Amaechi’s 54 Birthday: His Feats In Agriculture Sector As A Case Study Of His Examplary Leadership In Governance (Part Two)

"The current problem we are having in Nigeria is tied to poverty and unemployment.  I believe that one solution to this insurgency is education and employment. The easiest employment is farming, because a large number of our youths are not educated and skilled. I applied it here in Rivers State and it worked. We created the Banana Farms that have created jobs for over 2,000 persons. We revived the Risonpalm; it was dead when we came, and it has employed over 5,000 workers. Also, the Songhai Farm has employed over 2,000 workers, while Five Fish Farms in strategic locations have been completed. We have done all that to create employment opportunities for our people.” - AMAECHI

 

Amaechi’s 54 Birthday: His Feats In Agriculture Sector As A Case Study Of His Examplary Leadership In Governance (Part Two)                                                                                  

 

 

By Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, 

 

Preamble

 

In my series of examining the extraordinary feats of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and exposing him as the epitome of exemplary leadership in governance based on the theme for his 54th birthday ceremony that comes up on 27th May, 2019. I have already treated the type of Rivers State that was inherited by this enigma of our time and published by some leading Media Organizations in the world. According to thst treatise, Rivers State inherited by Amaechi was described as 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 the city of Port Harcourt, a once very glamorous city, was ranked among the three most dangerous cities in the world by then. The human resources unit of New York-based Marsh & McLennan Cos. had ranked Port Harcourt with Baghdad, Yemen's capital of Sana'a 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. For Amaechi to have ended this dangerous trend and rescued Rivers State from the menace of militancy demonstrates that he is a leader ahead of his peers.

 

In that treatise which I titled, “AMAECHI’S 54 BIRTHDAY: THE ROLE OF EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP IN GOVERNANCE WITH SECURITY AS A CASE STUDY (PART ONE)” , I highlighted how this man fought and dismantled this demonic menace that caused Port Harcourt to be ranked among the worst and most insecure State capitals in the world. I concluded that piece by preferring solutions to the unfortunate insecurity situation of the State under the watch of Governor Nyesom Wike. 

 

In this part two of these series titled, “AMAECHI’S 54 BIRTHDAY: HIS FEATS IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR AS A CASE STUDY IN THE STUDY OF HIS EXAMPLARY LEADERSHIP IN GOVERNANCE (PART TWO)”, I intoned to highlight the vision and extraordinary feats he achieved when he was the Governor of Rivers State which sadly the present Governor of the State have destroyed or dismantled.

                                                                              

For avoidance of doubt, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, erstwhile governor of Rivers state, incumbent Minister of Transportation and the undisputable leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-South region of Nigeria, will be celebrating his 54th birthday on 27th of May, 2019. According to the organisers of this year’s birthday celebration, which theme is “The Role of Exemplary Leadership in Governance”, the great Obi of Onitsha, His Royal Majesty, Igwe Nnnaemeka Alfred Achebe, CFR, MNI, will be expected to chair the epochal event, while the keynote speakers have been carefully selected:  H.E. Nasir El-Rufai, the Executive Governor of Kaduna state; Senator  Olorunnimbe A. Mamora, the Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA); Prof  O. Georgewill of the University of Port Harcourt; Barr. Bele Tariah, a beneficiary of Rt. Hon. Amaechi's Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme; and Hon. Nancy Stephens, former Deputy Mayor of Port Harcourt local government area (PHALGA) will moderate the epochal event.

Though the great minds mentioned above, expected to speak on the theme are all well qualified and very capable to do justice to it, however having followed the politics of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi these past thirteen years, I will be doing a great injustice to the world if I fail to bring to the fore what made this enigma of a man, not only unique, but a true example of what leadership is all about.

 

Today, I will focus on Amaechi and his strategies to change the landscape of the Agriculture Sector in Rivers State and made the State a model for any serious State in Africa to develop her agricultural prowess.

 

Amaechi and His Revolution of the Agriculture Sector of Rivers State

 

“In a world of plenty, no one, not a single person, should go hungry. But almost 1 billion still do not have enough to eat. I want to see an end to hunger everywhere within my lifetime.” –Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General. 

 

“If there is food for all then we have a rich nation but when we don’t have food for all then we have a poor nation.” –Owelle Rochas Anayo Okoroacha, Governor of Imo State. With these postulations therefore, the importance of providing food for Nigeria’s large populace needs not be over-emphasized. 

 

This treatise is principally aimed at unraveling the strategies adopted by one of the most visionary leaders ever from the shores of Nigeria. . 

 

 As obtainable in other states in Nigeria, agricultural policy was almost nonexistent in Rivers State at the start of Governor Amaechi’s administration. There was therefore no vehicle upon which the sector could be driven. The sector appeared to have suffered from total neglect by previous administrations, leading to the following: 

 

•The parastatals and companies were in a state of decay, e.g. School-To-Land, Delta Rubber, Risonpalm, ADP, etc. •Non-release of approved budgetary provisions. •There were no functional projects. •Agricultural infrastructure was in a deplorable state. •Counterpart funding on the part of the government was poor. •Staff training or capacity building was nonexistent. 

 

With the coming of Governor Amaechi all these woes facing the agricultural sector were confronted headlong. He has succeeded to the extent that most world leaders that visited Rivers State commended him for his vision and commitment towards the development of agriculture in the state. 

 

The first major step Governor Amaechi took was to initiate an agricultural policy that would guide his administration in his vision to create another economic base for the state outside oil. 

