and Rotimi Amaechi of Lagos and Rivers States respectively, which according to them were never even investigated. Instead, the duo emerged super-ministers. But who cares?
Each time the PDP cries against cases of impunity and lopesided prosecution and persecutions under President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft war, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC’s) response has been very simple and concise. ‘PDP is still in shock over its shameful defeat in the last elections’.
One of those who saw the shameful defeat coming and tried to prevent it, as any good political thug would, during the collation of presidential election results at the International Conference Centre Abuja, early this year, was a former Minister under, President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, Chief Godsday Orubebe.
For about 20 minutes or more, Orubebe held the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Collation Centre hostage, insisting that protests raised against results from four Northern states, where, children were allegedly seen thumb printing ballot papers for the then opposition, APC, be investigated before entering such results. Orubebe had insisted that the same cursory probe Rivers States’ results were subjected to same be applied to results of those Northern states before they were collated.
So determined, none could convince Orubebe otherwise. Even the security officials, party agents and indeed INEC officials seemed helpless until Orubebe was assured that Rivers votes had been counted in favour of Jonathan.
Unfortunately, while Orubebe was fighting against apparent defeat of his party and leader, former President Jonathan was scrolling his phone contacts for Buhari’s cellphone number, to call and concede the same defeat Orubebe found difficult to accept. And Jonathan lost the elections.
Where did that leave Orubebe? A man who thought he was protecting the interest of his party at the collation centre, but didn’t know that the he was infact making a spectacle of himself because while his protest tarried, Jonathan simply congratulated Buhari for a job well-done and conceded the same defeat Orubebe went all out to prevent.
How can such a sin by Orubebe be forgiven and forgotten by the APC so easily? In the case of Orubebe, whether he lives in the village, says nothing, wears rags, flies low and remains deaf and dumb, his was a misadventure which many thought an APC government could never forgive. While others said, no, APC cannot be that vindictive with vendetta.
May be, the APC indeed forgot Orubebe but the anti-graft war’s, sharp weapon of destruction and the easiest path to humiliating politicians on the wrong cape stones, the Code of Conduct Bureau, found out Orubebe. He is today facing criminal charges, not related to disrupting the collation of presidential election results early in the year, but about false claims in his assets declaration forms in addition to an alleged N70 or so million bribe.
Now in the eye of the storm, can Orubebe count on former President Jonathan to put a word across to his successor in defence? If he does would Buhari oblige? When even in the case of Senate President Bukola Saraki the Presidency stated clearly that Buhari would not interfere with the duty of the CCB? What if Jonathan does and Lai Mohammed gets to hear of it? Another round of scandal?
Where does that leave Orubebe? Alone in the wilderness of uncertainty, with hardly any hope of getting out of the CCT trial unruffled. Even if the CCT wishes to be lenient, the sad reminder of his role at the collation centre would prevent such expectation.
Therefore, since these are times when one’s survival depends on the strength of the cape stone on which one stands, Orubebe still has one of three choices. Remain helpless and stand aloof until the rising tide covers him.
Alternatively, if I were Orubebe, knowing that the Bayelsa State’s Governorship polls come up Dec 5 this year, with APC’s Timpre Sylva and incumbent Governor Seriake Dickson as leading candidates, I would make a good choice of a Cape Stone to stand on. I would run to Sylva, Kneel down, cry to him and pledge my unalloyed loyalty to his course and that of his party. A viable cape stone.
I would vow before him, to do for APC what I did for the PDP that went sour. I would swear to mobilize total support of Bayelsa Voters, men, women and the youth including the dead towards achieving an APC victory. Like a repentant sinner, I would denounce the PDP, and embrace the APC with all my family, soul and spirit.
In fact, half of whatever I might have had as a minister would be committed to the course, rather than lose all and still not avoid conviction. Afterall, with the new Cape Stone, nothing spent on a venture is wasted. And with good fortune, charges of false declaration of assets could be dropped.
