Metro
Sallah Reduces Hustle And Bustle Of Port Harcourt
The Eid-el-Kabir holidays started in Port Harcourt and in other parts of the country last Thursday and ended Friday. After the holidays, came Saturday, and then, Sunday.
To several residents of the Port Harcourt metropolis and its environs, Saturdays and Sundays are resting days. Hence, such resting days for last week, actually started on Thursday and rolled through Saturday and Sunday. This is particularly for workers, civil and public servants in government offices and large companies in the city including banks.
As was expected, since the Eid-el-Kabir holidays and celebrations afforded workers the ample opportunity to observe work-free days, in addition to Saturday and resting on Sunday, most of them travelled out of Port Harcourt to spend valuable time with friends and loved ones.
While some of the residents took trips to the countryside, the villages and communities, others who could not travel actually had a swell time at home with their children, relations, friends and loved ones. This in a way affected the hustle and bustle often associated with Port Harcourt, one of the greatest cities in the East of the Niger.
For one, the number of people and vehicles on major roads were drastically reduced. On several major roads, during the Sallah holidays, the ubiquitous traffic jams were hardly noticed, as most roads experienced free flow of traffic.
It is on record that Port Harcourt roads witness the highest number of cars on a daily basis basically because of its dense population. On major roads, in a typical busy day, car owners and other motorists scramble for space to move their automobiles. It is also on record that it is in Port Harcourt that you find the most reckless drivers. This is because it is always assumed that if one can drive safely in Port Harcourt, one can equally drive in any part of the country.
But for sure, the holidays forced down the number of cars on major roads in the city.
Where this was practically noticeable was along the busy Aba Express Road as it was observed that the vehicles which normally cause traffic jams along it had thinned down during the holidays. Traffic at such flash points as Rumuola, Garrison, Bori Camp, First Bank, Artillery, Rumukrushe and Elelenwo was not heavy as it used to be on a normal day.
There is also no doubt that the Sallah holidays afforded some grassroots politicians who often spend their work days in the city an opportunity to travel down to their communities to finetune strategies for the 2011 general elections. As elections’ year approaches fast, there is always the need for these politicians to align and re-align their political forces in order to make hay when the chips are really down.
Again, some of these politicians including chairmen and officials of local government councils, commissioners and Special Advisers among othersare the ones who normally paint roads in Port Harcourt red with their wonders on wheel, their exotic cars. For sure, the holidays made them change base, thereby giving the roads a breather.
The situation at Aba Express Road, to be frank, was not the same with the situation along the busy Ikwerre Road during the Sallah holidays.
If Aba Road was free of traffic, the same thing could bot be said of Ikwerre Road as traffic along the road was chaotic as it used to be. The reason is not far-feteched. Majority of vehicles that ply Ikwerre Road are commercial buses. These buses are operated by young people who struggle on a daily basis to make ends meet.This set of people did not abandon their lucrative business of commuting residents across the city to celebrate the Sallah holidays. They were always on the roads. last Thursday and Friday. They did not stop to drive in their traditional reckless manner though it was Sallah.
And Ikwerre Road was chaotic as usual. Poor artisans, market women and other petty traders equally made the Diobu axis tick during the holidays. School children who opted to help their parents and guardians to hawk fruits and other items were usually seen within this axis of the city. Their counterparts from well-to-do homes either stayed indoors or travelled with their parents to reduce the hustle and bustle of the city.
Even though life in the city was no longer the same due to the Sallah holidays which forced most offices to close down, Port Harcourt had a dose of the rumour of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s death on Thursday afternoon. Frantic phone calls were being made by some residents who wanted to confirm the rumour. The rumour indeed spread like a wild fire during harmattan as it was virtually in every household. Those who put calls across did that as a way of confirming it.
But on Friday, it was clear as crystal that the President, though seriously ill, was alive. The rumour was, indeed, Sallah blues that hung in the horizon and it faded away with the holidays on Friday.
It is, however, believed that Port Harcourt will return to its natural state tomorrow after everything that had to those who travelled with the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations and the resting days of Saturday and Sunday must have come and gone out of the city was stint returning in the evening of today.
It is only then that those who are thrilled by the hustle and bustle of the city would heave a huge sigh of relief. Because, from then on, it will be work and more work.
