Amaechi’s endless voyage of reinvention

Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi has a way of saying the right things to court public attention. He talks as if he is one of us and not one of them. He was President Muhammadu Buhari’s minister of transport for eight years. Before then, he had been Governor of Rivers State for eight years too. Altogether, he had been very lucky. He had never been short-changed in the serial partisan transactions in the ongoing Fourth Republic. He knew how to create the right alignments and realignments to secure his due. Even as a rookie, he had started very high. He was the undisputed speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly for eight years; from May 29 1999 to May 29, 2007. It was from the speakership that he ascended the governorship of the state in circumstances that introduced something hitherto unknown in Nigeria’s electoral jurisprudence.

For his good, the Supreme Court went overboard to invent a judicial interpretation that pushed the Realist School of jurisprudence to fearful heights. Amaechi was simply awarded the governorship without sweat or statutory processes. He became the first and perhaps the last person to win an election in Nigeria without participating in the actual election. The apex court’s ruling on Amaechi became a fresh basis for testing the validity of Oliver Wendell Holmes’ definition of law in his book, *__The_* *_Path_* *_Of_* *_The_* *_Law__** . The foremost American jurist who lived between 1841 and 1935 said law is more experiential than it is logical and that what ultimately pass for law in all jurisdictions are ‘’the prophesies of what the courts will do and nothing more pretentious…’’

Going by the fine points of law, it had all looked like a judicial blue murder when Amaechi was declared Governor outside the polls. Therefore, some public outcry was expected to have attended the Supreme Court’s decision. That did not happen. If anything, their Lordships were applauded for standing up to the intimidation and rascality of the executive arm of government under former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Here is the background. The PDP primary election to choose the party’s candidate for the River State’s governorship election in 2007 was won fair by Rotimi Amaechi.

But Retired General Olusegun Obasanjo who loved to fall back on his dictatorial past for inspiration said no. OBJ was most reluctant as a democrat. For eight years, he struggled between two opposing tendencies; his past and his present, causing this embarrassing split in his leadership dispositions. He manifested as a dictator and a democrat even in similar circumstances, and the issue, most times, was the preponderance of the former. 

On the Amaechi’s matter he came out in his undiluted past. His verdict: The outgoing governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, could have any other successor, but Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi.  The pace and character of the emerging democracy was yielding to a pattern soley set by Obasanjo.  The candidature of Amaechi became instantly jinxed. It was ‘Death On Arrival’ as they say in Morbid Pathology. President Obasanjo did more to climb down from the privileged height of Aso Rock Villa to express the Amaechi’s case in street language for the understanding of the ordinary people of Nigerian. He said that the election of Amaechi as the PDP flag bearer in the2007 governorship election in Rivers State had a ‘K-leg’. In street parlance, the matter had become intractable.

Even when the courts advised otherwise, their Lordships were ignored. Obasanjo had spoken across board for everybody. The beauty of the legal system is that judges do not step out of the courtrooms to fight in the streets in defence of their positions. They possess the temperament to patiently wait for you to return to the courtroom. And this was what happened in the Amaechi’s case. Against all entreaties by the PDP’s central command, including even Dr. Peter Odili, Amaechi followed up to the Supreme Court with the arbitrary nullification of his candidature by the party. Apparently, he had good legal advisers and spies who were able to transmit to him the thinking in the judiciary regarding his predicament. He got it right. His victory in the court was not so much a product of sound jurisprudence as it was a decision by the judiciary to reassert the principles of Separation of Power and the Rule of Law in a constitutional democracy.

This was why the public outcry was voluntarily subdued when, on October 25, 2007, and following the express order of the Supreme Court, Amaechi upstaged his cousin, Celestine Omehia, to become the governor of Rivers State. In the general election of 2007, the court said it was the parties and not the candidates that were voted for.  And since Amaechi got confirmed through the same judicial review as the authentic flag bearer of the PDP, it didn’t matter if his name was on the ballot on not. In the eyes of the court, Celestine Omehia was only a transitory agent who collected the trophy on behalf of his principal in the transaction. The court said he was a courier without a substantive stake in the transaction. The Supreme had done what it needed to do in the circumstance. It was clearly an application of the Mischief Rule of interpretation to cure the PDP malady. Walking back years later on the same material facts, was immaterial. The purpose had been duly served.

Meanwhile Amaechi was buoyed up beyond measures by this judicial victory. Literally, he had moved against powers, principalities and strongholds and triumphed. It was unprecedented. None, other than God, could have ensured this massive and comprehensive victory. Accordingly, he dedicated his victory to God and for the eight years that he reigned, he was all over the state making a big show of his faith in God. In one Easter celebration, he staged the spectacle of a cross-bearer, as if he too, was on his way to Calvary to die for the sins of others. 