But there always is a third and respectable choice for the fearless, principled and stainless. Pursue the litigation truthfully and with facts that cannot be controverted by any persecutor. Prove your innocence and ensure that your case is before the court of public opinion, always.
Yes, these are strange times when the difference between black and white seems blurred, but there still are men and women of integrity who could speak up in the face of injustice. More importantly, there is still a judiciary to count on, a crop of respectable men and women who can be depended upon to protect the rule of law and uphold justice no matter the consequences.
If Orubebe’s hands are truly clean, here’s where to leave his defence and let the people judge. Posterity will surely vindicate him on the long run.
My agony is that it is never easy to pursue such trials with personal funds, unless one is truly guilty of corruption, with funds starched away in the village. But fortune usually smiles on the just, with or without a strong financial defence.
This is an open letter to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Your Excellency,
Sir, ordinarily, I would not be writing an open letter to you, but like a wise man once said, “Silence would be Treason.” So I prefer to stay alive than face the consequences of silence in the face of crime. With each passing day, and as the socio-political tides continue to turn, it has become more pertinent that more people speak up in a concerted MANNER to prevent the death of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as we appear to be, in the words of W. B. Yeats, “turning and turning in the widening gyre” heading for an end where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer
It is unfortunate that since losing control of the Federal Government, with the loss of President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued on a downward spiral. It is much more painful, that where it is expected that leaders within the party should rise to the challenge and put an end to this decline of our great party, some have instead taken up roles as its undertaker.
It will be hypocritical to claim aloofness to what I believe is your grouse with the PDP and I am not a hypocrite. It will be uncharitable on my part to discountenance the role you have played in strengthening the PDP from 2015 up until the last Presidential primaries of the party. It is my belief that your grouse against certain members of the party who you perceived worked against the party and abandoned it in 2015 and then came around much later to take control of the party, is justified. Also know that your decision to remain in the Party and stifle its progress on the other hand, as a sort of payback, stands condemned. For a man of your pedigree and stature, it is a dishonorable act, highly dishonorable and stands as testimony against all you claim to stand for.
At least, it can be argued that those who you hold this grudge against, abandoned the party completely and did not sit back while actively working to destroy it from within. But what then can be the argument on your own part, seeing that those you are currently working with against your party are the same people who set in motion, and executed surgically, the plans that not only ended our Party’s leadership at the centre, but ended up dislodging the first Niger Deltan to occupy Aso Rock as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Is this not akin to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face?” That will be worse than folly. Let us not throw away the baby with the bath water because we do not like the soap used in bathing the baby. It will be a grave mistake.
Honourable Minister, sir, it is rather unfortunate that of all people, you have also decided to play the role of an undertaker not only for our party, but for our dear Rivers State.
I will like to take you down memory lane a little. Let me remind you of your emergence as Guber candidate of the PDP in Rivers State, against all fairness and justice in 2014. You will remember that despite the reality being that you as an Ikwerre man was poised to replace a fellow Ikwerre man in Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in our multiethnic state, Rivers people overwhelmingly stood by you and pushed for your emergence as Executive Governor of Rivers State in 2015. I dare say that your popularity in the entire Niger Delta region was at an all-time high at this point.
I want you to understand why you were loved across board leading to your eventual emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015; it was because when it looked like all were against the second term ambitions of the first Niger Delta man to emerge as President of Nigeria, you became not just a pillar but a beacon of resistance by standing for Goodluck Jonathan. Rivers people, as grateful and rewarding as they can be, paid you back by ensuring your electoral victory against the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) led by your predecessor. On your emergence, where there were second term Governors in the region, you, a first term Governor, was seen by the people as not just the leader of the PDP, but the leader of the entire Niger Delta region. You earned it, and no one could dispute it.
In 2019, when your re-election bid was being challenged ferociously, Rivers people once again stood solidly behind you. Many were killed in the process of defending your votes. Do you remember Dr. Ferry Gberegbe that was shot and killed while trying to protect your votes in Khana Local Government Area? There are many more unnamed and unrecognised sons and daughters of Rivers State who sacrificed their lives so that you could emerge as a second term Governor of Rivers State.
