Issues
What We Keep Is What We Give
On Wednesday, May
22, 2013, I checked in for a Port Harcourt-Abuja flight and waited for four grueling hours before boarding was announced. As I was about to step on the staircase of the aircraft, my peripheral vision caught the unmistakable, towering frame of a man my generation of old Rivers State (Rivers and Bayelsa) owe so much for whatever we have today; a man whose record as governor of Rivers State in terms of infrastructural development, detribalized governance, human capacity building, with special reference to education etc, is yet to be threatened after almost four decades of leaving office. With my forehead almost abrading the tarmac, I said, “Your Eminence” and the distinctive baritone voice of His Eminence, King Alfred Papapriye Diete-Spiff, Amanyanabo of Twon Brass, boomed “Jason, how are you?” I felt exceedingly proud that he knows me personally as I stepped aside immediately; he stepped on the first rung of the staircase of the aircraft and I followed.
Ascending the staircase, I maintained the close distance of a step behind His Eminence and, in the bowel of the metal bird, what I saw humbled but did not surprise me. I saw a stenciled and glowing ear-to-ear smile on the faces of many of the passengers and a glimmering sparkle in their eyes. I knew that those passengers recognized Diete-Spiff and remembered his works as Governor of Rivers State. It is not unlikely that they were beneficiaries of his good governance. I surmised this from the specks and patches of grey hair on their heads and the faint lines on their faces, which are tell-tails of years on earth; tell-tails that placed them within the brackets of my generation. Spiff took his seat in the business class and, naturally, I proceeded to where I belong as a classroom teacher.
Seatbelt fastened and in a soliloquy, I asked: what value or price can be placed on those smiles and twinkles of the passengers? Venturing an answer, I said in silence that they were unquantifiable in monetary terms; in other words, no amount of money can purchase those kinetic expressions that welled from the bottom of the hearts of those people in the airplane. Spiritually speaking, those smiles and twinkles generate positive vibrations that reverberate beyond the energy fields of planet earth, across the universe and blend into the peculiar environment of the abode of the Divine part of which the earth is only an infinitesimal component; they are vibrations that are spiritually more efficacious than the boisterous prayers in modern day Christian worship. In my opinion, being responsible for generating such positive vibrations in individuals is what seeking and finding the face of the Divine is all about. It is not found in the temple, synagogue, church, mosque or “chursque” if you care; rather, it dwells in the temple of God, which is the hearts of every individual in creation irrespective of color, creed, location and station; Christ told us so. It is found in our thoughts, utterances, actions and inactions with special reference to our attitudinal disposition in our relationship with our fellow human beings, including our performance in positions of trust.
In the immediate post civil war years, hundreds of Rivers people of my generation and more had access to university education across the world, based on the liberal educational policy of Governor Diete-Spiff, who was, incredibly, in his twenties. At the time, there were only five universities in Nigeria with one in the totality of what we now know as southeast and south-south zones, which means none was in old Rivers State, so admission for those of us from the minorities was Herculean. Based on Diete-Spiff’s education policy, all you required as an indigene of the State, were the basic qualification and admission into a university anywhere on earth and “wham” you were on your way there. Personally, I had the good fortune of making the transition from rock’n’roll musicianship to broadcasting and disc jockeying in Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), Port Harcourt. One day in between 1972 and 1973, a colleague, Stella Amachree, and I left the NBC studios on William Jumbo Street in the hands of a rookie called Chima Okor and headed for the Catering Rest House on Harley Street. On our way back through what is now known as Cookey-Gam Drive, we caught sight of the unmistakable and imposing frame of Governor Diete-Spiff, strolling towards us with some Naval personnel following at a close distance. No one else, but Stella and I were on the street; so, we stood still as a mark of respect.
With his superior height and ramrod frame, the governor seemed oblivious of our presence as he continued in our direction. Stella led in the greeting and Diete-Spiff responded with that peculiar jazzy voice, stopped and asked for our names. (I learned quite early in life that when you are with a ravishing beauty in the presence of a “big man,” you watch your tongue) so again, Stella led the way in giving out our names. With a poker smile, the governor commended Ship Ahoy and Shaft Corner, which were two of our radio shows; then he said, “We should build a Rivers State Radio” and walked on. Wow! Good God!! Goodness gracious!!! Stella and I were in total shock at the fact that not only was he familiar with our names, but he also appreciated our programs.
