This essay is easier understood by chronicling the political machinations of the Minister of Transportation, the self acclaimed “lion of the Niger Delta” and the self appointed Director General of the “Buhari Campaign Organization” because of his attempt at resisting the sure political nemesis he is presently confronting in the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC). The Minister came into the APC with a design to lead the campaign of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) to dominate whatever and whoever is not an up-brought of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of his time, who are members of the APC.
The APC therefore cannot turn her back against what Nigerians have so far suffered as a people because of the political inconsistencies of the appointees of the Buhari administration, especially because of what is presently happening with the major opposition party in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, where Chibuike Amaechi’s recommended appointee for the office of the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Nsima Udo Ekere, is attempting to replicate his originating machinations in Uyo, unfortunately.
Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (as he loves to be addressed) must face his present political reality as the bold and courageous man he portrays himself to be, leaving Akwa Ibom State alone. He is a politician who has become politically irrelevant because of his political choices in this dispensation. Unfortunately for him, he failed to use his biggest moment of political glory to aspire for political ascension through selfless service, he chose rather to use that moment to behave like the Biblical Cain, who saw his brother’s acceptable sacrifice and was uncharitably led by jealousy to shed his blood. Today, just like God asked Cain of his brother Abel, President Buhari is silently asking his Minister of Transportation “where is your brother, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu?”. This is Chibuike Amaechi’s present political nemesis.
In all that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu suffered in the APC shortly after delivering President Buhari to the Aso Rock Villa, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi “cut” him the deepest. How he turned out as the Director General of the Buhari/Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Organization in November 2014 could not have been without the huge input of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. He was the first high ranking member of the PDP to join the APC after the merger of the Legacy Parties and ththim ,gistration as a political party. This was way ahead of the emergence of the nPDP. It must not be forgotten at this stage that one of the fundamental reasons why members of the nPDP staged a walkout from the PDP national convention of August 2014 was in sympathy with the travails of Chibuike Amaechi in the PDP.
It would be recalled that at that time, Rt Hon Amaechi perambulated the length and breath of Nigeria identifying with the core leadership of the APC to drum up support for himself against what he showcased as his political victimization and stigmatization by the leadership of the PDP under Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who was then the national chairman of the party. As a sitting governor at that time, the party had designed a process to impeach him. The important question that begs an answer in that whole drama that created “continuity” for television stations across Nigeria, is why did the PDP want Rt Hon Amaechi out of the party at all cost at that time? President Muhammadu Buhari should, by the answer to the question, now be wary of the “lion” of the southern creeks.
It is important to answer the question, why, in a political system where political parties show their muscles with how many States they control, a ruling party going into an election would decided to lose a viable State like Rivers State – it was because, to them, they paraded a wrong man as governor. It was all about the flag he bore in their name. There was no way Rt. Hon. Amaechi would have escaped been replaced by his deputy governor if the process that begun with his suspension from the party had culminated in his dismissal from the party. The Independent National Electoral Commission would have empowered the Rivers State Chief Judge to swear in Engr Tele Ikuru as governor because a governor is one only upon a political party platform. No one can be governor outside a political party. Measures were also in place to illegitimately impeach him at a point. What did he do wrong? The answer is very unique.
Whatever the answer is, is what our Minister of Transportation brought into the APC when he was forced out of the PDP. It was also the reason for his losing Rivers State to the opposition as an incumbent governor, and it is still the reason for his inability to take back Rivers State since then, in spite of the lives lost and properties destroyed in his quest to exert revenge on Ezebuwon Nyesom Wike, the incumbent governor. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi took his political opportunism for granted, not understanding how he has never stood alone to win any political victory. Yes! Dr Peter Otunaya Odili brought him up politically by paying up for what it took for Rt. Hon. Amaechi to become Speaker of a legislative house for 8 years, and it was his friend who paid up for making him governor at all cost. Is he grateful to any of them? No! He is a self made superman , a lion who lost his animal kingdom to a Nyesom Wike.
For the office of the Director General of the Buhari/Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Organization, Rt. Hon. Amaechi rode on the back of the sympathy he enjoyed as a “victim of political stigmatization”. An abuse for which he is the worst offender. Unfortunately, as soon as he landed the privilege, he started to plot his “standing alone” as the “King” of all the “animals” in South South Nigeria. It is for this reason that this word of advice to another son of the Niger Delta, who is doing a yeoman’s job in Uyo, Nigeria, if he would recall his antecedents and understand how his colleagues love to use and dump him, is given. Truly, the destruction of the poor is their poverty. In choosing to “stand alone” and in absolute control, Rt. Hon. Amaechi chose the wrong way to begin. Instead of working to advance his political cause by selfless service, he chose rather to develop the project to “cut Tinubu to size”.
