THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN RIVERS STATE

There must be a limit to meaningless politics and brigandage

The outcome of the local government elections held last Saturday in Rivers State showcases the superficiality of our political party architecture. That a governor can literally commandeer people into a party platform and deploy it to a major electoral victory in so short a time says much about the abnormality of our party politics and the absence of genuine democratic culture in Nigeria. It also shows the charade that local government elections have become in Nigeria. But we align ourselves with the position of former President Goodluck Jonathan that the lingering political crisis in Rivers State “is a cause for serious concern for everyone, especially lovers of democracy and all actors within the peace and security sector of our nation.”

Rivers State has been engulfed in crisis since last October after some lawmakers loyal to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike initiated impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The power tussle between the governor and his predecessor (and former godfather) has since split the 31-member assembly into two warring factions. That development led to the bombing of a section of the state assembly complex. Meanwhile, Fubara has spent most of his time mired in political survival at the expense of governance and development of the state. Similarly, Wike has spent more time on the politics of Rivers State than on his primary assignment in Abuja.

It is more unfortunate that the judiciary has allowed itself to be dragged into the crisis by issuing too many conflicting orders while the approach of the police has been partisan and ignoble. But it is Fubara and Wike that must give peace a chance. The personal interest of individual politicians must have limits, and the pursuit of self interest should be enlightened.

Before last Saturday’s local government elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state had secured a judgment from a Federal High Court in Abuja restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing voters’ registers to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC). The judgment also restrained the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, from providing security for the elections. But citing a judgment of the Supreme Court, which ordered that democratically elected officials must govern all the local governments in the country and a judgment of the Rivers State High Court, Fubara insisted that the elections must hold. Though the police withdrew their services on the pretext of obeying a court order, the elections were held in a largely peaceful atmosphere and winners have been declared.  

We do not believe that any of the parties to the crisis in Rivers State is acting in pursuit of the public good. Yet, there must be a limit to meaningless politics and brigandage. As a former governor, Wike must create the right environment for his successor to work. Similarly, Fubara cannot continue to conduct the business of government in contempt of the state legislature, the engine room of democracy. For more than one year now, the various challenges that confront Rivers State, like the rest of the country, are worsening because those who should provide leadership are fighting over control of public resources and ‘political structure’. As things stand, the people are the ultimate losers.

As President Jonathan has pointed out, this crisis has serious national security implications. Rivers remains one of the most strategic states in the country. It is the cosmopolitan home base of the nation’s oil and gas industry. It is also home to the nation’s second most important sea access and marine economy. Unfortunately, with an embattled governor, and in the absence of a functioning legislature, a total breakdown of law and order is not too far away.