“Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it.”
—Baltasar Gracian
By Cosmas Omegoh
Developments in Rivers State have continued to unfold, presenting new vistas. Things are happening in and around the state with dizzying speed, allowing chroniclers little opportunities to keep pace.
The climax was last Tuesday’s suspension of democratic order in the state.
The issues were so seismic that an observer christened them “Rivers’ river of events.”
In particular, Rivers State witnessed a six-month suspension of the elected executive governor, Mr Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, as well as the state House of Assembly led by Speaker Martins Amaehwule.
The developments came on the heels of President Tinubu’s trademark declaration of State of Emergency in the state, which triggered torrents of commendations and condemnations, each clearly mirroring every individual’s stand and interest.
As things stand now, Mr Fubara, who until last week was the Rivers’ helmsman is serving a suspension, likewise his deputy, Odu.
Tinubu replaced the Rivers’ governor with a Sole Administrator, a retired Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ette Ekwe Ibas. The new man has the task of steadying the ship of the state and starving off economic sabotage.
So, right now, Fubara is holed up somewhere in his closet reflecting on the ferocity of the flash flood that swept him away.
Until last week, the former governor’s words were law and carried weight. But now, they no longer count.
Sim as he is fondly called was stopped on his tracks in a ferocious battle with his estranged godfather and former Governor Nyesom Wike, now FCT Minister.
If one can read his mind now, Fubara will surely be distraught, seething and sulking, wondering what is next for him on the political chess board of the oil-rich state he presided as governor for 22 months before his sudden removal.
However, some persons conversant with what went down are upbeat that Fubara will bounce back, perhaps in six months’ time or before then.
By then, the reasons President Tinubu adduced for his suspension may have been addressed or waned.
In making his declaration, President Tinubu had hugely blamed Fubara for various happenings in the state.
One of such was threat to blow up oil facilities for which “he did nothing.”
The president feared of a complete breakdown of law and order in Rivers.
But everyone following the developments in the state has a fair idea of why the rains started to fall in the first place.
It all began when Wike as governor chose Fubara, the former Accountant General of Rivers State to succeed him.
Now, there is no prize for guessing whether Fubara won the Rivers State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket or not.
But he went to win at the polls. Thus his success was Wike’s success. That ensured that his political “structure,” was intact. He also ensured that the Wike’s tribe of legislators won Assembly seats to further tighten his grip on the soul of the state.
Having entered into a private alliance with Tinubu after Alhaji Atiku Abubakar snatched the 2023 presidential ticket of the PDP, Wike ensured that Rivers State was delivered to Tinubu on a platter.
For a job well done, Wike, despite being a member of the PDP, was appointed Minister of the FCT.
Analysts allege that after the governorship election victory, Wike had to people the Fubara cabinet with his henchmen who became his eyes in the government. That made Wike clairvoyant. He knew who was doing what in the government, which made Fubara to become uncomfortable without any atom of patience.
In no time, Fubara began to flex muscles; he aspired to become a man with a mind of his own. So he allegedly began to observe whatever agreement he had with his master in the breach. But Wike didn’t like the sound of that. Fubara was taking away his “structure,” he reasoned, thus the battle ensued.
Now, realising that things might go south, especially with the 2027 election on the approach, Wike and his acolytes in the House of Assembly allegedly sprang to work. The end game was to flush out Fubara. So in one breath, 27 members of the Assembly loyal to Wike claimed defection to the APC; then in another breath, they denied it.
Then Fubara demolished the state Assembly to keep them quiet; he kept the other three lawmakers loyal to him. To them he presented the state’s Appropriation Bill, claiming that the rest of the House members had lost their seats.
Then a legal tussle ensued, ending at the Supreme Court. As it became clearer that Fubara would lose, he was alleged to have told his foot soldiers to wait for signals.
Lately, Fubara emerged a loser. But he returned to wave the olive branch, but the victorious army was not interested.
He accepted to re-present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the fuller House, as he was compelled to do so, but the same army was unfazed. The battle cry Fubara must go, grew to a much higher decibel.
In their first move, the 27 lawmakers listed 19 impeachable offences against the governor.
When Tinubu, therefore, declared a State of Emergency last week, those who cheered claimed his act was the right thing to do.
They aligned themselves with him, adding that a breakdown of law and order was imminent or had even occurred. They pointed at militants bombing oil pipes, fearing that more might follow. They thanked Tinubu for saving Fubara from impending impeachment and for helping him to buy time.
So far, Fubara has said he had no hand in the said pipeline bombing. But no one is listening to him.
Yes, a groundswell of opposition against Tinubu’s declaration was mounted. Prominent Nigerians and groups kicked, claiming that suspending elected persons in a democratic dispensation is unconstitutional or akin to twisting of the constitution to suit Mr. President.
They claimed that Section 305 of the 1999 constitution does not give Tinubu the sweeping powers to remove elected officials.
So they accused him of scheming to profit from the fiasco come 2027, urging him to also reprimand Wike. But he would have none of that.
Then last Thursday, the Tinubu men in the National Assembly ratified his suspension order through a voice vote, a move critics have called an aberration.
They flayed the leadership of the National Assembly for jettisoning the constitutional requirement of 2/3 of the members before giving life to the Tinubu request.
Now, the Presidency and the anti-Fubara group are in celebration mood.
Thus far, many Nigerians are sorely worried that the Rivers imbroglio is throwing up fresh frightening vistas.
The first is that President Tinubu is increasingly having his ways in all things – big and small – constitutional or otherwise.
They maintain that in some instances, the laws are interpreted to suit the president’s whims and caprices and the nuances of the moment.
Then, of course, they lament that this season, a culture of strong men is increasingly emerging on the nation’s firmament, brutally eroding the powers of already weakened state institutions and bastion of democracy. They assert that new dangerous precedents are being set each passing day, that the National Assembly is fast becoming a mockery of itself and that new tribes of naysayers and evil enablers are emerging by the day.
They maintain also that the thin line between right and wrong, just and unjust, is disappearing.
Now, anything-and-everything-goes culture is mounting.
As all the suspended persons and stakeholders weigh their options, they must have the interest of the people at heart. Anything short of that remains self-serving. Unfortunately, that is the trademark of the average Nigerian politician. Sadly it is getting worse!