In fact, Amaechi became too sanctimonious for his real character. He made it look as if he didn’t have a history before October 25, 2007. Suddenly, he became self-made. Even Dr. Peter Odili who owns Pamo Hospital in Port Harcourt where Amaechi had worked as a public relations officer before the 1999 breakthrough, didn’t represent a value in Amaechi’s new-found social high ground. It was all about himself as he began the processes, including the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to even up with perceived political enemies and recreate the jungle to become the undisputed king.

Painfully, the spectacular cross carrying and other exhibitionist attitudes of faith did not translate to wisdom in Amaechi. He overstated his victory to mean personal effort. He acted too much like the conqueror of the Great British Empire. In all, he doesn’t understand spiritual laws. Instead of the needless spectacle of carrying giant Crucifix about in Port Harcourt on Easter Sundays to impress, Amaechi should have given more attention to reading the two Books of Kings in the Bible to learn a thing or two from the story of David and Saul on how to manage benefactors in the many battles of life. Even God loves to be praised and acknowledged. And it is about the only thing He requires from us. King David used this effectively to regain his standing with God in spite of his moral failings.You don’t bite the fingers that fed you in the name of settling scores. I should not forget to add that I am talking of benefactors and mentors who are in a state of grace. When mentors become unbearable tormentors, mentees are discharged of all arising obligations by the operation of equity. 

Former President Goodluck Jonathan handled it excellently with his former boss, late D.S.P Alameyesiegha. Also as Vice to Alhaji Umaru Musa Yara’Adua, Jonathan did not enjoy the best of times. He only endured his time as Vice President. But he never went on a vengeance upon assumption of a substantive role. Again, it was the imperial Obasanjo who ensured Jonathan became a running mate to Yara’Adua. But when Obasanjo turned wild, midstream, and was bent on killing a boy that called him father, Jonathan was stable in managing the fall-outs. He never deployed the might of the presidency to contain or even eclipse Obasanjo. He allowed Baba Obasanjo to spread and pontificate to his fill. I can say without fear of being contradicted that it is one of the things counting for President Jonathan. He is cool and stable in retirement. He enjoys relative grace in spite of all the attempts at humiliating him as President.

Only a fool challenges his chi to a wrestling contest after a good meal. Jonathan might not have interpreted power correctly as an opportunity to deliver large scale public good in the service of humanity. Nevertheless, he did not forget to be humble. On the other hand, Amaechi had his hard nut cracked for him by a benevolent spirit, but forgot to be humble. He allowed his success to get into his head. First, with virtually bare hands, he went to battle against super powers in 2007 and won. Seven years later in 2014, when it didn’t seem likely, he picked arms again to offset the status quo. He pulled away from the PDP to strengthen a conspiracy to take down Jonathan. Again, he was successful.

Along the line, Amaechi gained tremendous points as a regime destroyer. Now, he feels strengthened by this streak of successes to act Hercules in Nigeria’s political high drama. He has started dreaming big about 2027. He is in the thick of yet another conspiracy, called political coalition, to truncate the mandate renewal scheme of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He has been highlighting the mistake of allowing Tinubu to become President as if he is just knowing Tinubu, who was a major partner in the 2014 conspiracy to destroy the PDP’s government under Jonathan. Indeed, Amaechi has been cherry picking. He is avoiding a comprehensive post-mortem that should include President Muhammadu Buhari. 

I am saying that before he starts sounding like St Saviour, Rotimi Amaechi should explain, or at least rationalise, and in convincing language too, his role in the Buhari national tragedy. For 24 years, he lived off public resources, first as Speaker of a State House of Assembly, then as a State Governor, and finally as a Federal Minister. He was 60 years old last week. It means he has lived almost half of his time on earth on government resources. He has been off the freebies for two years now; since May 29, 2007. It is therefore also good for the rest of us to understand the motivation of Amaechi. That is, to know, which, between the urge to reconnect with the freebies and a genuine desire to make a difference in governance,  is more pressing in his latest quest? I will only add that if in 24 years, Amaechi could not deliver a difference but only rancour and divisions within the spaces he occupied, the likelihood of a new outcome does not exist even if he is given eternity to operate. He is like that fellow in the popular rock’ n roll song, who, for 24 years lived next door to Alice but could not say what he needed to say to Alice. It is in Amaechi’s  interest to understand that most things have expiry date. He has expired as a force in Rivers and national politics. He lacks the character to retain privileges.

Currently, the reigning champion in Rivers State is one man called Nyesome Wike. For reasons that I cannot explain, he too, has been following the path that Amaechi followed as if that path has become a standard path in Rivers politics. By His grace, I will be here to write his story also when the time comes.

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