John Emerich Edward
Dalberg Acton a Philosopher and the first Baron Acton of Aldenham must have had
Rivers State in mind when he stated that, “The most certain test by which we
judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by
minorities”. Using the above statement, let us see if recent developments in
Rivers State show that Nigeria is truly free.
“The state of
anarchy, oppression, victimization and anomie is indeed here with us in Rivers
State. This is just a dress rehearsal for 2015 general elections. The royal
rumble continues with personal ambition superseding the will of the people. The
outcome of setting a dry bush on fire can never be predicted”, Peter Negedu
observed.
“The governor
however had a close shave with death when upon sighting him leader of the G5
rebel lawmakers Evans Babakaya Bipialaka, who had been proclaimed Speaker by
four of his supporters, pointed at the governor and shouted instructions to the
thugs and policemen allegedly brought to the premises by his group, saying:
“Shoot him! . . . Shoot him! . . .” – News Express an international renowned
Social Media said.
News Express went
further to state after the above directive, “Amaechi reportedly walked towards
Bipialaka, saying: “Shoot me?” He then ordered his security details to arrest
Bipialaka, but the order could not be effected due to stiff resistance by the
rebel leader’s orderly assisted by thugs and policemen”.
The Movement for
the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), while reacting to the shameful
incident said that Rivers State was fast drifting into a state of anarchy. It
warned that if urgent steps were not taking by government and its security
apparatus, the state may return to the dark days of uncontrollable politically
motivated gang violence. MOSOP regretted that such a development could cripple
both social and economic activities in the state.
Last Thursday,
Governor Amaechi, who is also Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF while
receiving the Senate Committee investigating the fracas that broke out in the
House of Assembly on Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th July
respectively said ‘We are under Siege’ referring to the state, even as he
recalled how the Police alleged fired teargas into government house. According
to the governor, “We are under siege here. For two months now, we have not met
with security men. Security commanders in the state don’t come to me any
longer. They are either scared or they don’t deliberately want to see me. They
withdrew soldiers attached to me yesterday (Wednesday 10th and this morning,
Thursday 1th July). They withdrew the APC attached to Government House”.
A journalist with
ThisDay Newspapers, Mr. Ernest Chinwo aptly captures the situation in these
words: “From the hallowed chambers of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the
brawling occasioned by the power tussle in the state chapter of the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) moved Wednesday to the streets of Port Harcourt,
the state capital. A day after lawmakers loyal to the state Governor, Mr.
Chibuike Amaechi, and those opposed to him clashed in the Assembly, injuring
some legislators, supporters of the two rival groups took turns to settle their
political differences with fisticuffs, leaving an unspecified number of people
injured. Wednesday’s clashes between the rival groups roused security agencies
to seal off the Assembly complex to prevent a total breakdown of law and order
in the state”.
In another development, the Minister of State for Education Chief Nyesom
Wike had in an event in Buguma the traditional headquarters of Kalabari Kingdom
where the Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly, Otelemaba Dan Amachree,
hails from urged his supporters to be ready to fight against those he described
as outsiders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According to Wike, “We
cannot be intimidated. Do not allow anybody to provoke you. Rivers people have
said enough is enough. If they say they want to meet us in the field, they
should come to the field and meet us. We are not afraid of anybody. If you
(Amaechi’s supporters) like, you should continue to put your own band there, we
will continue to do what we are doing. What I can tell you today, Nigerians
know that those friends from this state, they have lost control of the state.
This is the first time that Rivers people are seeing that the National Assembly
will be making laws for them. The National Assembly members (from Rivers state)
should withdraw. They should all come back home. “This is not the time
anybody will use police to arrest you. If they come for arrest, we will also
arrest them back. This is the time for action. Let them know it clearly that we
are not afraid of anybody. I have decided to come here (Buguma) to send the
message to them. I am not going to be afraid of anybody”.