 

Agricultural Policy of Rivers State Under Amaechi

 

In a broad sense, the policy of government on agriculture was to encourage full private sector participation in order to attain food security, sufficiency and best practices. Government is also to be strategically involved in creating the necessary agricultural environment for farmers by way of providing facilities and promoting programmes in collaboration with external agencies, institutions and Governments for the development of agriculture in the state. It has equally committed itself to invest in agriculture as a foreign exchange earner and use the sector to generate massive employment opportunities for its citizens.

 

The second step Governor Amaechi took in his vision to revolutionise agriculture in Rivers State was to appoint a very young, vibrant, unassuming and well focused leader in the person of Mr. Emmanuel Chinda as the Commissioner of Agriculture. This versatile, workaholic, egalitarian, well exposed politician and a University of Nigeria Nsukka graduate was all that Governor Amaechi needed to make much impact in this sector.

 

Amaechi’s Agricultural Revolution and Remarkable Feats  

                                                                                 

The administration of Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi since inception in 2007 has introduced several programmes to revamp the agricultural sector and encourage people to go back to farming. According to Amaechi, agriculture cannot be separated from the state’s overall development plan as the sector is being developed to equally stimulate the state’s economy. His administration has established the Songhai Centre, Fish Farms and Banana plantation as well as revived the Risonpalm in addition to other initiatives to improve agricultural growth and output in the state.

 

Under the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Amaechi-led administration has been providing farmers with credit, subsidies and incentives to boost their output and develop agriculture in the state. It has consistently provided farmers in the state with high yield and disease resistant varieties of crops and other planting materials, including providing professional guidance and assistance to fish farmers.

Apart from food security, the robust agricultural programmes of the Ameachi administration are designed to generate employment for the teeming unemployed youths in the state by encouraging them to go back to the land in order to resuscitate the sector. 

 

Practical Steps Taken by the Amaechi Administration to Promote Agriculture in Rivers State

 

1.      Songhai Rivers Initiative Farm (SRIF)

 

Songhai farm located at Bunu-Tai/Ban-Ogoi in Tai Local Council covering over 314 hectares of land was introduced after studying the Songhai Centre in Porto Novo, Benin Republic. The Songhai Rivers Initiative Farm (SRIF), which is 20 times the size of its prototype in Porto Novo, has since its establishment recorded huge success in its operations. This farm currently under the supervision of the RSSDA is the biggest agricultural training project/programme in the country. 

A good number of Rivers people, mostly youths, have benefitted from the government’s scholarship programme at the Songhai Training Institute in Benin Republic while others have been trained internally to work at the SRIF, fulfilling part of the goals of the initiative.

Such goals include creating employment opportunities for the people, promoting enterprise development especially amongst the younger generation, promoting research in new agricultural techniques and varieties, encouraging skills transfer and adopting appropriate technology by local farmers. Others are enhancing agricultural production and value addition, building interest in commercial farming and facilitating agro-tourism in the state.

Another major aim is to diversify the economy of Rivers State by moving away from dependence on oil and gas, encourage export and serve as a model for developing rural cities in the state as well as make the state the centre of agro- based export free zone.

The Songhai Rivers Initiative Farm is an integration of Livestock, Aquaculture and Agro-tourism. The Centre is designed as a place of excellence for training, production, research, demonstration and development of sustainable agricultural practices. It is tipped to become the number one hub of agricultural development in the country.

Prior to commencement of work at the farm in 2010, the Amaechi administration had dispatched to the Songhai International Centre in Benin Republic a group of 105 young Rivers men and women from the 23 Local Councils of the state to receive 18-month training in various specialised agriculture and agro-based areas and imbibe an entrepreneurial culture.

Fifty trainees out of the number have already been absorbed in SRIF as the first set of workers who will have the opportunity to run their own farm units, sharpen their entrepreneurial skills and eventually set up and manage their own businesses with support from the centre.

 

2.      Aquaculture Projects in Rivers State

 

•MoU was signed with ONIDA of Israel for the development of the Fish Farms at Buguma Andoni, Ubima and Opobo all commissioned and operational before Amaechi left office in 2015 and sadly, Wike in his effort to run down the economy of Rivers State has made all these farms redundant. 

•The total production capacity of these farms is 5,000 tons per annum. 

•The project createed employment in the hundreds, generate revenue for the state and pay back in about four years. It also has the objective of transfer of technology to our local investors who may wish to replicate this farm in smaller units.

 

Strategy and future considerations

 

•Fish Farming in Rivers will improve local community income and alleviate poverty.

•Services for the industry will create more jobs around the farms.

•Food supply increase in the country.

•Replace fish imports and enable.  

 

Buguma Fish Farm

 

The Buguma Fish Farm has been completed and commissioned and was ready for commercial production. 

•A company, Buguma Fish Farm Nig. Ltd., has been incorporated with the Cooperate Affairs Commission (CAC).  

•Recruitment of qualified personnel into the company has been concluded for the first batch of staff. 

•The Andoni, Opobo and Ubima Fish Farms have also commenced.

 

3.      Banana Plantation Development 

 

•The project is for the cultivation, production and export of banana for commercial purposes in partnership with San Carlos Nig. Ltd. 

•A Special Purpose vehicle (Precious Bananas Nigeria Limited) has since been formed for the project.

•About 6,000,000 boxes of banana will be produced annually and marketed locally and internationally. 

•2,000 hectares of land have been acquired for the project at Khana and Tai LGAs. 

•The value of the project is 45 million US dollars. 

•Out of this RSG is to contribute 40% while the partner is to contribute 60%.

•So far the first phase of about 250 hectares has been fully cultivated.

•Production for the first stage has been successful as harvest has been made and local sales effected. 

•Land preparation for the second phase (250ha) has commenced 

•The farm has so far employed about 4,000 people directly. 

 

4.      Oil Palm Development in Rivers STATE Risonpalm Ltd

 

•Agreement has since been signed with SIAT Nig. Ltd. for the rehabilitation and replanting of the 16,000 hectares Risonpalm estate under a lease arrangement for 35 years. 

