Issues
Understanding Amaechinomics
Experience and research has proven that understanding and dialogue are the two desirable features in any progressive venture, be it economics, politics, social and even at interpersonal level.
It is a common knowledge that governor Amaechi’s Economic philosophy and its impacts relative to the State GDP and Human Development Index in the last four years have attracted series of comments and public attention in recent times.
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in his address to the South-South Committee on 1999 Constitution Review in Port Harcourt promised the people that “it is about reforms and changes that touch human lives. I stand on the side of the people to identify with you on this journey to make history”. In the same vein, he stated “we need to pursue education reform, infrastructure of schools, entrepreneurship and development of infrastructure to support economic growth and create employment opportunities”.
Also, during his 2010 Budget Speech, he said, “We are emboldened by our courage of conviction that we have no alternative than to confront our development challenges regardless of the costs. To choose to do otherwise will amount to a betrayal of the yearnings of the majority of the poor population of Rivers State”.
The big question has been whether the promises have been delivered or in the realm of deliverables. If yes how, has it reflected in the living standard of the people?
Also considering the enormous strategic value of Rivers State, which has great significance for gauging the general health of the national economy, coupled with the primordial role of political leadership in determining the performance of their economies and the wellbeing of a citizens, it is imperative that I take more than a passing interest in knowing the overall economic objective of government, strategic policy direction and how the economy is generally being managed and optimised for the common good. As one German philosopher would say “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”.
I therefore considered it a professional and ethical responsibility to make this contribution which seeks to achieve three main objectives with hope that government and the governed will have something to learn. They are: (i) The Efficacy of Amaechi’s Economic Model – Amaechinomics. (ii) the State Economic Performance & its Impacts on the People and (iii) the way forward .
(i) The efficacy of Amaechi’s economic model –”Amaechinomics”
The efficacy of Amaechi’s economic Magna Carta referred to in this work as the administration’s economic model Amaechinomics is traced to the perceived impressive social welfare indicators predictive of brighter economic outlook and emerging economic miracle in the state in spite of obvious fundamental challenges.
Various study group including policy circles experts review groups, scholars, business round table and international investors have taken deep interest in raveling the mystery of Amaechi’s economic philosophy with a view to taking full advantage of the emerging economy. The model which is referred to in the work as Amaechinomics is my coinage.
Experts liken Amaechinomics to the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair’s Ten Principles of conflict Resolution which is currently being studied globally. The concept of Amaechinomics is defined as “The grand united strategies for a holistic economic transformation of Rivers State based on strategic trianagle of quality, time and cost as key success factors and guided by entrepreneurial discipline with public private partnership as its cardinal strategy for infrastructure reforms”.
The model seeks to synergise with the organised private sector and is anchored on leadership accountability, good governance and value reorientation as key pillars. It is driven by government; determination to reverse the negative socio-economic indices and entrapment policies of the past and engender optimal resource utilisation, create economic growth sustainability and usher in a new Rivers State as a preferred destination for tourists and investors in Nigeria and sub-saharan Africa.
(ii) The state economic performance and its impacts on the people.
It is particularly important to note that, of the three basic sectors, government business and citizen that interact to perform different but complementary and collaborative roles to promote sustainable economic growth and development, the role of government is most critical in determining the performance of the economy and the wellbeing of its citizenry.
As a keen observer of this administration. I have studiously gone through various publications including reports of International Rating Agencies on the performance of the state economy, government regular accounts of stewardship and having critically analysed the state annual budgets as a key fiscal instrument for economic management and self assessment, I have the conviction that there is huge ambition to transform the state with the speed of cyclone through government massive investment in physical infrastructure, human capital development, education, health, power, agriculture and security in order to reverse the negative socio-economic indices of the past and therefore lay a solid economic framework as a base to restore investors confidence, improve its credit rating profile.
According to World Bank, it is estimated that every 1 per cent of government fund invested in infrastructure leads to an equivalent 1 per cent increase in gross domestic product (GDP). This, perhaps, accounts for the massive economic expansion across all sectors simultaneously with expected impacts ranging from short, medium to long term.