There will no longer be any dull moment because Port Harcourt must have roared back to life, enslaving and holding many captive with its captivating mien particularly now that sunlight is often seen across the horizon.
You can not believe this. Most workers of constructing firms in the city handling various road projects were equally on holidays for those two days including on Saturday and Sunday when in actual fact they were supposed to work round the clock to deliver on record time, to beat the rains again to their game. Afterall, the holidays were not bad entirely, Port Harcourt had a relief.
Donatus Ebi
Traditional rulers in Rivers State say they are mobilising their subjects to ensure Governor Siminialayi Fubara’s administration succeeds.
The Chairman of Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers(RSCTR), Eze Oha Apara IV of Apara Kingdom, Eze Chike Amadi Worlu – Wodo gave the assurance at the 117th and 118th quarterly general meeting of the council held in Port Harcourt.
He commended the state governor for maintaining peace in the State despite the unwarranted political crisis orchestrated by selfish and overzealous politicians.
He stated that Governor Fubara should not retaliate by toeing the violent path, adding that Rivers people know those who are over-heating the polity.
The chairman further appealed to people of the State on all sides of the political divide to remember that they have nowhere else to call home apart from Rivers State, saying that they must not allow their personal interests to destabilise and stifle growth of the State.
“As traditional rulers, we owe our State the duty of making it peaceful by cautioning our children against violent act. We, therefore, cannot caution anybody if we allow ourselves become overly partisan.
“ We will then lose the moral authority to reprimand those causing trouble when we take sides.So I say let us all work assiduously to maintain peace in Rivers State,” he said.
He used the medium to advise the supporters of the governor to avoid persons or events that will cause violence, as detractors want to make the State ungovernable so as to call for the declaration of state of emergency.
“ Let me use this opportunity to thank Your Excellency for maintaining peace in the State in the face of the unwarranted political crisis orchestrated by selfish and overzealous politicians.
“ You must not, Your Excellency, fall into their traps by going the violent way. All of us know that those who are over-heating the polity have one aim of making this state ungovernable so as to make it fit for a declaration of state of emergency”, Eze Worlu- Wodo said.
He thanked the state governor for appointing him as the chairman of traditional rulers, council adding that he will contribute his own little quota to the development of the traditional rulers council and by extension, our dear State, Rivers State.
“ Council records have shown that this is the second time since you became Governor of the State on May 29, 2023 that you have approved and released funds for two sets of combined quarterly meetings of the council.
“ This means that your administration is not indebted to us in terms of payment of our meeting sitting allowances.
“ It takes only someone who is both law-abiding and generous to be able to do this.
“On behalf of the traditional rulers, I thank you our Governor”, he said.
Stories by Kevin Nengia
As the Rivers State Ministry of Transport announces an ultimatum to commercial drivers to paint their vehicles with the approved state colour latest on August 1, some commercial drivers have pleaded for more time.
The directive was announced on Monday by the State Commissioner for Transport, Prince Collins Onunwo as it insisted that after the deadline, defaulters will not be allowed to operate.
He said in a statement signed by him that the new order is for uniformity and to ensure subsidised rates. “The Rivers State Ministry of Transport and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) have reached an agreement with some designated automobile painting workshops, interested persons can contact the following persons.”, he said.
Meanwhile, responding to the directive, some commercial drivers who spoke to The Tide Metro sought for more time so that they can source money to paint their vehicles.
Kennedy Amahu, who plies between Choba and Mile One said , “ the time is too short. August 1 is just less than two weeks from now and I don’t think many of us can meet the deadline.”
Besides, he explained that many commercial vehicle owners do not paint their vehicles as this allows them to take charter and drops into restricted facilities.
He argued that if their vehicles are painted with state colour, many of them will lose customers and will be restricted to enter some places.
On his part, Hope Nwankwo decried the time given by the government, “ I can’t meet up, but if they extend it to October”, many of us can try.
So far, according to Nwankwo, who ferries passengers from Iwofe to Mile One, Diobu, many of his fellow drivers are not aware of the new policy.
He begged that government should do more extensive publicity on the new directive.
Another commercial driver, Anele Nwobi said what should be done is to register the vehicles to monitor car theft than painting vehicles.
“As far as I’m concerned, “ Nwobi said, “ this new government directive will empower Agberos and the police to harass commercial drivers.”