At the radio station, it sounded like a fairytale when we narrated the experience to our colleagues. The prospect of a Rivers State radio? Wow!!! From Cornelia Omoniabipi and Peter Brown, who, along with Stella and I, were the microphone crew of Shaft Corner, through Bob Bikefe, Mike Oku, Bernard Graham-Douglas, Ifiemi Ombu, Pat Ketebu, Lolo Berepiki, Emmanuel Dokubo, Sunny Meshach-Hart, Steve Bubagha, Monima Briggs, Matthew Mieyeseigha, Boma Erekosima, Tony Alabraba, Chima Okor to Seniboye Itiye, our very affable producer and boss, everyone was elated-we were practically walking on cloud nine.
Behold, that casual statement by Governor Diete-Spiff turned into a public policy; so, it came to pass that I traveled to the United States where Bernard, Ifiemi, Emmanuel and Tony joined me in studying Broadcasting; Stella studied law at Oxford University, Peter went for metallurgy at University of Manchester, Mike and Pat went to Scotland and studied Broadcasting and Accountancy, respectively. In other words, most of us flew overseas on the wings of the dreams and developmental drive of Diete-Spiff; that exodus created entry space for Siene Allwell-Brown, Maudlin Park and other Rivers people in the “talk industry.” Today, I have the special privilege of holding the oldest BSc (Broadcasting) in old Rivers State-a tiny little place in history. That scenario at NBC was replicated at various subsections of the Rivers State community during that epoch-one man’s selfless dream lifted a generation of his people; the developmental multiplier effect of that achievement is a topic for another day.
My take on the essence of man’s quest for the face of the Divine is that, in our sojourn in this corporeality within the context of the eternal pursuit, what we keep is what we give, not what we take. The Time Traveler of Ecclesiastes sums it up in his extensive but concise treatise on materialism and vanity. Diete-Spiff gave his heart to the Rivers community; and today, Rivers people, especially my generation, hold him at the highest esteem and virtually worship him. No one can take that from him-not natural disaster, ill health or even the grave can take that from him. Even if he has never seen the inner walls of any house of God, he will eternally keep the essence of that which he gave.
The spiritual nucleus of those positive vibrations generated by those smiles and twinkles aboard that flight in 2013 sang and still sing Diete-Spiff’s song and dutifully delivers the quintessence of the his being to the Divine as part of the testimony of his life here on earth-a veritable testimony of service to humanity. According to Jane Fraser, a globally acclaimed female banker, “if you don’t have humanity, you have nothing.” Financially speaking, Diete-Spiff may not be classified as one of the rich people in old Rivers State but he is certainly exceedingly wealthy, spiritually. Because he did not want, the Lord became his shepherd; so, he shall never lack; and this is the difference between those who seek office to serve humanity and those who starve humanity by selfishly feathering their nest. This is an eternal lesson our leaders of today should learn; lessons, which, if learned and the essence of Psalm 23 embraced by all, the ever-expanding frontiers of corruption will be reined in and human society will achieve the intendment of God-“[His] kingdom come on earth.” Unfortunately, with the preposterous permissive philosophy of vicarious remission of sins, Christendom has lost sight of the essence of the admonition of the Man from Galilee thus: “do not be deceived; God is not mocked; what a man soweth so shall he reap.”
Today, Diete-Spiff lives in blissful serenity with his social environment and will live positively forever in the everlasting memories of my generation and our posterity. And I ask: How many of our past leaders live in the tranquility Diete-Spiff enjoys? And how many of the present leaders covet it? Keep your answer close to your heart. “He that has ears let him hear.”
Osai is of the Institute of Foundation Studies (IFS), Rivers State University of Science & Technology.
O. Jason Osai
His Eminence, King Alfred Papapriye Diete-Spiff
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