His proximity, as DG of Buhari Presidential Campaign hub, to a mentally poor national chairman made it very easy for him to lead the “caging of John Oyegun” by the nPDP members. Together, they plotted the rejection of Asiwaju Tinubu as Vice Presidential candidate of the APC, leading to the inability of a “mere commissioner”, as Senator Saraki referred to his sitting Vice President, to reprimand Senator Saraki, when yet an ordinary senator-elect, resisting the intervention of the deputy national leader of his party, and going on to become the President of the 8th National Assembly, with John Oyegun watching from the sideline. This brought the worst nightmare upon Nigerians. They will not be forgiven. That was the end of “change” for this administration, unless they can start s new change by partisan elimination.
They went ahead to take the national assembly, and today Nigerians are suffering hunger and deaths everyday because the people who were recruited from several federal constituencies and senatorial districts to be vehicle that should convey good governance from Abuja home have all turned our eyes to President Buhari while they hide under redundancy.
If President Buhari insists he would not bother himself with the aggrieved nPDP members, he is right. Mr President set up an anti typical “Asiwaju Reconciliation Committee”, he did that not to persuade anybody to remain in the APC but for Asiwaju Tinubu to chase many unwanted nomads away from the party. Dr Nsima Udo Ekere must be careful how he develops himself in Uyo to fall into the category of those to be driven out of the APC. President Muhammadu Bihari knows the price he is paying for trusting Rt Hon Amaechi and for having full blooded PDP members around him, retarding his advances, and at a point they even attempted to kill him in The Gambia. The nPDP.members have made the APC bloated.
The concern has therefore arisen in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, when against what Rt Hon Amaechi is resisting in Rivers State, in standing against his friends who aspire to be governor of Rivers State, he has set Dr Nsima Udo Ekere up to vacate in Akwa Ibom State. The commotion in Rivers State is sustained by Amaechi’s erroneous understanding of what democracy represents. His failed understanding of how democracy works leads him to behave as an autocrat, and he is a nobody with out propping. President Buhara” lost the March 2015 presidential election in Rivers State to Amaechi’s political immaturity and his leadership childishness. He called out members of the APC in the State to boycott that presidential election. He failed to see his incompetence to stop that election which became a walk over for the PDP. Rt Hon Amaechi’s arrogance makes him stupid. I wonder how he copes with his ministerial duties.
While he is quarreling with Magnus Abe and Dakuku Peterside for daring to showcase their aspiration to be governor of River State, he has looked the other way from his protege in Akwa Ibom State who is doing the same thing, upstaging fragile peace in the State. It is quite interesting to note that in the light of the recent concluded congresses in the State,.matters around it not been settled finally because of Dr Ekere’s continuous protest, and the national convention of the APC, taking place ad it is, been ahead of his selfish acts, his acceptance to be hosted in an “endorsement rally” by a pressure group in the APC was ill informed. In the efforts of the Udom Emmanuel’s effort to rid the regions of the “Abak 5” of cultism, rape and kidnapping,
It was a political blunder for Dr Ekere to take the commencement of his governorship campaign to such a volatile area for social crimes. The Akwa Ibom State government surely shares this concern. It is interesting that a former deputy governor of the State would be oblivious of efforts made by an incumbent governor at ridding cultism, rape and kidnapping in communities in his State. Does he have any interests in these social vices? Why not take an endorsement rally to Ikot Ekpene, why the crime vulnerable “Abak 5”? This is suspicious.
President Buhari must not again retain the illogical decision of handing the responsibility of political appointments in the South South to kindergarten pupils of politics. In Akwa Ibom State, so many tested politicians and technocrats came from the Legacy Parties who could have been Minister, MD NDDC, MD OGFZA, and Presidential aides: who worked tediously for the success of the APC in the State, and were sidelined on appointments and compensation, and they have remained faithful to the APC.
How did all political appointments from the federal government to Akwa Ibom State get into the hands of only proselytes who joined the APC from the PDP after they failed at the nomination stage of their aspirations? Today, Dr Nsima Udo Ekere is using funds from the NDDC to pull the wrong strings within the APC in Akwa Ibom State because of an ambition which is dead on arrival. Nobody is standing in the way of his aspiration but he has become insensitive to the plights of the generality of members of the APC in Akwa Ibom State, and he should be warned.
In warning him, it is pertinent for him to know that there is no where the “divide and rule” system help the common peoples’ growth and has never been popular. This will be resisted in Akwa Ibom State. Everyone is entitled to pursue his or her ambition, but it smacks of selfishness and stinks of political greed to have an incumbent responsibility and still street h forth from that responsibility to grab another. It is political opportunism. Nevertheless, those who see Dr Ekere as a honey comb are bound to strive for the best economy in the honey market. Finally, a word for Dr Ekere: “the rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is his poverty”.
Scripture here says you can be rich and secured, but you are destroyed by your poverty. It is not altogether bad to be poor because under a scriptural brand the poor is blessed if he or she is “poor in the spirit”. It is therefore possible for a rich and secured man to be destroyed by his mental poverty. A word is enough for the wise.
Ini Akpan Morgan writes from Uyo. He is an architect, writer and a political commentator. A Guest Columnist with the PUO Reports and can be reached via ” time.subsidaries@gmail.com
,
