Issues
Rivers 2019: It’s Wike or Wike
“When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.” – Proverbs 16:7
That is the story of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.
As the nation heads towards 2019, several enemies are ganging up against him. But the truth remains, everything is working out for good for Governor Wike because he believes in God and loves Rivers people.
The appearance of former factional Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate, Mr Tonye Cole, on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics further confirmed why Rivers people are with Governor Wike.
The premise of the entire ill-fated programme was to de-market Rivers State as a community of violence, a place of insecurity and deaths. This was what the anchor, Seun Okingbaloye set out to do all through the time the former factional Rivers State APC Governorship Candidate appeared on the programme.
Cole during the programme confirmed that he was in the race at the instance of his business partner, Mr Rotimi Amaechi. He said Amaechi brought him to change the political landscape, bring peace to the political terrain and eliminate poverty in the state. In other words, Tonye Cole admitted that he was in the political space to promote Amaechi’s agenda.
The Amaechi agenda, no matter how it is clothed, is reprehensible. Though, Tonye Cole struggled to deny that he is not Amaechi’s business partner, the facts on ground prove otherwise. Sahara Energy, Cole’s company bought all Rivers power assets sold by the Amaechi administration. The same company bought Olympia Hotel and Abonnema Wharf in Port Harcourt.
Cole went further to claim that Amaechi told him that he is looking for someone who will not steal Rivers money. Very unfortunately, Cole and Amaechi were involved in diverting $308million of Rivers funds which were proceeds from the sale of state assets. They have already been indicted by a court-approved Judicial Commission of Inquiry. Cole was right, Rivers people will have nothing to do with the APC and any candidate it presents.
Governor Wike has rebuilt Rivers State from the ashes of ruins that Amaechi left it. He has made Rivers State a success story. A land of landmark achievements and a destination of choice for investors.
The governor has transformed Rivers State from a state where salaries and pensions were owed by Amaechi, to a state of fiscal discipline where workers’ welfare receives priority attention.
Contrary to Amaechi’s prediction of doom, Rivers State has transformed into a land of steady growth. It is now extremely difficult to criticise Governor Wike in terms of performance and the application of state resources.
The anchor, Seun Okingbaloye was programmed to dwell on insecurity and political violence. Luckily for us, Seun was at the Rivers East Senatorial District Collation Centre when APC leaders in company of Rivers SARS Commander, Mr Akin Fakorede stormed the centre and robbed electoral results. The footage of Fakorede beating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials with the APC collation agent identifying people to be manhandled was released by Channels Television. If Seun forgot, we still remember.
Seun Okingbaloye was also in Ogoniland where Channels’ cameras captured the invasion of voting centres by SARS personnel and soldiers during the Rivers Legislative Rerun elections. These videos are still online alongside others uploaded by other electronic media organisations and citizen journalists. It is, therefore, uncharitable and a disservice to journalism for Seun to trivalise issues of political violence perpetrated against Rivers people by the APC Federal Government using state agents of violence.
Since the APC failed to cow Rivers people through the deployment of 57,000 policemen and soldiers to rig the rerun elections, has there been a major outbreak of violence in Rivers State? Why this deliberate attempt to sell the narrative of insecurity through a national television? It is unprofessional. If you talk about insecurity in Rivers State, what would be said of Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Plateau, Taraba, Bauchi, Benue, Nasarawa, Borno, Kogi, Adamawa, Yobe, Katsina and Niger States where bandits, Fulani herdsmen and kidnappers have displaced several millions of innocent Nigerians ?
This deliberate sponsored media agenda to pass the Federal Security Responsibility to the states with a view of protecting a failed APC Federal Government will not succeed.
Rivers State is safe for investments, business, tourism and sports. Athletes from all the countries of West Africa are presently in the state for the West African Universities Games. NAFEST was concluded few weeks ago, while the PDP Presidential Primary held in the state. In the last five weeks, more than 100,000 high profile persons have spent several days in the state with no untoward incident. Even the outgoing President commissioned a project in the state under a peaceful atmosphere. Therefore, Seun should abandon that route of de-marketing Rivers State. It is not profitable.
It is even more disheartening that Channels Television featured Tonye Cole as Rivers State APC Governorship Candidate. This is sad. Playing the ostrich will not help the political process. Channels Television is aware of the reported rejection of the Rivers State APC candidates list by INEC because of the Supreme Court ruling on the intra-party squabble that has bedevilled the APC. Is Channels Television claiming that it is unaware of Justice Chinwendu Nwogu’s judgment that sacked all Rivers APC candidates, including Tonye Cole? Indeed, that news first broke on Channels Television. The best that the station would have done for Cole is to describe him as a “factional candidate” if it is awaiting the final verdict of the Supreme Court. The station is aware that Senator Magnus Abe claims to be another candidate of the APC. The truth is that, as it stands now, the National Working Committee of APC lacks the power to determine the party’s candidate. This is strictly a court matter.
Before you accuse me of being a meddlesome interloper for discussing APC affairs, let me reiterate my point. Rivers State is nobody’s business empire. This is not one local market where two business partners buy and sell to the detriment of Rivers people. Even the $308million stolen from the coffers of the state by Amaechi and his associate will be recovered.
Governor Wike was emphatic when Rivers Ijaws endorsed him for a second term. The attempt by the Minister of Transportation to impose his business partner as Governor is merely to siphon state resources for personal reasons and it has failed.
I close with a quote from the Rivers State Governor: “You sold gas turbines to your business partner, sold Olympia Hotel to your partner, sold Abonnema Wharf to your partner and now you want to sell Government House to your business partner.
“You have federal might, but we have God’s might. In this forthcoming election, we will teach them a lesson. All these Egyptians you see today, you shall see no more.”
Like those in Rivers communities declare: “Comot body o, Na Wike O”.
Nwakaudu is the Special Assistant on Electronic Media to Rivers State Governor.
Simeon Nwakaudu
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
