· 
With all the grueling
political wrangling currently going on in Rivers State, there has never been a
much stronger need for the people of Rivers state to demand a total paradigm
shift in the manner with which their political leaders emerge.
Since the return of democracy to Rivers state, the politics of
Rivers state has been dominated by what many would call the disciples and
prodigal disciples of Dr. Peter Odili who ruled the state from 1999 to 2007.
And then there was a season to tumultuous and dramatic
transition that saw power move from Peter Odili to Celestine Omehia and then to
Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi.
Both Omehia and Amaechi had served under Peter Odili in various
capacities. Omehia first as Special Adviser and then Commissioner, while
Amaechi has served as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly throughout
the eight-year tenure of Rivers state.
The Supreme Court ruling of 2007 did not only strip Omehia of
power but also dramatized the divisions in the house of Odili. Old friends
became new enemies and new political alliances and allegiances began to emerge
to further enlarge the cracks and divisions.
The divisions and cracks within the Rivers political power was
further compounded during the Jonathan presidency with the conflict between
former President Jonathan, his wife Patience and Rotimi Amaechi.
An overly ambitious Nyesom Wike, who was recommended to Jonathan
as Minister of State by Amaechi, set out to exploit the crack in the
relationship between the Jonathans and Amaechi to oil his own fiery ambition of
succeeding Amaechi as Governor.
Riding on strong pro-Jonathan sentiments and leveraging the
Jonathan incumbency, Nyesom Wike was eventually elected into office as Governor
while Jonathan failed his re-election bid.
The politics of Rivers State have never been so raucous,
divisive and offensive. It has largely been reduced to the egos of two men –
Rotimi Amaechi and his one-time Chief of Staff and confidant, Nyesom Wike, both
of whom are from the same ethnic nationality and senatorial zone of Rivers
State.
While the search for a gubernatorial candidate seems to be
tearing Amaechi and APC apart, PDP in Rivers state have long been reduced to a
‘Nyesom Wike PDP’ as many of those who contested the PDP primaries with him
have long decamped to other opposition parties.
The solution to this political imbroglio and a face saver for all those gladiators would be to field a tested
public administrator and technocrat who can heal Rivers State from decades of
political immaturity, unnecessary attrition and inconsistencies.
Such a person should enjoy bipartisan support and should not
come from any of the tarnished political families and gatherings that have
continued to make Rivers State a battle zone.
Maybe it is time for Rivers State to adopt the Tinubu strategy
of offering the power of governance to seasoned public servants, administrators
and professionals rather than career politicians who have done nothing other
than politics since graduated from University.
It is up to him and Rivers people.
Comments
Post a Comment