Dame Patience
Jonathan Nigerian First Lady and a daughter of Rivers State in a statement
noted that impoverished people, including women and children, always bear the
consequences of the kind of impasse in Rivers State., “This office wishes to
call on all feuding parties in Rivers State to spare a thought for the social,
political and economic costs of the crisis, and consider an urgent way to
resolve all political differences. It is our position that the greater
consequences of the impasse is, as usual, reserved for the poor, the weak and
the vulnerable, especially women and children, who are usually innocent
bystanders in all these. This derives naturally from the saying that when two
elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. On a larger scale, we subscribe
to the fact that conflicts and violence are the most lethal threats to peace,
which itself is the irreducible minimum condition for development. The
situation must therefore not be allowed to degenerate to a level that can be
hijacked by miscreants and hoodlums, thus exposing everyone to insecurity from
which there may be no easy escape. We therefore call on elders of the state to
position themselves appropriately in the circumstances, and continue to seek
the highest good of Rivers state and its people, by stone-walling the
activities of the few who would rather fan little embers into a consuming
inferno. It is therefore incumbent on all people of goodwill to seek to restore
peace, brotherliness and love in Rivers State, for the state to press forward
in the direction of growth and progress.”
Sadly and maybe in
defiance to the plea of the first lady some organized youths on 16th
July, 2013 stormed Port Harcourt International Airport to embarrass and held
hostage the governors of Jigawa, Kano, Niger and Adamawa that came to pay
Governor Amaechi a solidarity visit creating the impression that some people
from a section of the country is no longer wanted in the State which may scare
away some of the investors that will like to invest in the State thereby
crippling the economic fortunes of the State. One may be forced to ask the
relevance of this type of politics in a State we have a performing Governor.
Reacting to the
attack on the Northern Governors that paid a solidarity visit to Governor
Amaechi on 16th July, 2013 by members of the Grass Root Development
Initiatives a pro group of Chief Nyesom
Wike the Minister
of State of Education, the federal lawmaker representing Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro
Federal Constituency of Rivers State, Hon. Dakuku Peterside, described the
incident as barbaric, sadistic and dangerous the hiring of thugs and
ex-militants by desperate Rivers politicians to deliberately embarrass the
northern governors who were in Port Harcourt to pay solidarity visit to
Amaechi. “When did we degenerate to this Hobbesian and primitive state?”
the lawmaker asked. He warned that those fanning the embers of discord must be
ready to reap the whirlwind, adding, “They should reflect on the events of the
Western Region parliament in Ibadan that eventually led to the end of the First
Republic and the disputed Ondo State election in 1983, and decide if this is
the path they want to go.” He expressed concern over the indifference of
the police in the attack. “I wonder why the police in Rivers State under
Commissioner Joseph Mbu chose to play politics with the safety and security of
the people of Rivers State and tarnish the image of Rivers people.”
In her reaction,
the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim
Semenitari, said members of GDI had mobilised hoodlums to disrupt the visit.
She alleged: “Wike had boasted after the failed impeachment attempt at the
Rivers State House of Assembly that he would set Rivers State ablaze and render
it ungovernable. This portends grave danger and has far-reaching implications
for our fledgling democracy”
On his side, Atiku
the former Vice President of Nigeria described the escalating situation in the
state as unhelpful, and advised that leaders of whatever hue be given the
respect they deserve wherever they go. He reminded politicians to be mindful of
“our political history” in all that they do. He said he was still vividly
reminded of the chain of political crises that had disrupted democracy in the
past.
Meanwhile, in a bit
to whittle down the security of Gov Amaechi and maybe exposed him to grave
danger, the Inspector General of Police, Alh Mohammed
Dahiru Abubakar through a press statement issued
by the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank E. Mba has summoned leading Pro-Amaechi and
Security Figures that includes Rivers State House of
Assembly Majority Leader, Hon. Chidi Lloyd, the Aide-De-Camp (ADC) to the
Rivers State Governor, Ag. ASP Debeware-Semeikumo, and the Chief Security
Officer (CSO) to the Governor, Tony Iwelu to report to Force CID, Force
Headquarters, Abuja without summoning the Assemblyman Evans Bipi who ignited
the clashes by invading the House of Assembly with thugs in order to impose
himself as the Speaker.