•Rehabilitation of infrastructure and installation of new processing mills almost completed.

•Engagement of new staff in progress; Risonpalm has the capacity to employ up to 5,000 people when running fully. 

•Value of project is N20bn in the first 10 years. 

 

5.      Plantation

 

 •Rehabilitation of the Ubima and Elele estates, i.e. about 14,972 ha of palm trees, has been done.

•Rehabilitation of Oil Mill, with present capacity of 30 T/Hr

 

6.      Oil Palm Development

 

 New Oil Palm Estate 

•The state has sourced 10,000 hectares for the development of a new oil palm estate in Okwale, Luebe, Lorre, Wikue, Lueku and Kpaa Azuogu, Ndoki, Obete of Khana and Oyigbo LGAs. 

•Investors are being sourced for project, though discussions are on with a few investors that have shown interest. 

 

7.      Rubber Development in Rivers State

 

•Delta Rubber: Rehabilitation and planting of the state owned 7,000 hectares Delta Rubber Company Limited with provision of processing facilities. MOU has just been signed with private investor, SIAT Nig. Ltd; on lease of the company.                             

 

8.      Rumuewhor Rice Project

 

•Planting/cultivation of a 10,000 hectares rice field with provision of modern processing facilities.  

•10,000 hectares has been acquired for the project at Rumuewhor in EMOLGA 

•Discussions with investors have gone far. 

•Project is expected to commence soon. 

 

9.      Rivers Fadama Project

 

Fadama is a word for low lying seasonally flooded lands. The following has been achieved in this area: 

 

•Establishment of three new farm villages for the cultivation of various crops, chief of which is cocoa. 

•The project comes with a central processing centre to achieve value addition. 

•MoU has been signed with LR Group of Israel who are investors/partners. 

•Project is expected to employ up to 4,000 people. 

•5,000 hectares is being acquired for the project which is supervised by RSSDA with the involvement of the State Ministry of Agriculture. 

•Value of the project is about 140m dollars

 

Small And Medium Scale Projects

 

National Fadama Development Projects: Rivers State is benefitting from a World Bank Programme to develop the agricultural sub-sector of the economy supported by the federal, state and local governments to be implemented using Community Driven Development Approach.

 

Rivers State ADP: The ADP has the following programmes:

 

•Root and Tubber Expansion Programme (RTEP) 

The programme aims at providing grants to farmers in the state to achieve sustainable increase in the production of root crops e.g. cassava, yam, cocoyam and sweet potato. 

 

Focus in the state is centered on the production and processing of cassava. Funding is by IFAD, FGN and RSG. 

 

25 Farmers Co-Operative Societies in the state have received grants for this programme. RSG counterpart funding since 2008 is N23m. 

 

•Community Based Natural Resources Management Programme 

This programme is for the empowerment and development of rural communities through community driven approach in partnership with IFAD. The programme is being implemented as of now, in 5 LGAs. Funding by RSG is N101,200,000 (2008 & 2009). 

 

Investment Opportunities in Agriculture In Rivers State

 

The mission of the Rivers State Government is anchored on integrity and good governance. This it hopes to achieve using its God-given resources to improve the quality of life of its present and future generations and empower its people.

 

Rivers State Government is promoting job creation by investing in its agricultural sector to promote businesses anchored on public private partnership. 

 

In pursuing this goal, attractive and flexible investment incentives are available for investors to the state. This package of incentives which is exclusive to Rivers State is further enhanced by other Federal Government investment incentives; and is mainly in the areas of taxation, fiscal policies and guarantees. 

 

Potential Areas of Investment 

                                                                           

Oil Palm

The state has over 10,000 ha of land marked out for the development of additional oil palm estates on PPP basis. Investment in the industry will yield high returns. RSG is sourcing for investors to leverage on this opportunity.

 

Rubber 

The state is in the rubber zone of the country and it has enough land for rubber development especially at the Elele/Ubima and Etche axis of the state. Investment in the product will be highly profitable.

 

Banana/Plantain

Few regions of the world are as endowed as Rivers State in the production of tropical crops like banana and plantain. Investors need to leverage on this opportunity.

 

Rice

 

RSG has acquired 10,000 ha of land for rice production/processing and is sourcing for investors to exploit this opportunity. Additional land is available especially in the upland areas of the state for rice cultivation. The soil is quite suitable for the cultivation of this staple food.

 

Cassava

There is enough fertile land for cassava planting/cultivation in all the upland areas of the state and some of the riverine LGAs such as Degema. A large market already exists for the product. Value addition will increase the benefits of investing in cassava planting/cultivation. 

 

Pineapple, Orange, Pawpaw, Coconut

 

This is a key area of industrialization (fruit juices) which has not been fully explored. Enough fertile land exists in the state for their production.

 

Food Processing/Packaging

 

Investment in food processing/packaging will be rewarding in the sense that there is a huge market for such products in the state. The state capital, Port Harcourt, is a cosmopolitan city and Nigeria’s second largest commercial and industrial centre. With 23 LGAs, Rivers State is rightly described as the investors’ haven.

 

Aquaculture/Fishery

Rivers Sate is one of the most endowed states in the country in terms of aquaculture/fishery. The state currently has four fish farms on PPP basis with a production capacity of 5,000tons/annum but this is just like a drop in the ocean considering the fact that about 2million tons of fish is currently imported into the country annually. There is a huge market for the commodity and investors need to exploit this opportunity. 

 

Other areas where investment opportunities abound 

•Agro-tourism/Wild Life 

•Hatchery, Poultry and Processing 

•Feed Production, Packaging and Marketing 

•Livestock/Meat Processing and Animal Husbandry 

•Horticulture/Export of tropical plants and flowers 

•Wood Processing, etc. 