In 2022/23, Honourable Minister, you oversaw a party primary across board that saw some candidates imprisoned and internal party democracy jettisoned for your wishes, leading to the emergence of flag bearers of our party all singlehandedly picked by you. You have on more than one occasion publicly stated that you paid for all their forms. Even those shortchanged in this process licked their wounds and continued to play their roles as party members to ensure the success of the party at all levels. In what will go down as one of the most keenly contested elections in recent Rivers history, with formidable candidates like Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the vibrant youth driven Labour Party (LP), PDP emerged victorious across board except for Phalga Constituency 1 that was lost to the Labour Party. (Not that you did not loose in some other LGA’s but let’s stick to the official figures declared by INEC).
It begs the question, why then do you want to burn down Rivers State, when everyone who now holds political office emerged through a process designed and endorsed by you? Is it that you do not care about Rivers people and you are all about yourself? If so, I am forced to believe that those around you are not telling you the truth. The truth being that in a state where your words were law; where houses and businesses could be demolished or closed down without any recourse to legalities, where Executive Orders could be deployed to stifle the opposition, that your popularity is now at an all-time low. Probably because they are afraid of you, or of losing the benefits they gain from you, they fail to tell you that what you might perceive as a battle against your successor, has slowly but gradually degenerating into a battle against Rivers State and Rivers people. You know, there is a popular saying that, a man can cook for the community and the community will finish the food, but when a community decides to cook for one man, the reverse is the case.
LEAVE FUBARA ALONE
You have gone on and on about being betrayed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. You point fingers forgetting that some of those same fingers quick to spot betrayals point straight back at you. It is not Governor Fubara that has betrayed the PDP by working against it in the just concluded General Election, and working with the opposition at the State and Federal level to destabilise the party. It is you, Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that betrayed Rivers people by instigating a political crisis with propensity to escalate ethnic tensions in Rivers State. It is you Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that has declared himself God over all in Rivers State and has no qualms with burning the state to the ground to prove a point. It is you Honourable Minister. It is you Honourable Minister who told the world that the APC was a cancer and you can never support a cancerous party. It is you Honourable Minister who ended up facilitating the emergence of the same “cancerous” APC that has accelerated the economic decline of this country and further impoverished our people with no remorse. All so you can be a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory? The lack of self awareness is gobsmacking.
Some days back I came across a video where you talked about death and how you do not cry when you hear about the death of some people because you have no idea what might have caused it considering many a politician swear “over dead bodies” and still go back on their words. Those words made me think, and I could see the reason behind them. You see, in chosing to be God in the affairs of Rivers people, you have closed your eyes and ears to reason; you see nothing and hear nothing that can cause you to rethink on the path you have chosen. In your quest to “show Fubara” you have unwittingly united a vast majority of Rivers people behind him, so much that even those who despised him because of you, now like or love him, because of you too. In your scheming, I will advise you not to forget that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Note that the war which you have or are waging against Governor Fubara, has gone beyond being merely political as you might see in your minds eye. It is now one that, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, has evolved into a war against Rivers people. It is good to point out that no one has taken a stand against Rivers people and won. No one has gone against God and won. In your defiant characteristic manner, it will be unfortunate if you believe your own hubris and that of those around you on the possibility of you being the first to successfully go against Rivers people. It will be a needless gamble; one where if you win you create more enemies for yourself than you can withstand on your political journey, and if you lose, your legacy becomes an inglorious and irredeemable one in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. For your sake as regards posterity, it is my greatest wish that you have a moment of sobriety and a deep reflection and introspection on this path you have chosen.
Honourable Minister, sir, what is left of your legacy is on the brink of being completely desecrated and relegated to the dustbin of our political history, and it will be a sad end to what I will say has been a wonderful political career that many can only dream of. The ball is in your court, and may God Almighty have mercy on us all and forgive us for our shortcomings.
Gabriel Baritulem Pidomson
Dr Pidomson is former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and former member, Rivers State House of Assembly.
In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Tele Ikuru