In another development, Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State has
raised the alarm over the presence of Policemen not known to either him or
officials of the Rivers State Government. Gov. Amaechi in a statement signed by
Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Ibim Seminatiri alleged that one Inspector
Bawa yesterday reported to the Government House claiming to have been posted
from the Police Headquarters Abuja to “monitor the Rivers State Governor’s
lodge.” The Governor noted that, “we are aware that on issues of personal
safety, an official reserves the right to pick the security personnel to whom
he or she may entrust their safety. This is more so in the case of a State Governor.
We are worried that we can no longer guarantee the safety of Governor Chibuike
Amaechi and wish to reiterate our call on all relevant authorities to ensure
the safety of Governor Amaechi and the peace and security of everyone in Rivers
State.”
REPLAYING THE
UGLY PAST:
Records have it
that before the incumbent administration came to into power in 2007, Port
Harcourt, Rivers State capital was turned into a war zone or aptly put a jungle
where the fittest determines the fate of the lesser animals. It sounds pretty
surprising, but not unexpected that this hitherto ‘garden city’ was at it were,
ranked among the three most dangerous cities in the world. The human resources
unit of New York-based Marsh & McLennan Cos. had equated Port Harcourt with
Baghdad, capital of Iraq, Sana in Yemen and Khartoum in Sudan, as the world’s
most dangerous cities.
Going by the
ranking published by Bloomberg, Port Harcourt ranked with Baghdad as one of the
world’s most dangerous cities for foreign workers as criminal gangs and militia
groups seeking greater control of energy revenue step up attacks.
Is this where these
gladiators want to take Rivers State to, we are watching?
HOW DID THIS
MADNESS BEGIN?
The genesis of the present
crisis in Rivers State stems from claims that Governor Amaechi may contest the
office of the President or Vice President with a candidate from the Northern
part of the country come 2015, thereby truncating the second term ambition of
President Goodluck Jonathan who is from the same geo-political zone with him
(South-South). To these people annihilating Amaechi politically by deploring
any undemocratic machinery does not matter if their agenda can be achieved.
While this assumption held sway, one day one problem became the order in Rivers
State. With her oil-wells reallocated to neighbouring sister states, Rivers is
being denied billions of Naira, some of which would have helped to defray the
cost of rehabilitating terrible and impassable Federal Roads in the State like
the Aba-PH road where travellers have to spend three hours before entering Port
Harcourt a journey of 20minutes. Apart from Ebonyi and few other States, Rivers
is denied appointments into federal establishments; the state-owned jet has been
grounded, even when facts points that it genuinely belong to the State. The
Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF election where Amaechi defeated his Plateau State
counterpart, Jonah Jang with 19 to 16 votes is in a manner of speaking, in the
state of invalidation. The Governor has been suspended from a party he has
contributed so much in building even against the constitution of the party.
Insecurity is all time high in the State, as investors who trooped to the state
are now scared, due to the unfriendly atmosphere under the State Commissioner
of Police, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu.
Mbu’s ignominious
move to empower the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers: Chinda, Kelechi Godspower
Nwogu (Omuma), Evans Bapakaye Bipi (Ogu/Bolo), Martins Amaewhule (Obio/Akpor I)
and Victor Ihunwo (Port Harcourt III) who are loyal to the Minister of State
for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike to impeach the Speaker, Otelemaba Dan
Amachree, to pave the way for the eventual removal of the Governor (Amaechi)
clearly bears this out. That the situation was resisted and the machinations of
the five lawmakers failed is a thing of joy. Although, attempts to thwart the
plan of the five dissenting voices resulted in the exchange of blows by the
lawmakers and their supporters in the hallowed chambers of the Assembly, with
both sides sustaining injuries, while the mace, the symbol of legislative
authority was broken.