 

Conclusion         

 

To Amaechi: “The current problem we are having in Nigeria is tied to poverty and unemployment.  I believe that one solution to this insurgency is education and employment. The easiest employment is farming, because a large number of our youths are not educated and skilled. I applied it here in Rivers State and it worked. We created the Banana Farms that have created jobs for over 2,000 persons. We revived the Risonpalm; it was dead when we came, and it has employed over 5,000 workers. Also, the Songhai Farm has employed over 2,000 workers, while Five Fish Farms in strategic locations have been completed. We have done all that to create employment opportunities for our people.” 

 

Let me conclude this treatise therefore with a quote from Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the former President of Nigeria, during his visit to Rivers State to commission some projects initiated by the administration of the then Governor Amaechi: “I came to see developments and I have seen developments and I will confess developments! What I have seen is worth declaring! The area of health, education, Agriculture, Sports and road infrastructure is worth declaring. When I see development I earmark, eye mark and mouthmark.”

 

If this was not revolution then I am at a loss on what revolution means. Give me ten of the types of Amaechi and I will turn Nigeria into a heaven on earth! QED

But sadly, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State have either destroyed, sold out or dismantled all these structures that would have made Rivers State a heaven on earth and instead turned the State into the number one State that harbors the highest number of unemployed youths in the entire Federation. What a shame!

 

Eze Chukwuemeka Eze is a Media Consultant based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and can be reached through, ezemediaconcept2020@gmail.com

Amaechi’s 54 Birthday: The Role of Exemplary Leadership in Governance with Security as a Case Study (Pt1)

 By Eze Chukwuemeka Eze

Preamble

On the 27th of May, 2019, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, erstwhile governor of Rivers state, incumbent Minister of Transportation and the undisputable leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-South region of Nigeria, will be celebrating his 54th birthday. According to the organisers of this year’s birthday celebration, which theme is “The Role of Exemplary Leadership in Governance”, the great Obi of Onitsha, His Royal Majesty, Igwe Nnnaemeka Alfred Achebe, CFR, MNI, will be expected to chair the epochal event, while the keynote speakers have been carefully selected:  H.E. Nasir El-Rufai, the Executive Governor of Kaduna state; Senator  Olorunnimbe A. Mamora, the Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA); Prof  O. Georgewill of the University of Port Harcourt; Barr. Bele Tariah, a beneficiary of Rt. Hon. Amaechi's Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme; and Hon. Nancy Stephens, former Deputy Mayor of Port Harcourt local government area (PHALGA) will moderate the epochal event.

Though the great minds mentioned above, expected to speak on the theme are all well qualified and very capable to do justice to it, however having followed the politics of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi these past thirteen years, I will be doing a great injustice to the world if I fail to bring to the fore what made this enigma of a man, not only unique, but a true example of what leadership is all about.

To assist me achieve this, Israelmore Ayivor, one of the greatest critical minds that ever lived on this planet earth stated “Leaders decorate the world: they live exemplary life and make the world better than they found it”. What else is the best way to describe Amaechi, whose life only depends on how not only to better the lots of those that cross his path, but to ensure that he gives out his best in any assignment he is charged with. My great Philosopher Israelmore Ayivor, with Amaechi still in his mind, further highlighted, “service introduces you to the leadership throne. Service to mankind is the vision on which leadership is mounted. You serve and in your service, you train more leaders by becoming an example”. Amaechi is the epitome of humanity and selfless service. 

As if my lecturer, Ayivor, has not been able to describe Dr Amaechi very well enough and throwing more light on the inability of any writer to actually dissect this living legend, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbanjo (SAN), once stated “Ameachi is also a man of big ideas and very insightful, he understands how to live long in the hearts of men. His education policies in Rivers state and all of those children he gave real hope and opportunities to will always keep him alive in their hearts as he will be remembered long after he has left this earth.” In the same vein, Admiral Murtala Nyako, the erstwhile Executive Governor of Adamawa state, once challenged me and said “Chief Eze, don’t mind the simplicity and unassuming nature of this man (Amaechi); he is the most influential politician we have in Nigeria today”. Amaechi epitomises what a true leadership is all about.

The Main Aim of This Treatise

The main aim of this attempt therefore is to unravel the insecurity and security challenges facing Rivers state in Nigeria, particularly now that Chief Nyesom Wike, the Governor of Rivers state, in his recent interview with The Channels TV, compared his regime with that of his mentor, benefactor and predecessor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

It not only behoves, but becomes imperative for those of us who witnessed both the eight years of Amaechi and four years of the regime of Governor Wike to present the correct records accordingly.

In doing this, I will present the security episode during the period of Amaechi’s administration and how he was able to curtail the brief moment of menace, then write of what has become of the  regime of Governor Wike and leave it all for you the reader to judge.

With the above, let me therefore reiterate once again that the main treatise of this attempt is to review the strategies adopted by the Rivers State Government under the watch of Rotimi Amaechi, in tackling the menace of insecurity in Rivers state, prior to his assumption of office on the 28th of October, 2007 and how Wike, the incumbent governor, instead of adopting the model Amaechi used to tackle insecurity in the state is playing politics with the peace of Rivers people.

For purposes of clarity, Rivers state is the hub of oil industry in Nigeria and very rich in hydrocarbons from which the nation draws its major revenue and because it was confronted with key security challenges, especially the challenges of illegal bunkering, piracy, kidnapping and armed robbery, this attempt is embarked upon.

