Issues
2014:People’s Expectations From Rivers State Govt
Traders ruminating over their loss after the fire incident at Olodi Apapa in Lagos last Friday Photo: NAN
In the spirit of yuletide and in accordance with
the norms of a New Year, expectations are rife. This includes how Rivers people feel about governance in its entirety in 2013 and their expectations in 2014.
To elicit how the people feel about governance in the state in 2013 and their expectations of the state government in 2014, our Assistant Women, Living/Style Editor, Mrs Sogbeba Dokubo, went to town. The revelations from the opinions of people regarding what they expect from the state government is as revealing as it is capable of setting agenda for the government.
Excerpts:
Mrs Grace Ebere, retired civil servant- There are so much expectations, but for me the area that concerns me is the fate of retired civil servants in the state and the teeming youths, who are the leaders of tomorrow and would one day become retired as I am.
Firstly, knowing how vulnerable the youths are in the present political dispensation, there is the expectation that the government should provide job opportunities for the teeming youths to prevent them from indulging in anti-social vices. This is one way of ensuring tomorrow’s development in the state.
Secondly, given promises and assurances made in 2013, there is the expectations that retired civil servants would not need to struggle or carry placard for them to get their due or what the government deemed fit for them. This means that their pension should be harmonised, and their salaries be beefed up so that it can be at par with the society demands at any given point in time.
Thirdly, given the state government’s investment in the power sector, and its promise, there is the expectations that all the nooks and crannies of the state would have regular and constant power supply in 2014.
Hon Boma Joseph politician – The Rivers State government under Rt Hon. Chibuike Amaechi has done so much in several areas. One area that is of interest to me is how he deals with judicial matters: for instance, the so-called controversial appointment of Justice Agumagu as the Acting Chief Judge of Rivers State.
Many people have faulted it but as a lay man in legal palance, I have taken pains to find out that Governor Amaechi has not gone contrary to what the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says regarding the appointment of an Acting Chief Judge. He has adhered strictly to the dictates of the constitution, but whether he has manipulated the constitution to suit his purpose is a discussion for another day. The important thing is that he has abided by what the constitution says.
In spite of this, however, my own expectations of the government in 2014 is for him to ensure that the judiciary is not compromised for selfish reason because that would amount to jeopardizing the future of our children. The judiciary should not be unnecessarily brought into the politics of the day.
The reason being that any selfish compromise today will set a bad precedence for tomorrow and nobody knows who will be the victim of such precedence, years to come. If, for instance, there is a judgment in the state against which ever party, what the other party should do is to appeal. The law is that if there is a judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, it must be obeyed until it has been reversed, and if it cannot be reversed, it is a valid judgment.
This means that it is not for anybody to say whether it was good or whether it was wrongly obtained or not. The only way forward is that any body that feels that his right is being infringed upon in anyway, by the judiciary compromising itself, or an individual rising the judiciary against another, is to go to court.
What I am saying in essence is that the expectation in 2014 is for the judiciary to be given free hand to perform its functions without prejudice.
Mr Stanley Wowo, Healthcare provider- There is no doubt that the Rivers State government under Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi has done well in some areas of governance, but one key area the government has not done well is in the welfare of civil servants.
The general understanding of the civil servants is that he has a special dislike for them, rightly or wrongly.
One of the areas of emphasis is the provision of low-cost houses which some of them have won. The last ones that were won just before he came in he cancelled what was put in place to enable them have access to acquire the houses, and since then nothing has been done about it.
Meanwhile, in changing the system, he made it compulsory for civil servants to pay for the houses within one month or lose ownership, compelling most of them to secure loans from banks on interest to enable them pay for the houses. Unfortunately, since 2007 nothing has been done about it. Some of the civil servants are homeless right now.
My expectation, therefore, is that the governor would take the plight of the civil servants in all spheres very seriously in 2014, knowing that he is an important stakeholder in a development minded society.
In the same vein, as much as more job opportunities are expected to be created in 2014, there is the expectation for government to take the welfare of civil servants more seriously than it has done in 2013.
Mr Michael Omiete, student- The year 2013 was a year of numerous crises which no doubt caused some form of distraction to governance in Rivers State. The State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crisis, the Rivers State House of Assembly (RSHA) crisis and the internal Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) ASUU crisis, all contributed in no small way in governance in the state in 2013. All of these crises are no doubt avoidable if the well-being of Rivers people were truly upper most in the minds of those at the helm of affairs in the state.
The expectation in 2014 therefore, is that everything possible should be done to ensure that the interests of Rivers people are fully protected, knowing that civilisation has come along with it such knowledge that when excuses are made by government to cover up its inadequacies, it does not matter if it is spoken the truth of whose interest is being protected will be crystal clear to close watchers of governance. Government therefore has to truly consider the people it represents in all its actions in 2014.
Mr Lucas Brace, Business man- The Rivers State government has indeed done a lot on paper in such areas as education and health, in terms of infrastructural development. But when it comes to functionality of these infrastructure and the manpower and equipment needed to enhance functionality, the government has not faired well. The reason mostly is that it has embarked on too many projects at the same time, resulting in difficulty in fully executing each of the numerous projects anticipated level of accomplishment. This has resulted in the number of uncompleted roads, schools and hospitals not put in proper use.
My expectation of the state government in 2014, therefore, is that he should be more bordered about successfully executing useful projects, rather than embarking on many projects that would now look meaningless to the common man.
The government should know that Nigeria as a whole has non-continuity of projects by subsequent government, hence any project not completed by the government is as good as being a waste at the expiration of the originating government.
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