Though President
Goodluck Jonathan hosted most of the key actors in this macabre dance in Rivers
State few days ago at the State House, Abuja, while his wife and Nigerian’s
first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan had spent about eleven days in Port
Harcourt, where she allegedly met with the gladiators opposed to governor
Amaechi but reacting to the futile attempt by the five lawmakers to impeach the
Speaker of the 32-members State Assembly, the President described the Rivers
PDP crisis as untoward and regrettable and called on all those involved in
the crises to show greater respect for the constitution and the rule of
law in a statement by the presidential spokesman, Reuben Abat”i.
Mr. Emeka Reuben
Okala a Social Commentator who is based in United Kingdom asked, “If I may ask:
What were the crimes of Hon. Otelemaba Amachree, the Speaker that drove a group
of just five disgruntled lawmakers to hastily declare him impeached just like
that? The last time I checked, before an elected officer is impeached in a
democracy, charges are preferred against him or her for whatever alleged
offences that they may have committed. A chance is given to them to defend
themselves, even in a kangaroo court. I have waited patiently since yesterday
as many versions of the story of this very disturbing, macabre incident unfold,
but have not yet read anywhere about the offence(s) of the Speaker and the
chance he was given to defend himself. Do you just get into the Chamber and
pronounce the Speaker impeached just like that? I'm still struggling to
understand the meaning of the madness of yesterday (9th July)! To
make the whole drama look most idiotic, the ‘so-called’ lawmakers who
carried out the ignoble act, were just only five in number out of a total
number of 32 thirty-two, a far distance from a quorum. I don't get it! To add
insult to injury, the Governor of the state gave an order to a policeman to get
the unruly and dangerous lawmaker [law-breaker] arrested and the policeman
disobeyed, even in the very presence of the Commissioner of Police Mr. Mbu.
This cannot happen even under a military rule. It happened once in Nigeria
immediately after Gen. Aguyi Ironsi was senselessly wasted, and law and order
totally broken, with the attendant near war situation. An ordinary foot soldier
refused to take an order from Brigadier Ogundipe who was then the highest
ranking army officer. The soldier told him (Ogundipe) in the face that he would
only take order from his boss! Who was his boss? A far junior officer to
Ogundipe.
Is Rivers State at
a brink of war? Has Law and Order totally broken down in my State? The
policeman who refused to carry out the Governor's Order couldn't have had the
gut to do so without an instruction from his "boss" in that regard --
a boss who should be reporting to Amaechi in the first place, being the Chief
Security Officer of the state.
With what happened
yesterday, the current Commissioner of Police in the state Mr. Mbu failed in
his duty to provide security when it was most needed. Suppose Mr. Bipialaka's
(acclaimed speaker) supporters or thugs had obeyed their commander and shot the
Governor; what would have happened could better be imagined than experienced.
More so, with the CP present, but doing practically nothing!
For crying out
loud, the CP’s duty should be reviewed as a matter of urgency, especially as
there is clearly no love lost between him and the Governor, in the interest and
safety of the State and its people.
If the account of
Ibim Semenitari, the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, is
authentic, then Mr. Evans Bipialaka should be arrested and investigated for
giving instruction to thugs to "Shoot him (the governor)", and for
engaging in and instigating an illegal action that threatened Law and Order in
the state”.