Rivers State And The Insecurity Challenge

“It is the responsibility of the government to provide security for the people.” - Amaechi “Security, law and order are the major preoccupation of any government. Once a government gets this priority right, it has made the very first right step. Growing insecurity on the reverse side is the first sign of a failing state.” - Dr Dakuku Adol Peterside

 “The three great ends which a statesman ought to propose to himself in the government of a nation are 1. Security to possessors, 2. Facility to acquirers, 3. Hope to all” - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 “Government must not be for one section of the society. It must be for the rich and the poor, emphasising the upliftment of the poor...” - Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi

 “No doubt, our state has endured a tortuous political season, which saw political parties jostle and cajole Rivers people to make choices. Our state, which was known and respected as the Treasure Base of the nation, is now almost always in the news for the wrong reasons. This is not the Rivers State of our dreams” – Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi

"Any sound and concern lover of Rivers state must be worried by the tales of woes and the level of insecurity facing the state at the moment. Every day it is either a bus conveying passengers is kidnapped or people are being killed and beheaded or that foreigners and investors are rushing out of the State in droves or the state is rated as the number one state in Nigeria that harbours the highest number of unemployed youths" – Eze C Eze

According to Amaechi, “When we took over the reins of governance in the State we met a situation where people were being given cash, but we decided to take the extreme position of not giving money to people, but doing projects that would impact positively on the lives of the majority of our people”. This stand of the Amaechi to stop the method which was the practice hitherto of sharing State funds to some seasoned politicians and groups who in turn use it to sponsor militia groups that constitute security challenges in the State.

To Rotimi Amaechi, “inability of elected leaders to provide adequate security for the citizenry is an impeachable offence. The first offence governors commit is when they are unable to provide adequate security for the people. This is because the first oath taken by elected leaders is to protect life and property. It is the responsibility of the government to provide security for the people.”

The Type Of Rivers State Inherited By Former Gov Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi!

According to records, Port Harcourt, the State capital of Rivers State that Amaechi inherited was more like 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 the city of Port Harcourt, a once very glamorous city, was ranked among the three most dangerous cities in the world by then. The human resources unit of New York-based Marsh & McLennan Cos. had ranked Port Harcourt with Baghdad, Yemen's capital of Sana'a 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.

Ahamefula Ogbu, a Journalist with Thisday Newspapers described one of the scenes in the State at this period in these words 'Rambo could not have done better. With automatic rifles in their hands and hate, revenge and murder hanging around their necks, warring cultists took Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by storm yesterday for the second day running. Pandemonium broke out as residents ran for safety. It was sorrow, tears and blood. At the end of it all—or, more aptly, at the interval, for no one knows the end yet—15 persons had been dispatched to their early graves' and true to this unsung prophet nobody knew the end as the next few days saw about eighty innocent souls wasted by an agitation uncommon to our people in the Niger Delta.

While to my late friend and brother, Mr. George Onah reporting for Vanguard Newspaper captured Port Harcourt before the assumption of office by Gov Amaechi in these words; “For many residents, the capital of Rivers State, hitherto the Garden City where life was lived to the fullest is no longer the place to live in as rivers of blood flow ceaselessly following an unending siege by militants, kidnappers, cultists, and criminals of other hue.

Violence in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has gone full circle and the guns are still booming. The casualties are pilling, even as blood of defenceless citizens’ flow endlessly. Neither the Police nor the government has answers to the brigandage. Security outfits do not have official figures, record or reliable estimates of casualties in the Rivers State orgy of killings.

Even the number of deaths during the Nigerian Civil War had a consensus of informed opinion on the number of deaths, on both sides, which hovered, realistically around 600,000 and below. But the rapidity of casualties in the onslaught by gunmen on Rivers State cannot simply be pigeonholed. The currency of killings is alarming and the growth of the economy of the state is heading for the deep”.

The pattern of the crime ranges from kidnapping of expatriates and children of wealthy parentage, to outright violent robbery. Cultism and political vices equally occupy a frightening position on the crime chart. The volatile atmosphere appears to have annulled whatever achievement of the peace and reconciliation committee of the government”.

As if both Ogbu and late Onah did not capture the picture correctly, Okey Ndibe, a respected opinion leader on national issues in Nigeria in his article during this period published by the Sahara Reporters one of the leading online media on Nigerian political activities titled 'a blood soaked city' described the happenings in Rivers State then in these words 'That the once idyllic Port Harcourt was now a scarred place, a war zone, a city soaked in blood; the city under siege with thousands of citizens displaced; that its once quiescent boulevards and avenues were now ruled by marauding militiamen and by the fierce soldiers deployed to dislodge them. Sudden death by bullet was now a generalized hazard for the city's trapped and hapless residents'.

Affirming the unfortunate state of Rivers State then, an icon and Prince of Niger Delta Politics, Prince Tonye Princewill in an interview during this period stated thus, “Rivers State, when Amaechi took over was a garrison state. Now that things have changed, people refer to him, like they do to Fashola as a performing governor though the only difference between the two is that Fashola had a foundation in Tinubu but in the case of Amaechi, it was not so!”.

Strategies Adopted To Address The Menace Of Insecurity

According to Noam Chomsky, “the U.S. international and security policy ... has as its primary goal the preservation of what we might call "the Fifth Freedom," understood crudely but with a fair degree of accuracy as the freedom to rob, to exploit and to dominate, to undertake any course of action to ensure that existing privilege is protected and advanced”. The fact remains that it seems that former Governor Amaechi on assumption of office adopted this US security policy in tackling the menace of insecurity in the State as he went out exploiting every means humanly possible to arrest this ugly trend. Apart from declaring war on all the militia groups in the State and refusing any form of dialogue or negotiations with them, he ensured that the security organs in the State were well motivated and trained to tackle the menace of insecurity in the State.

