Editorial

Rivers of chaos

Published by

2 years ago

IN recent days, there has been a regime of utter lawlessness in Rivers State, following the plan by the state House of Assembly to remove the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, from office, allegedly as a fallout of the dispute between him and his immediate predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr, Nyesom Wike. On his way to the state House of Assembly to assess the level of damage done to the facility by a fire that broke out in the complex in the aftermath of the crisis, the governor was attacked by policemen who claimed they were trying to deter protesters. The state police command claimed that it had launched a comprehensive investigation to uncover the circumstances surrounding the alleged shooting at the governor amid the ongoing crisis in the state. Spokesperson of the command, Grace Iringo-Koko, said policemen were trying to disperse youths numbering over a hundred who were approaching the entrance of the state House of Assembly complex when they discovered “another aggressive group of persons approaching the entrance of the complex,” among them the governor. “The presence of the governor at the scene was of great surprise and shock as there was no prior communication to the police on the visit of the governor to the scene of the crime,” Iringo-Koko said.

At the complex, the governor gave an oration, wondering what he had done to deserve impeachment. Amid the crisis, a former Majority Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie, was announced as the new speaker, although the camp of the axed speaker, Rt. Hon Martins Chike Amaewhule, dismissed the announcement. Subsequently, the Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, who, speaking after a meeting of the Nigeria Police Council in Abuja, said that President Tinubu and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors had intervened to stop the impeachment moves against the governor. This was confirmed in a subsequent statement by the governor, who applauded President Bola Tinubu for swiftly intervening in the crisis and apologised to the people of the state. The governor said: “I got reports that the state House of Assembly had broken into two factions, one claiming to have impeached and suspended the House Leader and three others preparatory to initiating an impeachment action against me, and the other rival faction impeaching the speaker and deputy speaker, thus sparking off some form of political crisis. My actions are aimed at restoring peace and stability in our state.”

If the crisis in Rivers State proves anything, it is the fact that Nigeria’s political class holds the people over whom it presides in utter contempt. While conditions across the land worsen by the day, politicians keep conducting themselves in a manner that fails to demarcate between the state and themselves, refuting the notion that it is a privilege for anyone to be elected to serve the people, and literally holding the people hostage. The arrogance, not to talk about the utter lack of patriotism, is sickening. As the actors in the Rivers drama of chaos tread the landscape, beating the drums of war, there is no mention of the urgent need to address the appalling conditions in which the masses of the state, like their counterparts across the country, are trapped. If anything, the Rivers State House of Assembly floating the impeachment of the state governor and considering a motion on intent and notice of impeachment after less than six months of operation shows the level of rascality that has come to characterise and define governance in Nigeria.

What exactly has the House of Assembly done to even portray itself as being concerned with the plight of the people since inauguration that would justify a recourse to a completely meaningless impeachment move? And precisely what acts of the governor have invited the response of impeachment that the people of Rivers State do not know about? Besides, what kind of police personnel would teargas and watercannon a governor on his way to inspect the extent of destruction wrought by an explosion at a House of Assembly complex? These are questions bordering on the proper running of government and the seriousness that is expected to be brought to bear on such a grave responsibility. It certainly seems that the whole edifice of governance in Rivers State, if not in Nigeria, is tottering. Things are done cavalierly and without the slightest regard for decency.

We think that the entire political class should reassess itself and desist from continuing to endanger the current attempt at democratic rule through precipitate and ridiculous actions, as demonstrated in Rivers State. Sowing the seeds of, and resorting to violence and chaos pays nobody in the end. Chaos breeds nothing good. It should be the responsibility of those concerned about order and peace to quickly douse and extinguish the smouldering political fire in Rivers State and ensure that peace is restored and maintained in the state.

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