Segun Adeniyi,
Spokesperson of the late President, Yar’Adua and a columnist with Thisday
Newspaper seems to have a clearer piece of this funny and strange happenings in
Rivers State in an article he titled, ‘What a National Disgrace’. According to
him, “Such is the level of chicanery in our system today that 16 is officially
recognised as a bigger number than 19 while a “majority” of five is now enough
to impeach a speaker in a House of Assembly where there are 32 members; and as
a commentator pointed out during the week, since the Bible says “one shall
chase a thousand”, those five lawmakers are more than enough to also impeach
the sitting governor! The problem, however, is that a system that encourages
these kinds of perfidy is clearly endangered”. The Conference of
Speakers of State Legislators of Nigeria through Mr. Inuwa Garba its Chairman
and the Gombe State Assemble Speaker condemned the purported ousting of Rivers
State House of Assembly Speaker Otelemeba Dan Amachree, saying it is
unconstitutional and barbaric. “It has come to the notice of the Conference of
the Speakers of State Legislators of Nigeria that five Honourable members of
Rivers State House of Assembly with the aid of hoodlums allegedly invaded the
Honourable House and announced the impeachment of the Speaker of the House,
Right Honourable Otelemeba Dan Amachree and purported to have replaced him with
Honourable Evans. “The Conference of Speakers do hereby condemns the action of
the five Honourable members of that House in totality as it contravenes the
Constitution. “Section 92 (2c) of the 1999 Constitution as amended provides
that the Speaker could only be removed by the resolution of the House via the
vote of not less than two-thirds majority of the entire members of that House.
“In view of that Constitutional provision, five members alone cannot remove a
Speaker of the House of Assembly of 32 Honourable members. This therefore,
implies that the action of those five members is unconstitutional and null and
void.” Garba urged the National Assembly “to declare action of the five
honourable members as treason and commence process of taking appropriate
constitutional action against them in order to save our democracy”.
NOW, THE
QUESTION WE SHOULD BE ASKING IS THAT ARE THOSE ENGINEERING THE MESS IN RIVERS
STATE ACTUALLY INTERESTED IN THE FUTURE OF THE POLITICS OF PRESIDENT JONATHAN?
In a previous
article on the macabre dance in Rivers State, I have said Governor Amaechi is
never the problem of President Jonathan actualizing his future political
calculations, but some people who felt otherwise have continued to engineer one
crisis or the other creating the impression that they are very interested in
the future political feats of the President, while destroying all his
democratic legacies and his feats these past few years. Today the institution
of the Presidency in Nigeria has been reduced to an indecorous and unseemly
status by those who feel that bringing down Amaechi is the solution to winning
the 2015 presidential election not knowing that they are working towards
bringing down the aspiration of Mr. President and can only said to have
succeeded to bring his image and his person to scorn, if the statements by
these great Nigerians and Institutions are anything to go by.
First to react to
this macabre dance was the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who expressed
regret that the failure to punish similar crude attempts in the past such as
the Ngige saga in Anambra State in July of 2004 had encouraged impunity among
those seeking to impeach elected leaders by means other than that enshrined in
the constitution. “It is sad that those who are seeking to subvert our nascent
democracy are some of those who never fought for what many laid down their
lives for. These persons are advised to take heed to the festering crisis in
Egypt following a forced change of leadership in that country,” Atiku said.
Second, in its
Editorial of July 12th titled ‘Jonathan’s rivers of shame’ the
Nation Newspapers stated thus: “THE theatre of the absurd unfolding in Rivers
State should give any patriotic and peace-loving Nigerian a sense of
foreboding. With impunity in the air, the constitution in peril and official
stamp from the high office of the presidency, the moral legitimacy of this
republic is fast sliding downhill. By the week and recently by the day, the
conflict between Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and President Goodluck
Jonathan, imbues the nation with nausea. Respect for law has swapped places
with brigandage, and the average Nigerian watches as the President engages in a
bestial war of proxies. The recent development has all the trappings of déjÃ
vu. The first open show of power was the order to strand Governor Amaechi’s
aircraft. The presidency failed to cloak it as a matter of technical procedure
without political undertone. Findings from investigations have exposed not only
the imbecilities of the aviation authorities but also revealed them as couriers
of malicious orders. The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) election has showcased,
more than any other evidence, the desperation of the president. After defying
the rules of aircraft landing, the necessity for peace, he and his proxy
governors defied the purity of arithmetic by making 16 superior to 19 votes. He
executed that anomaly purely in bungled bid to remove Governor Amaechi as
chairman of the NGF. He also inspired the factionalisation of the group such
that his loyalists now formed a parallel forum”.
