By Nnaemeka Oruh
In a statement sent out
after President Jonathan conceded defeat to General Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria's
former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, made an assertion which will continue to
reverberate through history.He said of Jonathan: "History will be kind to
you". It was a ringing endorsement of the selflessness of the outgoing
president.
*Gov Amaechi
Passing a judgement on
Govenor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi on the other hand presents a conundrum. Lauded
in some parts of Nigeria (especially outside Rivers State) as democracy's stand
up guy owing to his battles against President Jonathan, and his monumental
support of the incoming 'saintly' president, Amaechi comes across as the
proverbial father who does more for outsiders than his own family members.
It is important that in
writing about Rotimi Amaechi, one adopts a very objective stance and start from
the very beginning of his governorship tenures. This was a man who judicial
'magic' ensured that he became the governor of Rivers State during his first
tenure without actually standing for the election. Yet most people in the state
were overjoyed at that decision and many of us danced ecstatically at his
emergence to the governorship seat. In fulfillment of all our wishes, Amaechi's
first tenure was a joy to behold. From infrastructural development to
security and the running of an open and participatory government, he was
everything any reasonable person would want in a leader. In those days, he was to
a lot of us, the answer to the problem of leadership in the country. I have
always argued that anybody resident in Rivers who did not like Amaechi during
the first tenure was a sycophant who hated the man because he could not have
access the state's cake. For, in all honesty, Governor Amaechi had an
outstanding first tenure.
*President Jonathan and Amaechi
Governor Amaechi's
second tenure on the other hand was the flip-side of his first. Granted that he
began well too, but in a rather slower pace. All that was to completely change
for the worse when his battle with the Jonathans began. Even
then, most people in the state stood by him. However, by the time he switched to
the All Progressives Congress (APC), the governance of Rivers State became an
abandoned project. The man's entire focus then switched to a battle to win the
presidency and the state for APC (not through better governance, but
through unnecessary campaigns of calumny and expenditure). Civil servants, state projects, lawmakers, in fact, everybody in the state felt the
scourge. But he was no longer interested in the people. His focus had changed to
personal battles and he committed everything to fighting them no matter how
badly the state was hurt.
It is well documented
that desperate attempts were made by the Amaechi-led APC to ensure that
governorship elections did not hold in the state. Fear gripped parts of the
state as they went on rampage. When the results were declared, to further throw
the state into confusion, he thought up something else; conduct local government
elections. Indeed, his actions have shown that he is not in any way interested in
putting the welfare of the state ahead of his own personal battles. He would
rather see the state burn than let go of the shame he feels for not delivering
the state to APC. It is indeed laughable to hear him say "we will restore
our stolen mandate." What stolen mandate?
*Buhari and Amaechi
The truth is that majority of
Rivers people will never vote for APC — it was Amaechi that made sure that was the case, and I believe
he knows that too. He had taken them to the point where the only thing the
people craved was real change from his excesses. That was why APC lost the state
during the state elections. That is why they will also continue to lose until
the man, Amaechi, changes his ways.
As Governor Amaechi's
tenure winds to a close, every action carried out by him so far is geared
towards disrupting the peace of the state and stifling development. Almost
everybody in the state knows this and is fed up. When I talked to some ordinary people on the streets, almost all their views were the same: "He should
please go to Abuja and let us be in peace". Secure in his belief that he
'owns' the centre, Governor Amaechi no longer cares about the welfare of Rivers
State. So to him, the state might as well burn down instead of him to lose his petty
battles, or fail to keep his ego intact.
The question he should
however be asking himself right now is: How will history treat me? As for the
average Rivers man/woman, we just want one thing: leave us alone to live in
peace.
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Am sure its a personal view
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