The All Progressives Congress APC has
since the beginning of this year been involved with a lot of activities aimed
at selling itself to the people of Rivers State. Beginning from the reception
accorded its leader and former governor of Rivers State Rt. Hon. Rotimi
Chibuike Amaechi, the All progressives Congress APC seems to be highly geared
up to claim the state which they lost to the present governor of the state
Barr. Nyesom Wike.
Mr. Rotimi Amaechi who as Minister of
Transport also doubles as the Director General of the Buhari Campaign
Organisation (some say for the South South zone), has since the beginning of
his quest to claim the Rivers State Government House for his party, made
excoriating statements against the Rivers state governor and the Peoples
Democratic Party PDP especially its Chairman Bro. Felix Obuah. These statements
which borders mainly on insecurity in the state, places the All Progressives
Party APC as a saintly party that will ensure that the scourge of insecurity in
Rivers state is nipped at the bud.
As a Rivers man who was born and bred
up in Port Harcourt, I sometimes find the statements made by the APC as
mendacious and only aimed at fooling the naïve. For instance why will someone
like Rotimi Amaechi visit Omoku Town without even any form of donation made to
the families of those involved in the New Year Day massacre, warn them not to
vote the PDP but rather vote his party so as to ensure that those involved in
the crime will be brought to justice. The former governor in his skulduggery
and bid to politically blackmail the people of Omoku, failed to realise or
chose to feign ignorance of the fact that his party is in power at the Federal
level and has all the apparatus to bring those involved in the violent crimes
in Rivers state to justice. He failed to realise that the crimes committed can
be prosecuted by the Attorney General of the Federation who is Amaechi’s
cabinet colleague. The fact that the APC which runs the government that
controls the Army, Police DSS and other arms of government allowed insecurity
nosedive in the state to the extent it did, without any proactive measures from a
government at the federal level that has lost all clues to tackle the issue of
insecurity nationwide but put the blame on state governors and individuals, who
all lack constitutional powers to control security personnel in the state even
though the state governments funds them, goes a long way to show how irresponsive
and insensitive APC government can be as regards the people’s welfare.
Rotimi Amaechi governed Rivers State
for eight years and failed to put in place any sustainable policy to checkmate
the spread of cultism and militancy in the state after the success of the
Yaradua amnesty programme other than to grandstand over the issue and using
outdated oppressive tactics. While other governors in the Niger Delta region
had a policy of proactively tackling the issue, the then governor was busy
treating the phenomenon as non-existent which does not deserve his attention. Apart from
frustrating the judicial system for over a year to ensure that he has his way
in the judicial arm of government, an action that heightened criminality in the
state, the former governor even went to the extent of proscribing youth groups
in the state and knowing the importance of youths in maintaining peace and
security in their communities, this retrogressive action precipitated a fall
back to cultism as a way of life by the youths. I believe that the former
governor knows what he is doing with the taradiddle he has been bandying to
Rivers people but to go as cheap as to playing politics with the lives of the
people to the extent he is doing, is to say the least, regrettable
The APC spin doctors have also
embarked on a callous mission of denigrating the person of Bro. Felix Obuah as
being behind the killings in Omoku Town. As laughable as this claim of theirs
is, it is important to ask a few questions. When Bro. Obuah was local
government chairman was there any issue of cultism or was cultism not existent
in the state and in Omoku town then? As we all know how the phenomenon was t
that time, I ask if Bro. Obuah did not patronise cultism which was at its peak
in the state then, is it now that he will use cultism and politically motivated
killings to achieve his political goal especially when the people of the state
and the Orashi area are generally sympathetic to the cause of the PDP which
they see as their adopted party especially after the APC has been exposed as a
party that does not keep its promises? It is pertinent to note that like some
politicians in the state (including inside Amaechi’s cabinet) that belong to
various cult groups, Bro. Felix Amaechi Obuah does not and cannot be pinpointed
to any cult group that litter Omoku Town and other parts of the state since the
1990s till date. I am aware of the role which many people that are accusing
Felix Obuah of sponsoring cultism and killings in the state played in the rise
of street and community cultism. Recently, a former aide to Austin Ahiamadu who
was the then Chairman of the Ogab/Egbema/Ndoni LGA implicated him of paying
millions to the late terrorist Don Wanny. None of the propagandists of the APC
has come out to deny or condemn it but they are in a hurry to accuse others.
I understand the revanchist
desperation of the APC but the level of skulduggery that has enveloped their
quest has put a lot of Rivers people off as far as the issues they have raised
are concerned. Unlike the lukewarm attitude of the former governor Rotimi Amaechi
in fighting cultism which helped foster the menace in the state, the present
leadership in the state has carried out measures aimed at tackling the scourge.
These measures which includes the granting of amnesty to cultists earlier on,
as well as the stick approach which has seen those who reneged on the amnesty
deal declared wanted by the Nigeria Police with a hefty ransom, an action that
has yielded fruit with the killings of Don Wanny and his men, Governor Nyesom Wike has even come out to say
that the state government funded the operation that led to the death of the
late Don Wanny and his henchmen a statement which has not been denied by the
Federal Government. What better way to show commitment to eradicating a scourge
rather than resorting to name callings, mudslinging and other nefarious
attitudes as evident in the Rochas Okorocha’s recent granting of amnesty to
criminals that have been declared wanted by Rivers State which is a
neighbouring state? What such amounts to will definitely not be to the good of
Rivers people. Trust Rivers people because we will never allow the calamity of
the APC befall us a second time.
Comrade Nwokoma Messiah contributed
this piece from Port Harcourt.
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