Third, Lagos State
chapter of the PDP described the crisis in Rivers State as “highly
embarrassing.” Speaking in an exclusive chat with Daily Independent on
Tuesday, Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Taofik Gani, said the
action of Rivers lawmakers was unbecoming because it is sending a wrong signal
to the outside world about how democracy is being practiced in Nigeria. He
added that politicians, as leaders and elder statesmen, must learn to resolve
their differences amicably in the interest of the citizens of the state.
Similarly, the
Action Congress of Nigeria, Accord Party and the National Coordinator of
Northern Politicians, Academician and Professional Businessman [CNAPAPB] Dr.
Junaid Muhammed have in their statements called for the immediate impeachment
of Mr. President as a recourse to saving our democratic principles from further
ignobility.
The Jigawa state
chapter of the PDP condemned the political crises and fracas in the River state
House of Assembly saying “it is real unfortunate and quick attention is
needed to save the situation“.
Nobel laureate,
Prof. Wole Soyinka while lending his voice on the matter, blamed President
Goodluck Jonathan for the political crisis rocking Rivers State, warning that
Nigeria was fast sliding towards monarchism; the system of government where too
much power is vested in one person”.
Human rights
lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana said it was regrettable that exactly 10 years after a
group of thugs attempted to abduct a sitting governor in Anambra State, another
set of thugs attempted to undermine democratic institutions in Rivers State.
Falana said the silence of President Jonathan on the unfortunate development in
Rivers State was tantamount to an endorsement of the political crisis. “We have
been through this route before. We must tell them that we are not a conquered
people. The case of Rivers is more absurd, more odious, where five members of
the assembly aided by the state invaded the Assembly chambers and chased away
their colleagues”.
The Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC), Governor Muazu Babangida of Niger State, Speaker of the Kwara
State House of Assembly, Razak Atunwa and a non-governmental organisation, Stop
Impunity Nigeria (S.I.N.) all deplored the mayhem in the State House of Assembly.
The Petroleum and
Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on their own side
has threatened to suspend operations over the crisis rocking the Rivers State
House of Assembly.
To the National
Labour Congress (NLC) the anti-Amaechi lawmakers are desperados; describing the
acts as shameful. “While it is unimaginable and ridiculous in a democracy that
five members of the House of Assembly would contemplate impeaching a speaker
who enjoys the support of 26 other members. It is a shameful tactics employed
by the combatants in their desperation for power,” Omar added that the
disturbing part was the ignoble role of the police in the crisis. “It is
not helpful for the Presidency to continuously deny the stoking of crisis in
the state. The travails of the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Ameachi, in
recent times and the reaction of stalwarts in government and the ruling party
are apparent indicators that the Presidency cannot absolve itself from the
crisis in the state. The threat to withdraw security to the Governor, which is
guaranteed by the constitution, and the sour relationship between Amaechi and
the state Commissioner of Police, whom he has called for redeployment and the
request turned down, are clear pointers to the complicity of the Federal
Government,” NLC argued.
Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and the Environment
Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) in a statement signed by
its Executive Director, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), said Nigerians
considered it embarrassing and appalling, the unfolding scenario that made
members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to resort to uncivilised action
and barbarism reminiscent of the jungle. “We are alarmed at the preceding
events which indicated an attempt by five legislators in a house of 32 members
purportedly impeaching the Speaker and replacing him. This act, which is a
flagrant disregard of all laid down rules of the House and the Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not only illegal, unlawful and undemocratic,
it is also immoral, retrogressive and a threat to
To Anthony Cardinal
Okogie, Archbishop Emeritus of Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, “I condemn the
crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly. More importantly, it is very disappointing
to see our so-called honourables exchanging blows like gangsters.“Such an act,
if not checkmated, is an invitation to terrorism and gangsterism. I call on
every right thinking Nigerian to rise and speak against such unruly conduct by
men who are supposed to be making laws of our land.