Explaining further on how former Governor Amaechi handled the security challenges of the State at this period, Dr Dakuku Peterside stated as follows, “When I had the privilege of serving in the government of Rivers State under the leadership of Governor Amaechi, I observed that he placed high premium on security because he believed that security was the foundation upon which progress in every other facet of development depends. This is aside from government’s proactive disposition which drew substantially from intelligence gathering, surveillance and the fact that law enforcement agents could reasonably predict potential crime with near perfect accuracy.

Another interesting aspect of the Rivers model is the deployment of technology. Without sounding immodest, I can confidently say that the state’s security network is driven by excellent modern technology. Rivers was the first state to acquire a mobile scanning van known as back scatter. Around the Port-Harcourt metropolis, there are Gantry Scanners at strategic entry locations in Onne- Eleme Road, East-West Road, Choba Road, Oyibo Road, Ikwere Road, Aba Road and Mbiama Road among others”.

Throwing more light on the postulations of Peterside, a security expert and CEO, MPD Security Systems, Engr. David Meyer stated as follows, “The first step we took in Rivers State was to raise capacity among selected police personnel, over 200, through local and overseas training in Israel and other parts of the world on modern crime fighting techniques and intelligence gathering,” Meyer explained. Working with modern gadgets and substantial logistics including an Israeli trained concealed weapon detecting dog, these crossbred police team had since been strategically placed at main outskirt check posts witnessing mass movement in and out of Port Harcourt City. Others lead a number of metro patrol teams responding to security emergencies around the town and environs. These are far as the public can see.

Beyond public view, as part of Rivers current long term vision of security, Meyer pointed to underground application of ICT aided security hardware and software helping the police to sense and react to security situations with dispatch. This network of technology managed by experts from a hub which Meyer would not disclose its location for security reasons, employs the C4I urban surveillance cameras watching over the city and active 24hrs of the day in Port Harcourt and environs.

The interactions between the seen and unseen infrastructures, according to Meyer, account for the recent security operatives swift bursting of some of failed organized crime operations, including an attempted raid of a bank in the Mile 4 area of the city last year. “These measures have been working well and while the public may not know, it has lead to several arrests and we have gained convictions against suspects on account of the improved network”, he emphasized.

Supporting the views of Hon. Chief Peterside and Engr. Meyer, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Chibuike stated,. “We have done a lot about security. We are doing more. Before we came to office, kidnapping was a serious challenge. We have dealt with it substantially. We are finishing December, 2012 without a single report of kidnapping or armed robbery. We have specially trained policemen handling security. Barring any unforeseen circumstance, any moment from now, the Rivers State Government’s security web would be two surveillance helicopters stronger, laying foundation for a standing air wing to give the state 24-hour security coverage.. He said the helicopters; costing $30m (N4.5bn) with surveillance cameras to fly all over the city of Port Harcourt and other parts of the state would arrive at the end of December and commence operations in January, 2013. He stated that Rivers now has in place a technology reliable for tracking criminals and their hideouts. But sadly, Chief Nyesom Wike and former President Dr Jonathan ensured that these helicopters never arrived Rivers State until few weeks ago in 2017

The former Governor who is a major proponent of State Policing postulated, “

If we have State Police, Rivers would be able to train its police the way it wants. It would not have suffered the loss of those 500 policemen it trained. Most states are spending a lot of money improving the police which are not under their control. States can use the same resources to fund their own police. Only those with something to hide are afraid of State Police.

The impacts of the Rivers of Peace Under Amaechi

The results of the peaceful state of Rivers State under the watch of Gov Amaechi has resulted not only attraction of foreign investments but during this period Port Harcourt was the haven of both International and National championships. Apart from hosting one of the best organised National Sports Festival ever in Nigeria, the School Sports was hosted by the State including the Police Games. Port Harcourt apart from Abuja and probably Lagos was the only State to have hosted US-Nigeria bie National Conference. The city during this golden period hosted the Miss ECOWAS Beauty Pageant, Pan African Parliamentary; Garden City Literary Festival, hosted CARNRIV involving several foreign countries to showcase the rich culture, potentials and beauty of her people, the 2nd Dr Claude Ake Memorial Lecture, Rivers State Investment Forum and Governor’s Interactive Session with Rivers State Youths amongst several other meets the city has hosted to prove its acceptability as the most peaceful and progressive city in Nigeria.

Kudos of course must go to Alh, Suleiman Abba the then Commissioner of Police and former Inspector General of Police for his commitment and no nonsense approach to crime in the State; the then Brigade Commander, the Air force Commander, Director of SSS for their commitment in ensuring that Rivers State was recovered from the hands of these hoodlums! Kudos also goes to the then Secretary to the Rivers State Government now a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dist. Senator Magnus Abe whose office then was coordinating and spearheading this onslaught against insecurity in the State.

Wike Ans His Own Type of Rivers State

A versatile public commentator, Uche Igwe, a doctoral research fellow at Sussex Centre for the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex, titled “Of Nyesom Wike And President Jonathan’s Conflict Entrepreneurs”,  described  Wike as ‘a tough and undiplomatic man with a thug-minded determination and a deep-pocket that thrives in a policy of vindictiveness.’Known as Eze Gburugburu by his admirers, the former Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government is acclaimed to be a brutal schemer who maximised his position as chief of staff in Brick House to stockpile enormous financial resources for himself. The bulkily framed politician is also someone who understands and believes in the power of money and readily deploys it as a political tool to achieve helpful and, most times, unhelpful political ends. Another former loyalist described him as ‘a merciless politician with a limitless capacity for mischief.’

