by Abagworo Chizi
A PROMINENT analyst who is conversant with Rivers State politics once told me that
politicians in our State are merely suffering from a withdrawal syndrome. Once upon a time, they had a governor who was available to settle himself and everyone heavily by dolling out tonnes of patronage. Suddenly they now have a different person, one who cares very little about patronage or who does it in his own way. That is why many of them are bitter and that is in summary what the whole fight is all about. The day Mr. Rotimi Amaechi decides to open the treasury and share the money to these so called stakeholders, then normalcy will return overnight. They will stop the name calling and Amaechi will suddenly become a ‘good man’. Am I surprised? Not at all! Rivers State is a mirror image of the character of an average Nigerian politician. It is all about killing the antelope and sharing it among select few!
But there are a few people who you will naturally want to make excuses for due to their background and pedigree. One of those persons probably will be someone like the former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Chibudom Nwuche. But one is shocked about a few comments associated with him lately. As a trained lawyer from a noble background, one will expect that the former Deputy Speaker will behave differently even when speaking against Amaechi has become a lucrative job for Rivers politicians based in Abuja.. Rather, he has chosen to play to the gallery. Reading his interview on the Punch of the 13th June, one will quickly decipher that the former Speaker is either hungry or looking for attention. What interests does he want to protect? What stake is he demanding for? Is it about the people of Rivers State or his personal pocket? What does he want the Rivers State Governor to do for him so that he will start defending him?
Why is the Deputy Speaker so desperate to tarnish the image of the Governor that he will start to spread outright falsehood. Last year during the 47th birthday of Governor Amaechi, the former Deputy Speaker was his guest. Since then he has been a regular visitor in Brick House. At least I have been meeting him. He also knows several ways of reaching the Governor. So when did the Governor of Rivers State become inaccessible to the former Deputy Speaker? Habba!
Mr. Nwuche also alleged that the Governor wants to retire most of the notable politicians in Rivers State. That is another falsehood. When Governor Amaechi took over, he launched an initiative known as Rivers Money for Rivers People. Though that initiative, the Rivers State Governor encouraged qualified contractors who are indigenes of the state to compete for contacts in several projects areas that the state government was involved in. Many notable Rivers sons and daughters participated and got many contracts. Some of them were completed successfully while some others are still ingoing. However there are a few politicians who claimed competence in several areas and came forward for contract awards. Many of them could not deliver and abandoned their jobs midway and the Governor was left with no choice than to cancel some of them. What was the Deputy Speaker expecting the Governor to do? Does he want Governor Amaechi to go the way of the past, where public resources are used to settle politicians for doing nothing? If the Deputy Speaker identifies any project where he has competence, he is welcome to bid and if he wins, I am sure that it will be awarded to him. What Rotimi Amaechi cannot do is to pay monies to those politicians who only talk from Abuja without expressing willingness to partake in the massive opportunities in the state. There are several things that can be said about the Rivers State Governor. However none of his critics can make any reference to any case of corruption or deliberate misappropriation. This is a defining moment in the way of playing politics in Rivers State which everyone ought to applaud. Rotimi Amaechi has demonstrated existential courage where many of his predecessors would have been complacent.
Now let us spend some time on Nwuche’s tenure as a number six man in this country. What can he point to as a single achievement or project he brought to Rivers’ people during the four years he held sway in Abuja. Is it not a big shame that the same people who he is now professing to love so much could not benefit any single thing from him when he was in charge. What moral right does he have to speak for our people? Does he think that we have forgotten that his tenure in Abuja was a legacy of waste and outright betrayal? Why is bent on reminding us those years of the cankerworm?
Mr. Nwuche’s comments on the Peoples’ Democratic Party and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum elections are laughable and patronising. The whole country knows what happened. The PDP itself is reaching out so as to contain their shame after that NGF election was won and lost. A reputable lawyer (is he) like the Deputy Speaker, should know the simple difference between pre-election endorsement and an actual election. Why must he condescend so low to a point of endorsing an absurdity just to curry favour from the President? Is he one of those misleading the President? Even the President has realized that his real supporters are those who will tell him the truth and guide him with the right strategy. What people like Chibudom Nwuche and his business partner Nyesom Wike continue to do is to open up fresh frontiers for battle on the President’s behalf.
On the wild allegation that Mr. Amaechi is vying to become the Vice President, nothing can be more ludicrous. This is the point where the Deputy Speaker clearly indicated that he is actually on a blackmail mission. For the avoidance of doubt, there has not be any time whether privately or publicly that the Rivers State Governor indicated explicitly or implicitly to anyone that he is contesting for the post of the Vice President. Indeed no one ever contests for post of the Vice President. The tradition has been that whosoever emerges the President nominates a running mate based on his preferences and that of the political party he represents. In a bid to paint the Chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum as an over ambitious and disrespectful person, Mr. Nwuche and his collaborators have even gone ahead to print posters on Amaechi’s behalf and are already circulating same across the country. I am delighted that Rivers people and those who admire Amaechi beyond Rivers State are aware of the destructive ploy of these desperadoes and their negative pranks. In the past few days, leaders of many ethnic nationalities in Rivers State have been paying solidarity visits to the Rivers State Governor and commending his commitment to good governance and sustainable development. That clearly demonstrates that they are impervious to the negative propaganda and shenanigans of Nwuche and his cohorts. My candid recommendation to the former Deputy Speaker is this. Rather than stay in Abuja to become a Newspaper tiger for the sake of politics of the stomach. He should come home and tap into the opportunities led by Amaechi to deliver good governance to Rivers people.
Abagworo Chizi wrote from Port Harcourt, Rivers State.