On that fateful day when First Lady Patience Jonathan snatched a
microphone from Gov Rotimi Amaechi at a function and in the public
glare, thoroughly rebuked him for undermining her Okirika people, it
didn’t occur to her that she might have murdered sleep by attacking
an elected governor.
But observers are quick to also trace the crisis to a number of other
issues such as ethnicity rivalry between Ikwere and Okirika ethnic
nationalities in Rivers State, envy, political high handedness, naked
ambition, undue police interference and unhealthy rivalry between
former associates and the race for 2015.
Rivalry between the Okirika and Ikwere ethnic group
Just as it exists in every facet of Nigerian politics, ethnicity usually
plays a critical role and in the case of Rivers State, which has several
tongues and tribes, tribal factor usually plays the critical roles in the
political calculations of the state.
In Rivers State, there is deeply rooted, unhealthy rivalry between the
Ikwerre and Okrika people and this has largely contributed to
Nigeria’s First Lady’s local and national affront against the Rivers
State governor, who is an Ikwerre.
It is believed that Dame Jonathan is at the background of most of the
offensives against Amaechi. The conflict between the two first reared
its head in 2010, at a reception organised for the First Lady by her
Okrika community and the Rivers State government.
At the ill-fated event, Governor Amaechi, while trying to impress on
the First Lady the achievements and projections of the state
government in the area of infrastructural development, was said to
have told her the plans of the state government to demolish some
buildings in the area, to pave way for new developments around the
area.
Even as the plans did not go down well with the First Lady, she was
said to have been less impressed with the language and presentation
of the plans by the governor. She was said to have been miffed by
what she described as the arrogant nature of the presentation by the
state’s Chief Executive.
This resulted in a minor scuffle, at the event as Dame Jonathan, who
is noted to be passionate about her people and constituency was said
to have wrestled the microphone from the governor and went ahead
to publicly scolded the governor. “You are saying, we will pull down,
we will pull down. Stop acting God with the lives of less fortunate
others,” she yelled at the governor.
Intrigues of Amaechi’s NGF chairmanship
Amaechi succeeded former Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki as the
chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, in 2011 for a two
year tenure but on the expiration of his tenure in 2013, the governor
sought for re-election against the advice of both his party and the
presidency.
His refusal to yield to reasons adduced by these superior organs led
to the victimisation that he was to receive. NGF believed to be
politically potent in the decision as to who emerges as the president
of the federation, if left in the hands of an independent and
‘recalcitrant’ Amaechi could spell doom for the ruling party and so,
efforts to wrestle such power from him ensued.
First, Rivers State was divested of her oil well resulting to revenue
shrunk. The aircraft belonging to the state government was
impounded in a not too civil manner and top officials of the
government severally harassed by the anti- corruption agencies of the
government.
In one of his very numerous interviews, Amaechi, voicing out his
frustration, said that his government was a major target by
Jonathan’s government and even dared the President to mention
anything that the state which voted for him massively in the 2011
election has done to him to warrant such ostracisation.
The defiant Amaechi had gone ahead to contest the NGF election
where 19 voted in his favour while 16 voted for his rival, the Plateau
State governor, Jonah Jang, in an election declared inconclusive. NGF
has since been factionalized into two camps: Pro-Amaechi and pro-
Jang. The impact of the struggle has seen five PDP governors defect
to the APC with their supporters.
The ripple effect has also seen the PDP losing majority in the lower
chamber of the National Assembly, the House of Representatives. The
relationship between the governor and the occupants of the Aso Villa
turned to the worse, as the President and the governor has up till
then had a sort of indifferent relationship.
A divided house
The political scenario in the state has since being polarised as the
crisis had crystallised into an open full-blown conflict after an Abuja
High Court removed the Amaechi-backed state executive committee
and installed Chief Felix Obuah instead. The implication of the court
verdict is the removal of the rugs off the feet of the state governor as
he no longer has control of the party in the state as the new party
executive is loyal to the Supervisory Minister of Education, Nyesom
Wike.
On takeoff, the Obuah-led exco announced that it will reconcile
aggrieved members of the party, but from its inception, it has been
involved in one conflict after the other with the state government and
those associated with it, with its short existence largely characterised
with all sorts of suspensions, expulsions.
The relationship between the governor and his erstwhile Chief of Staff,
CoS, now Supervising Minister of Education, Wike has turned sour
over the years.
Wike was at the forefront of Amaechi’s fight to claim his mandate for
governorship in 2007 and on becoming governor of the state;
Amaechi made him one of the greatest beneficiaries of his first tenure
in office, as he made him the CoS, with sweeping powers and
influence. Some people in the state referred to him as the “de-facto
governor,” while he was in Amaechi’s cabinet.
Things went sour between the two associates when a governorship/
senatorial ambition drove a wedge between the two. There have been
conflicting stories about betrayal between the two.
Wike however, moved on and was able to warm his way into the heart
of the Presidency and he is alleged to be doing the Presidency’s
hatchet job on his former boss. Amaechi, on his own part, has
exhibited some executive high handedness when he, in spite of a court
judgment suspended the duly elected chairman of Obio/Akpor Local
Government, Hon Timothy Paul Nsirim, with the aid of the loyal
Rivers State House of Assembly without regard to the rule of law as
the matter was never debated by the entire Assembly. The allegation
of reckless spending of public funds without due process and security
breach levelled against the chairman who happens to be loyal to Wike
and councilors of Obio/Akpor LGA was never substantiated
Odili and his yesterday men
Another factor, which was responsible for the crisis was linked with
some politicians in the state, who were associates of former Governor
Peter Odili, most of whom have now found themselves out of
government. These politicians are said not to be comfortable with the
fierce buccaneering nature of the young governor. “Amaechi’s swash-
buckling did not go down well with them. They want control of the
party structure and purse strings, but they are not even close to it
with Amaechi,” an informed political watcher in the state explained.
