DEMOCRACY AND MAYHEM IN RIVERS STATE
The political crisis in the state is unfortunate
Nigerians woke up earlier in the week to a nightmare scenario in the politics of Rivers State. The state House of Assembly was razed in what is suspected to be arson. The governor, Siminalayi Fubara, who went to inspect the scene was greeted with police tear gas, water cannons as gun shots rang out in all directions. In the mayhem, it was uncertain whose thugs and miscreants were in charge at the troubled House of Assembly and in the larger Port Harcourt city. Conflicting mobs soon took to the streets in solidarity with their choice patrons and principals. In what has emerged as a seething political fray, it turns out that the fight for turf is essentially that between the incumbent governor and his immediate past predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
While the precise subject of contention remains clouded in rumours, hearsay and wild speculations, political stability and order in the state has been disfigured. Although there are reports of President Bola Tinubu meeting with both the governor and the minister, the situation in Rivers is still very much dicey. In the absence of a functioning House of Assembly and with a politically embattled state chief executive, no semblance of governance and orderly social existence is possible. A governor is struggling for political survival while the legislature is battling to find coherence and continued relevance. In the meantime, the various challenges that confront the state like the rest of the country will not go away because politicians are fighting over control of public resources and ‘political structure’.
The present crisis in Rivers State is unnecessary and seems simulated by vested interests. Recourse to arson to facilitate a predetermined and well-rehearsed political theatre is mischievous, reckless, and irresponsible. The move to impeach a governor who has been in office for a mere five months is not only premature but reeks of political mischief. It showcases the assembly members as more interested in yet unstated matters than the good governance and peaceful progress of their state. Meanwhile, insinuations and numerous charges that Wike may be behind the skirmishes are not totally unfounded. “All of us want to be politically relevant; all of us want to maintain our political structure,” Wike said on Tuesday. “Will you allow anybody to just cut you out immediately? Everybody has a base. If you take my base, am I not politically irrelevant?”
There must be a limit to meaningless politics. As a serving federal minister, Wike cannot be seen as acting in a manner that is likely to imperil the peace and security of his home state while being entrusted with the fate of the nation’s capital. In addition, it is in Wike’s best interest as the most senior political representative of Rivers State in the Tinubu administration to assist in ensuring the peace and security of all parts of the nation, especially his home state.
Rivers State remains one of the most strategic in the federation. It is the cosmopolitan home base of the nation’s oil and gas industry. It is home to the nation’s second most important sea access and marine economy. It boasts a few industries as well as manufacturing and hospitality concerns. President Tinubu can therefore not allow petty politics in the state to endanger that axis of our national security. Although he has reportedly met with both combatants, the president must be decisive, especially in reining in his minister who should face his work in Abuja.
It will be a sad day for the current administration to allow the political crisis to degenerate to a level where the president must invoke emergency powers to keep the peace in Rivers State.