He recalled that previous administrations had given such directive but that after a while, it failed because of poor implementation.
Nwobi argued that with the poor economy, it would be difficult for many drivers to meet the deadline since most of them are on hire purchase. “The price of fuel is too high now for most of us to cover our daily returns, he said.”
Jaja Stephens, a keke bus driver told The Tide Metro that painting vehicles is quite expensive and hence, many of them will be put out of the road.
Apart from pleading for time extension, Stephens further stated that there is need for the drivers unions to sensitise their members, stressing that many of them are not aware of the new government directive.
It was supposed to be a book launch but fate turned it into a day of reminiscence for natives of Rebisi in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of Rivers State.
For over 113 years when their great grandfathers ceded some parts of their land to colonial masters and named it after Sir Harcourt then Secretary of Colonies in 1913, natives of Port Harcourt became part of the new metropolis now called Port Harcourt.
According to Eze Apara Rebisi, HRM Isaiah Elekwu, about 25 square miles of their land were ceded to develop the new city which included a new port and railway at the time.
Fortunately, the book launch turned to a historical forum as speaker after speaker spoke of the past and the rich heritage bequeathed by their fathers.
It was this backdrop that made the paramount ruler of Port Harcourt, HRM Elekwu to charge historians to begin earnest documentation of Rebisi people as a way to preserve their heritage.
The royal father gave the charge during the launch and public presentation of the book, ‘Rebisi Natives of Port Harcourt: History and Developments’ written by Arthur Kalagbor held on Wednesday in Port Harcourt.
The monarch said intellectuals in the Kingdom should engage more in written than oral history, as he commended Kalagbor for leading the light in documenting his people.
He described the book as the beginning of a new era in Rebisi Kingdom and quest to ensure that there is cohesive and united front among the people.
Calling on elites in Rebisi to rise to the challenge of leadership, Eze Elekwu said time has come to save the future of the Kingdom.
Part of the charge by the Rebisi monarch was to make sure that the struggles of their great grand fathers were captured.
For instance, he recalled that while the 1913 agreement made both by Okrika and some Rebisi chiefs were rejected, the colonial authorities were forced into accepting it.
Earlier, Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Sunny Amadi said he was elated that a new awakening has started in Rebisi Kingdom with the book.
The university teacher however, advocated for a new economy for Rebisi as he called for use of estate development to drive future growth of the people.
“In his words, Today most parts of Rebisi have been overtaken by development and that is why I urge our people to see opportunities from the estate , and built environment to preserve the future of children.”
Reviewing the book, Dr Chris Akani described the work as historical legacy, that seeks to throw light on the ontology of the people.
He stated that the seven-chapter book with 106 pages is fluid and easy to read, with special focus on the origins of Rebisi people.
Akani added that, “it’s an exciting book that has come at the right time and I think the author should be given a resounding ovation”.
The book reviewer noted that the book is a response to the desire of indigenes to know their roots.
Following the expansion and migration by Rebisi children which included, Okuta. Abali; Ola Ekenigbo and others.
Said he, “Rebisi had four wives, and he was a young man aching for success. And so the children did not relent to expand like Orubom and Abali who were adventurous.”
The expansion according to the university don was as a result of wars and skirmishes and this took place between 1700- 1734. And this led to the conquer of Elekahia.
While launching the book, former House of Representatives member representing Port Harcourt Constituency, Hon. Ken Chikere described history as key to the future.
He said, “if we know our history, then, we will be fully guided.”
Hon. Chikere, a former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General added,” “What is important is to know where you come from. We need to learn our history, so that no one writes our story for us.”
In his remarks, the book author, Arthur Kalagbor disclosed that the book is an outcome of a study group set up by Rebisi Monarch in 2014.
In the view of Kalagbor, the book is not a folklore, but rather a collation of oral history compiled and confirmed by various sources.
He said,” Even with the lack of reading culture, we still need to write with information that are verifiable and evidence-based.”
With the completion of the assignment to collate history of the Kingdom, he noted that he was compelled to expand the frontiers to cover other areas of culture and origins to educate the young generation.
Kalagbor reiterated that the book is dedicated to the future generations who have little knowledge of their history, and thanked royal fathers, and local sources for support, including former President of Ogbakor Ikwerre Organisation Worldwide, Prof. Otonti Nduka for writing the forward of the book.
Kevin Nengia