The governor refers to these set of politicians as those who are only
interested in their “stomach infrastructures.” He vowed never to
relinquish the state’s treasury to them and he has vigorously resisted
various attempts to involve these individuals in state matters. On the
assumption of Amechi as the governor, political bigwigs such as the
former Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives, Chief Austin
Okpara and Chibudom Nwuche, former Governor Celestine Omehia,
Senator Lee Meeba, current Deputy National Chairman of the PDP,
Prince Uche Secondus, old war horse Sergent Awuse amongst others
have found themselves in the retirement market so soon.
Having been frozen out of the political market for such a long time
appear to put their weights behind Wike, the arrow head to seize
power, an action that Amaechi is vehemently resisting.
The role of the police
The police, in the state have variously been alleged to be part of the
factors igniting the flame of the crisis in the state and the attitude
and operations of the security men under the leadership of much-
vilified state Police Commissioner, Joseph Mbu, has not done much
to disabuse people’s mind about these allegations. Mbu, is mostly
regarded as and to some extent, clearly anti-Amaechi.
It is rumoured that the main reason for Mbu’s posting to Rivers State
was to involve him in Aso Rock’s battle against the state governor.
However, unfortunately, Mbu’s conducts and his mode of operation
has been characterised largely by unpopular decisions, including the
arrests of traditional rulers, youths, community leaders and
politicians, perceived to be loyal to the state governor.
A worrisome development in the crisis surfaced when large scale
violence was introduced to the conflict which has now gain the
attention of the local and international communities, especially the
two chambers of the National Assembly.
The opposing camps characteristically have started singing war songs
and constantly hauled abusive and degrading languages at each
other. However, it turned into a full blown crisis recently when the
state House of Assembly was turned into a battle ground by the two
opposing camps. Five lawmakers loyal to Wike, led by Hon. Evans
Bipi tried to impeach the House leadership including the Speaker of
the House, Amachree Otelemaba.
This has resulted in a rowdy session, with the resultant fracas leading
to the hospitalisation of both the Majority Leader of the House, Hon.
Chidi LIoyd and a pro-Wike lawmaker, Michael Chinda.
Under Commissioner Mbu’s watch, a few instances of the brazen
lawlessness and violations of the Constitution were allegedly carried
such as the forceful dispersal of 13,201 newly recruited teachers in
the Port Harcourt Stadium using tear gas; blockading the entrance to
the Government House in Port Harcourt and forcing the Amaechi to
use another entrance; preventing an aircraft chartered by the state
governor from taking off, alleging that the governor was trying to
smuggle out a legislator wanted by the Police, the several disruptions
of the Save Rivers Group rallies, and the unlawful detention of
anybody perceived to be a sympathiser of Governor Amaechi, while
allowing pro-Jonathan an anti-Amaechi groups to organise rallies
unmolested, with full police protection, amongst others.
Calls have been made for the sack or redeployment of Mbu but
neither the force nor the Presidency will hear of that. Mbu has done
his job as a fine officer who is apolitical. But most Nigerians believe
that there is much to the police commissioner’s bravado.
Amaechi’s defection and attendant harassment
After the state governor, had predictably defected to the opposition
party, All Progressives Party, APC, together with his supporters in
December 2013, there have been wide spread attacks against him and
his supporters. Amaechis’s associates have variously accused the
state Police Commissioner of favouritism.
They alleged that whereas pro-Wike’s group, the Grassroot
Development Initiave, GDI, has been organising campaign rallies where
the group and its sponsors have campaigned for the President
unmolested, even though it is against the electoral laws, members of
the opposition have been denied of same privilege by the police.
On January 11, this year, the Police appeared to have showed its own
agenda in the crisis when its men allegedly shot Senator Magnus Abe
at the Rivers State College of Arts and Science, venue of a proposed
rally organised by RSM, a group believed be loyal to Amaechi, few
hours before the event.
The Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ahmad
Muhammad, blamed the incident on the political group for not
applying for permit to hold the Sunday rally.
He added that the crowd has to be dispersed for this reason. But the
Chairman of the Save Rivers Movement, Aholu Okechukwu, made
available to journalists copies of the application for permit to hold
the rally written to the state Police on January 7. Reactions have
been more favourable to the pro-Amaechi camp as against the police
actions, in spite of the fact that the police have maintained that it will
be failing in its duty if it stands and watch the peace of Rivers State
being trampled upon.
APC on the offensive
The APC, Governor Amaechi’s new party last week came in defence of
one of its own with a directives to its members in the National
Assembly to block all legislative proposals which include the 2014
Budget as well as the confirmation of all nominees to military and
civilian positions to public office until the rule of law and
constitutionalism is restored in Rivers State.
APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said that the
party has resolved that if President Jonathan fails to halt the
intimidation of Amaechi and offer apologies, it would call all its
members to take whatever steps that are necessary to protect their
lives and property.
He said: “Any cursory observer of events in Rivers State since
February, 2013 will be left in no doubt as to the culture of lawlessness
and impunity being promoted and supported by the Presidency, and
executed by the state Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu, who has
become the de-facto military governor of Rivers State and sole
administrator of the PDP in the State.”
The battle for 2015
The situation in the state is such that Amaechi with the support of
the teaming voters will face Jonathan who has in his aisle the timbre
and calibre of Rivers politicians and the dreaded militants who have
benefitted so much from his amnesty programme. It is really
unpredictably where the pendulum will anchor but one thing that is
expected is that even the victor in this epic battle will certainly come
out with ugly bruises.
Written By Obiora Ifoh and Sam Oluwalana
Source: National Mirror
