The killings in Rivers

RIVERS  of blood flowed in Rivers State on New Year Day in Omoku, when over 20 people were killed and 12 more were injured.

They were attacked by gunmen as they journeyed home after their participation in  the New Year eve service in various churches.

This bloodletting which was carried out on a day that was meant to be a day of celebration for all has been trailed by condemnations from all and sundry, with many calling for the investigation, arrest and prosecution of all those involved in the dastardly act.

It also opened a new chapter in the battle for supremacy in the state politics, with the immediate past governor and current Minister of Transportation, Honourable Rotimi Amechi, calling on the state governor, Nyesom Wike, to resign from office due to his failure to secure lives and properties in the state.

But the governor, Chief Wike, speaking through his Commissioner for Information, Mr Simeon Okah, accused the former governor of seeking cheap political mileage.

Like most states in Nigeria, Rivers has always had some history of political violence since the 2003 general election. Nevertheless, what we are witnessing today is a dimension taken too far, especially before, during and after the 2015 general election.

I lived in Rivers for 10 years most of them during the administration of the former governor, and I can testify that Rivers State enjoyed relative peace and stability during his reign.

There was no upsurge in violence in Rivers until a few weeks to the 2015 general elections when several politicians were attacked and killed by armed gangs.

Notable among those killed were Chief Christopher Adube and Mr Franklin Obi who are both indigenes of Omoku.

The March 19 and December 10 2016 legislative rerun elections brought an unimaginable harvest of death to Rivers due to the selfish desire of some politicians to attain power at all costs.

In the build-up to the elections, there were several beheadings, some were buried alive while others were immolated in various parts of the states.

Twenty four persons were killed in Omoku in one day and in February 2016 alone, 20 people were killed in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of the state.

A Deputy Superintendent of Police, Alkali Mohammed, was among the notable casualties whose death sparked national outrage.

Violence in Rivers State has been provoked mainly by the quest for power. Most politicians in the state see power as the only means of livelihood through access to the commonwealth.

It is regrettable but true that in many communities in Rivers, cult gangs hold sway. They control the social and economic souls of the people, including the traditional structures which have been rendered impotent.

Most of these cult gangs were armed by politicians in the build-up to the 2015 general election.

The landscape of many communities in the state is painted with boys armed to the teeth and walking about freely to the discomfort of citizens

Governor Wike set up a Judicial Commission of Enquiry to probe the violence in the March legislative rerun.

He has reportedly increased funding to the police and other security agencies in the state, and he initiated an amnesty programme for all militants, kidnappers and all those engaged in one form of criminal activity or the other.

But all these measures have failed to achieve the desired results.

Peter Akus

Ifo, Ogun State.