Sam Nda-Isaiah, a frontline APC Presidential candidate and Publisher of Leadership Newspaper, in his reaction to WIke and Jonathan’s absurdity in Rivers State in an article published by TheScoop of August 12, 2013 titled, “Why does the President enjoy the company of gangsters? stated: ‘The Minister of State for Education, Mr Nyesom Wike, who is at the centre of the crisis in Rivers State with the clear support of the President, Goodluck Jonathan, and the co-president, Patience Jonathan, now operates above the law in the state. To worsen the joke, he has even declared for the governorship of the state. It is very hard to believe that a serving minister would make that kind of statement and still be kept in the cabinet by the President. But that has been our lot since Jonathan became President.’ Link: http://www.thescoopng.com/sam-nda-isaiah-why-does-the-president-enjoy-the-company-of-gangsters/

Before and during the March/April 2015 General Elections in Rivers State, it was reported that about 100 members of All Progressives Congress (APC) were slaughtered, with their local secretariats at Andoni and Okirika bombed. The live telecast by Channels TV during the shootings on the APC Rally at Okirika should be very visible on the minds of Nigerians.

During the 2016 rerun elections of April 2016, the APC’s National Working Committee, in a press statement, noted: “APC members in Rivers State are fast becoming [an] endangered species.” That was after scores of members were killed in recent weeks. The committee released a list of 32 party members it claimed had been killed by a variety of methods: “several were beheaded, others clubbed to death and one man burned alive.”

Till date, under the watch of Governor Wike, about 200 Rivers State citizens have been killed.

Kennedy Friday, a social commentator, in one of his presentations then Stated thus: “They were killed and beheaded in Ula-Upata community in Ahoada East Local Government Area. After that, their corpses were set ablaze! In this 21st century, this bestiality happens every day in parts of Rivers State, almost unchallenged. Insecurity is at its most rampaging level. Oh God, what is happening to Rivers State? We have this very dire challenge and people look the other way and pretend that all is well. This barbarity happens every day in one part of the state or the other. When will these killings stop?”

In the words of Ibrahim Modibbo, a social commentator based in Abuja: “Not even under the evil and satanic regimes of Mobutu Sese Seko, Emperor Fidel Bokassa or legendary Idi Amin of Uganda did we see such a fascist regime that displays optimum barbarism and primitive parochialism as in Rivers. The state is currently buckling under the full weight of a heartlessly ravenous political brigand, where life has lost its meaning and value. A cabal that swims in obscene opulence has made political power to be so critical to its survival that any opposition that stands on its way, even if it’s a fly, must be crushed with a sledge hammer. I am, therefore, not surprised that opponents are now hunted like a game: with many beheaded, clubbed to death or buried alive like chickens.”

Jimitota Onoyume, Vanguard Newspaper Correspondent, reported on May 17, 2016, how 5 cops, 6 civilians were butchered in Rivers. According to him, “Mortal fear has seized the people of Rivers State since last week when armed marauders murdered five police officers, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Muhammadu Halidu, and six civilians at Okobe in Ahoada West Local Government Area. The rampaging gunmen laid ambush for the police officers, attached to the 30 Mobile Police Force, code-named 30 MPF, Bayelsa State, on their way back from a national assignment in Yobe State and stole their rifles, after snuffing the life out of them.”

Reacting to the ugly scenario, Senator Magnus Abe stated: “But the point I want to make is that there are reasons here in Rivers State why we should not and cannot celebrate democracy day. Just yesterday, somewhere in Ahoada, I hear over eight people were killed, including the oldest man in the village. As we speak now, in my own village, boys are going around with guns; nobody slept last night. I was told they even chased somebody to a church, and macheted him right there in a church, with people scampering for safety. As we talk now, in Luawii and Kapnyo, several people are dead, houses burnt... You know, all over... Yesterday, a friend of mine stopped at a fuel station at Rumoula to buy petrol, and while at the filling station, some people brought out guns and robbed everybody, right there in Rumuola. This is what is going on all over Rivers State.

In such circumstances, do we really have much to celebrate? The first responsibility of government is the maintenance of law and order. If people are free and safe, they can look for water, they can look for light, they can look for food. But they cannot look for security if they're not safe. So, I think the governor should really do something to address the issue of security in this state. And until he does that, there is really nothing to celebrate in Rivers State.”

The socio-economic impact of the insecurity challenges

Who else could explain the economic impact of the insecurity situation in Rivers State more than Hon Rotimi Amaechi, who threw light on this while speaking at the Annual Lagos Traffic Radio Lecture Series in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos. He accused the incumbent Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, of driving away investors from the state due to growing insecurity and crime, which had led to the plunging of the internally generated revenue (IGR), from N8 billion to N4 billion. His words: “Do you know that people are now migrating away from Port Harcourt? When I was the governor of Rivers State, nothing like that happened. The crime rate in the state has now increased and the IGR dropped. As the governor, the IGR of the state was N8 billion. And that was why I have often advised Nigerian public office holders not to play with figures. Due to the crime rate in the state, people have started migrating away from the state and the IGR has dropped to N4 billion. The state governor (Wike) now moves like chairman of a council, asking traders and others if they had paid their taxes. But when I was the governor, I don’t engage in that.”

According to Amaechi, “Migration is either voluntary or involuntary. But in the case of Rivers State, it is involuntary. They are forced to relocate from the state. The man complained that I am corrupt. But I have asked him to go to court but until today, he is yet to bring evidence forward to buttress his claims.”.

Solutions

1.       Chief Nyesom Wike-led administration must leave aside its ego and allow reason guide its decisions at this critical point by dusting the Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi era security blueprint for the state, restart its implementation and save everybody from the ongoing needless waste of lives and properties across the State and drop his act of prevarication, stay true to his recent call for peace in the political arena and not toy with the idea of victimizing leaders of the APC who served in the Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi-led administration in the name of a guided witch-hunt called an investigation.

