Rivers: Lessons from Nasarawa

“I am in politics to baptise politics and make it pure”—Rev. Fr Moses Adasu.

The last time a Nigerian governor humbled a vengeance-driven, revenge-reeking, regime change-seeking, impeachment-happy godfather was August last year when cassocked governor of Benue, Rev. Fr Hyacinth Alia muscled out the speaker of the state assembly, Aondona Dajoh, the warhead of the governor’s disaffected, estranged godfather, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, before the impeachment fire stoked to roast the state’s chief executive, could conflagrate. A copy of the impeachment notice which could not be delivered before Dajoh the hunter was hunted down and out of his prime position, was made available to me by an older acquaintance from the state who is pro-Akume. In it, Alia was accused of sundry felonies, ranging from alleged contract frauds to outright pawing of state resources, using close aides, totalling N117 billion. But the religious governor survived, reportedly playing hardball politics. Aside shoving Dajoh aside, allegedly spending about N2 billion, he also swung a majority of the initially wholly-Akume-owned lawmakers to his side, paving the way for his “boy” Alfred Emberga to emerge the new speaker. Today, the 42-count charge of impeachable offences has become history in Benue and Alia, once rumoured to be on his way out of APC which Akume had allegedly made an overheated oven for him, to SDP, has now consolidated power as the leader of the ruling party in the state, despite Akume retaining his plum job in Abuja. The ascendancy battle in the state is simmering but Alia seems comfortable heading to re-election on APC platform next year. Things are likely the way they are in the troubled North Central state because the political temperature and personal temperament of the gladiators are a bit temperate.

Except for a miracle, Alia’s counterpart in Rivers, Siminalayi Fubara, can’t, as things stand, claim such a renewed hope or testify yet, of subduing his bellicose, scorned godfather, Nyesom Wike. Unlike Benue assembly’s gate that wasn’t completely locked against the alleged inducement from the executive, the majority in Rivers’ assembly, seem (though nothing practically can ever be deemed closed or conclusive in politics) irretrievably beyond Fubara’s reach; literally, symbolically and metaphorically. Those men and women answering lawmakers in the state seem to have found their happy place in the bosom of the FCT Minister and you don’t abandon a deity answering your prayers and meeting your needs. But there is still a troubling similarity; in both states, it has been APC lawmakers seeking to depose APC governors, though there is a markedly departure point in where the two godfathers pulling the strings stand; one is wholly APC, the other is half APC, half PDP, full Renewed Hope. Interesting, isn’t it?

READ ALSO: We don’t have party allegiance in Rivers — Wike

Fubara’s first name has an interesting Ijaw meaning; Siminalayi means the poor can birth the rich/king. A close-by Yoruba proverb is, a white cold pap coming out of a black pot. Oxymoronic? With the impeachment move launched by Wike’s allies in the Rivers assembly, it could be excused if taken for granted that the governor and his almost-invisible deputy are toast. There is a precedent that supports the logic. For most of the tussling between him and Wike, the governor has always appeared tactless, disoriented and out of sorts, constantly backpedaling and playing catch-up behind the aggressive minister, his old benefactor. In fact, you can nickname the governor FACO (Fubara Always chickens out), same way CNN tried to hewn the tag for Trump in his global tariff war by nicknaming him TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) until the one the American mainstream media always tries to undermine, shocked everyone by getting away with wins in most of his ridiculous proposals targeting adversarial world powers. Will Fubara also shock us?

In Ancient Greek mythology, a character named Eiron, was curated as an ignoramus but who always outwitted boastful opponents. It was from the character the world was gifted the word “irony”. Will the epilogue of the Rivers’ political theatre throw up a modern-day Eiron? Or will it be the FACO streak? Time is a teller.

Frankly, I’m not personally persuaded that either democracy or Rivers’ commoners will benefit, anyhow the crisis is resolved or the camp that eventually triumphs. So good luck to whoever assumes ascendancy. But there are moral questions that politics should not obliterate. No doubt, Wike’s bare-knuckle persona and verbal emissions can be off-putting, which can easily sway public sympathy to anyone in a face-off with him, but the sanctity of not puncturing a helper’s eyes with sticking stick, is upheld across faiths, cultures and civilizations. I know some “fathers” are so rambunctious and implacable, but “sons” who have benefited from them, should not go out calling such “fathers” barking dogs. I understand some might want to say the minister is reaping what he sowed, since what goes around must come around. Ingratitude of any kind should not be excused and as the minister shops for the governor’s replacement, with everything pointing in the direction of his “speaker” Martins Amaewhule, maybe it would be better he restitute his ways first with his own helpers he had made bitter enemies, to cancel the plague of betrayal in his political circle. He may not be a Bible-consuming Christian but he certainly believes in God and His word, as evident in his leaked prayer moment when the skies got turbulent. Galatians 6:7 says “Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows”. Genesis 8:22 forewords above with “As long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest…will never cease”. These are established heavenly principles that kick-in once condition-precedents are set and met. No amount of oath-taking will set aside divine arrangement. That is why God’s golden rule is “do unto others as you want others to do to you”, as given by Jesus in Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31. No matter what, serial betrayals will always beget serial betrayals.

Impeachment is always political though there is legality to it and the constitution attempts to straighten up what will always attract crookedness. Or how does one explain allegedly pulling out of a presidential political solution becoming a governance misconduct, when even the broker of the so-called agreement has so serially violated governance codes to warrant constitutional impeachment proceedings against him? But in Nigeria, all animals are not equally and the partridges already on mounds are daily proving to others below they are immortal.

Certainly, what is playing out in Rivers isn’t unsampled and whatever outcome, will not necessarily be novel.

Mid-2014, then-Nasarawa governor, Tanko Al-Makura was in wthe same situation Fubara is today, though the setting was a little different; he was governor on the platform of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), before transiting into then newly-founded APC, with majority of assembly men and women, belonging to PDP, then the ruling party at the centre. So, the battle to rid the government house of him was federally-coordinated and directed by now-late Tony Anenih (I know this because an older friend from the state was deeply involved though I won’t disclose which side he took), though then-President Goodluck Jonathan wasn’t so keen on kicking the governor out. Despite the presidential demurring, federal might still went into the sack-Al-Makura efforts and impeachment notice was served on him with a panel put in place to investigate.

But miraculously, Al-Makura survived. I know the story behind his survival but won’t tell it here. Let the man in his situation today find out how someone in his discomforting shoes survived, to smile again. But there is already a deficit for Fubara to overcome. The man who could potentially save him, needs saving himself, if the allegation of sleight of hand in his calendar count is provable. Once someone’s hand is caught in the cookie jar, blackmail is an easy meal. I have chosen to go the way of Jesus this morning, rendering my two cents’ worth, in parables. May Rivers find peace again.