Although there was no reliable data to measure with certainty the size of the state GDP, casual evidence suggests that Rivers State is the second largest economy in Nigeria with estimated annual budget of N455 billion ($3 billion). This is higher than budgets of most African nations with estimated population of about 5.6 million people.
The administration’s perception of the state economic problems, and its determination to finding a lasting solution reaffirmed to me the appropriateness of the Amaechi’s economic philosophy, his vision to improve on the above standard and the assertion that when strong and focused leaders are willing to work, the odds of reaching the optimal multiply exponentially.
By dint of hard work, tenacity of purpose and policy consistency, the multifaceted economic model of Amaechi led administration has in the last four years re-designed the state’s political economy by impinging in every sector of the economy. It is my expectation that some of the projects and initiatives now at advanced stage of completion will greatly ameliorate the poverty level and harrowing experience of the teaming masses of the Rivers people.
Furthermore, the observed progressive reduction in the State Budget Expenditure pattern, increased ratio of capital to current expenditure, the culture of building reserve for future generation, increase in internally generated revenue (IGR) and the fiscal operation overall surplus of N32 billion in 2010 are practical indications of government strict adherence to budget discipline, prudent management of public fund and changing course of development.
Also, the state current ranking of B+ and AA- on a national long term rating by international rating agencies is a clear signal of positive impact of government economics philosophy towards building an economic system that is open and fair, devoid of feudal system where those in power decide who become rich or poor.
Within the last four years, it was discovered that loans facilities were extended to about 889 indigent beneficiaries to boost credit at grassroots level. The aim was to promote small businesses, engage the creative minds of our youths and ensure that those poor persons who are economically active in the rural areas are not left out. Based on this, I am inclined to belief very strongly. Roosevelts’ assertion that “the best of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much. It is whether we provided enough for those who have too little”.
The performance of the state economy can best be summarised in the words of Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary General of the Common Wealth, “… I could see Rivers State is fast approaching a level of development and from what I have seen it is wonderful …” I also quite agree with Rev. Jessie Jackson that “Amaechi represents the future and hope of the country”.
(iii) The Way Forward
In as much as Nigeria’s experience with Public Private Partnership (PPP) model has been generally considered successful with numerous upsides, experts still believe that there are important risks to be critically considered. Also, the need for careful evaluation of key success factors and sustainability is required.
Accordingly, to effectively plan, design and proactively manage, “PPP Model” requires good Financial Risks Management, appropriate monitoring and management of quality and performance, efficient evaluation mechanisms and key performance indicators. A careful review of Decision Making processes, rewards and benefits, accurate up-front evaluation of possible trade-offs, responsibilities, and the applicable contractual and regulatory framework is also required.
It is therefore imperative to recommend for regular evaluation and reviews of PPP projects in the state, utilizing internal and external oversight methods to ensure continuity in the monitoring and management of quality and performance. This has a further advantage of forestalling operational risks emanating from inadequate regulatory framework and low institutional capacity etc.
Finally, according to Arthur Livingstone, “….. planning is both an act of government and response of the people, requiring the authority of the first to give it shape and the participation of the second to make it work”.
The present government has provided the future shape of the state economy driven by its economic model Amaechinomics, it is our responsibility to make it work through active and constructive contributions in the overall interest to build a virile economy and make the state a choice investment destination.
It is on record that no matter how well a programme may be, it will not work in practice unless supported by the people. This is the time for all professionals, best minds and the brightest of the political class including the combined strength of the youths and the wisdom of the old to shun atomistic thinking, perpetual war with ourselves and get involved. It is a silent state economic revolution that needs the support of all.
I mean, the kind of involvement and support that will compliment government’s efforts and develop a mindset to get back what we gained from the system, realising that there cannot be sustainable wealth creation without sustained interest in value added for the common good of our people.
Jaja, a banker and public affairs analyst, wrote in from Port Harcourt.
Isaac Mietamuno Jaja
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