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in
his reaction stated, “However, we all know the truth but most are afraid to
speak. There are no way the police and small number of five lawmakers
would act so brazenly, unless they receive instructions from their high places,
attempted to impeach the Speaker. Nigerians must ask: Is this way the President
Jonathan intends to transform Nigeria? By turning it from an imperfect
democracy into a perfect mess? “In some ways, this Rivers episode is not
surprising. What happened in the Rivers House is one more reminder. PDP leaders
hold democracy in contempt and will trample on it, if given the slightest
opportunity. If they invert the relatively small numbers involved in the
Nigerian Governors Forum and the Rivers State House, what they might do to
general elections involving such a large population as ours is a hard piece of
wood to chew.”
My question is, must we continue in these acts of impunity and continue
to give the image of Mr. President a negative outlook without Mr. President
intervening to stop all these inimical acts geared towards creating unnecessary
enemies for him?
But not minding all
these provocative acts, Governor Amaechi have demonstrated uncommon leadership
making his detractors and those that want him out to look dumb and confused!
INTERVENTION OF
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.
Though the Senate
has sent its Committee to visit Rivers State and investigate the matter the
crisis in the assembly, the House of Representatives have in a resolution said
it was taken over the affairs of the Rivers Assembly in a in bid to restore
sanity to the State. In a unanimous voice vote, the House of Representatives,
on Wednesday, invoked Section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution as amended and
resolved that the National Assembly should take over the functions of the
crisis-ridden Assembly.
Also, the House
resolved that the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, should as
a matter of urgency re-deploy the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr
Joseph Mbu.
The senator
representing Rivers South-East in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe,
commended the timely intervention of the House of Representatives in the crisis
in Rivers State. He said the unanimous position of members during the debate on
Rivers Assembly crisis rekindled their commitment against undemocratic
tendencies now creeping into the national polity. He said a situation where
democratic institutions were abused and crippled by agencies established to
protect democracy portended danger at the tunnel and urged other democratic
institutions in the country not to sit and watch Nigeria’s hard earned
democracy being wasted on the alter of political interest.
Anthony Cardinal
Okogie, Archbishop Emeritus of Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos in a statement
commended the House of Representatives for declaring legislative emergency in
the state stating that such a step was necessary in order to safeguard the
integrity of governance in the country.
Conclusion:
The fact remains
that many Nigerians and institutions have cried out for Governor Amaechi to be
left alone but sadly, the more the pleas, the more those who want to continue
to disparage the President will continue in acts capable of undermining the
image of the present occupant of such exalted office.
Even as I
congratulate Pastor Ayodele Oritsejafor on his well-deserved re-election as CAN
President, let me appeal to him to intervene and find a way out of this madness
in Rivers State seeing that the two political leaders (Jonathan and Amaechi)
have much respect for him and may listen to him as other pleas in this regard
seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
Also, the General
Overseer of Redeemed Church of God, Senior Pastor, Enoch Adeboye need to
intervene in this mater, as the present faceoff between the two is already
threatening Nigeria’ s democracy, hence these respected men of God should not
watch from the sides.
I will conclude
this article by quoting Alan Barth (1906–1979) an
Author and a journalist specializing in civil liberties and best known for his
30-year stint as an editorial writer at the Washington Post when he
stated that, “Thought that is silenced is always rebellious. Majorities, of
course, are often mistaken. This is why the silencing of minorities is
necessarily dangerous. Criticism and dissent is the indispensable antidote to
major delusions”.
While to Woody
Allen an American film
director, writer, musician, actor and comedian must have foreseen our present
sorrow state when he stated, “We stand today at a crossroads: One path leads to
despair and utter hopelessness. The other leads to total extinction. Let us
hope we have the wisdom to make the right choice”.
