Still on Wike and his autocracy

The Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike should take a peek into his colleague’s playbook from Lagos. Very recently, Wike demolished buildings and threw caution to the wind. Nothing supports his executive orders, which suggest great disregard for constitutional protocols.

The governor acted over-zealously in demolishing Prudent Hotel and other buildings in Rivers State, and in a defence, called it an executive order. Could he have reacted better? Definitely! On the same day, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu demonstrated the true show of leadership in locking down hotels that defied the lockdown directives.

What law gives basis for the demolition? The Quarantine Act of 2004 allows any government to take broad measures towards preventing infectious disease spread and this didn’t need the demolition of buildings to be achieved.

As is common with this kind of occurrence, a narrative is quickly pushed out to the open to shift attention from their misconduct. Was the hotel demolished because it houses prostitutes? Was it demolished because there are radicals in the hotel? Governor Wike and his supporters want us to believe that members of his Covid-19 monitoring committee were assaulted. They must know better than to use cheap propaganda to win over the public.

We must be very careful and this should also be reflected in those who lead us in our country. Nigeria belongs to all of us and it behoves us to ensure that it works.

People are hungry. It is only normal for them to rebel at a point. And this will get uglier after the pandemic subsides. Worsening economic situation will allow employees reconsider staff limits. What will the governor do to pacify persons whose jobs have been terminated as a reason of that action? People are scared. There is panic everywhere. Life in Rivers State will never be the same again.

The Federal Government including the state governments should push for the betterment of the citizens after the expiration of the pandemic. This is very key to our survival as individuals and also as a nation.  All legal instruments to make this work must be put in place.

Ezekiel O. Kayode,

Lagos.

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