2.      The Governor must convoke a Peace/Security/reconciliation Summit, involving key Christian leaders, traditional rulers, key political leaders, youths and women leaders, security experts and elders from all over the state. The summit will be expected to point out why the state is in its present sad situation and proffer suggestions on the ways out of it, adding that the era of paying lip service to issues of the greatness and future of the state should be ended.

3.      The present status of Rivers state as home to the highest number of unemployed youths in Nigeria is not acceptable; hence Wike must revive all the industries that Amaechi set up during his tenure as the governor of Rivers state. These include the Songhai Farm, the Buguma Fish Farm and others that enabled Amaechi to employ over 500,000 youths of Rivers state and create a conducive environment for investors to invest in the State over one million jobs can be created before the end of 2019.

4.      Governor Nyesom Wike should assemble key actors that assisted Amaechi during his days as governor of Rivers state, particularly the then Commissioner of Police, now retired IGP, SuleimanAbba; Ade Adeogun, and many others so that we can review and adopt some of the strategies they adopted that totally eradicated crimes and militancy in our state.

5.      The governor must invite and reason with most of the key kingpins of militancy and dreaded cultists he has empowered and plead with them to assist the state in her quest for peace.

6.      The Governor must dismantle the Abe led propaganda machine against the Honourable Minister of Transportation immediately.

7.      The governor should once again read through his state broadcast, particularly the part where he said 'although the present politics of acrimony and bitterness may have strayed from the noble path of the past, I still believe that we shall be better off standing and working together for our state and our people. I hereby direct the Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to review all pending criminal proceedings filed against any person by the state and directly related to political activities prior to the 2019 general elections and make appropriate recommendations to me for necessary action to promote reconciliation among us' and advise himself if the setting up of the Justice Monna Danagogo Judicial Commission on Election Violence while exonerating all PDP chieftains to try Tonye Cole, Llyod Chidi and some other APC leaders in areas he failed to win elections in the March/April polls tally with his state broadcast seeking for peace. If Justice Simeon Amadi  commission on the invasion and attack on the state’s judicial complex also tallies with the spirit of his State Broadcast.

8.      "In the same vein, the Rivers state government set up a probe panel to investigate some Commissioners; Dr Chamberlain Peterside (Finance) and Dr Parker (Health) under Amaechi's administration, I sincerely seek to know if all these steps are part of sustaining peace in Rivers State", he quried.

Conclusion

With what Rt. Hon. Dr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi did to eradicate every atom of insecurity in Rivers State while holding forte the reins of governance as the Governor of that great State demonstrates nothing but capacity and a leading light as an exemplary leader of our time. This a fact that is no longer in doubt!

Touching on the need to pay an urgent attention to the security situation in the state as the reports going out of Rivers state in the last few years had been most unpleasant, noting that all sincere watchers of events in the state will agree that the turn of events since the advent of the Wike era had been a very sad and gory departure from the peaceful and secure state that the Amaechi administration ran, noting also that most of the intricate security architecture that the previous administration, under the watch of Amaechi, put in place for the peace and security of the state had been shut down by the Wike government.

In conclusion, the remains that if Wike is wise and interested to curb insecurity in Rivers State what stops him from humbly going to Amaechi for tutorial on how to govern a sophisticated state like Rivers State

Eze Chukwuemeka Eze is a Media Consultant based in Port Harcourt and can be reached through ezemediaconcept2020@gmail.com

An Open Letter to the Ijaw Nation, “Know Your Enemies”

An Open Letter to the Ijaw Nation, “Know Your Enemies” 

Written by Wabiye Idoniboyeobu  

For about a year, I have deliberately avoided issues pertaining to the Ijaw Nation. Not because I don’t understand my role as a stakeholder and a National Executive of the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide; but simply because I wanted to give the enemies of the Ijaw Nation, more time to expose themselves. Though some of the traitors are still camouflaged like a chameleon in the forest, it has become imperative that some of us raise our voices and speak against the cancerous trend engulfing the Ijaw Nation. 

What I call the “Pull Down To Rise” syndrome, is gradually eating into the day to day lives of our people. This disease with symptoms like envy, blackmail, fake news and propaganda; has become the main source of livelihood for well-respected Ijaws. The sooner we isolate this disease, purge those of us already infected and cart a new course for our Region, the quicker progress and development will knock on our doors.  

The Ijaw Nation is blessed with abundance! We have all we need! Developed nations crave for little things we have and overlook; but yet, we still live in abject Anger, Hate and Poverty. Some may ask, “Where did we go wrong?” The answer to this question is clearly stated in Falz’s new song “Hypocrite”. HYPOCRICY is the new cash cow. Payoffs from blackmail, fuel the cars of our leaders; propaganda and lies, shape our thoughts and define our next move. How can we grow in such a land?

Nothing works in our land anymore. Everything we set out to do is either dead on arrival or factionalized. 28 years after; where is the Ijaw National Congress (INC)? 21 years after; what do we have left of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC)? Greed, Envy and Hate has enslaved our minds. We think we know the real enemy, while the real enemy is ‘ignorance’. You think we have leaders? WE DON’T! We have failed to understand that the so-called name “Ijaw leader” is now a tittle used to open volts and rip off the region. 

The solution is simply Love and Unity. Let us ignore propaganda, shun lairs and support ourselves unconditionally. Support those given leadership positions and respect those you are mandated to lead. That’s the only way to build a strong formidable force. The days of the traitors are numbered. The lies and blackmail will all be exposed in due time. We are blessed with abundance. We have all it takes to blossom. Join the train and fight for what is right; it won’t be long now; victory is in sight. 

Wabiye Idoniboyeobu is a Media Consultant in Port Harcourt, Rivers State