The 2015 general elections has come and gone but the occurrences during
the period will be quite valuable to students of history. I am very
certain that within the next four years a lot more will unfold.
No matter the side of the political divide, the consensus is that the
elections was to a large extent not free an fair. As a matter of fact
Professor Attahiru Muhammadu Jega and his INEC team put up an abysmal
performance. All the things we witnessed during the tenures of Professor
Maurice Iwu and Dr Abel Guobadia (multiple thumb printing, snatching of
ballot boxes, falsification of results, late or no arrival of election
materials, bribery of electoral officers and the newest trick - voting
of underage kids in the north, as confessed to by Kano state governor)
all resurfaced once again. Since Jega's card readers could not perform
the much anticipated magic, I hope INEC comes up with 'heart readers' by
2019!
The above facts not withstanding, electorates(in few states) showed an
understanding of some of the issues on ground. For example, in Benue the
people proved to Governor Suswam that you cannot owe salaries and
expect the people to return your party at various levels. Unlike their
Osun state counterparts who are comfortable with not receiving their
wages - believing it is a dividend of democracy!
Rivers state is another state were the people unanimously decided to pay
the weeping emperor in his own coin. For Rivers people it is "an eye
for an eye". Under Rotimi Amaechi's watch, the courts have been shut for
almost a year(ironically he became a governor through a court ruling).
Under this emperor primary health care workers have been on strike for 8
months(this is the closest form of health care available to the rural
populace whose votes he sort for his party). His flippant tongue added
more "salt to injury"; not to mention his outward show of disregard for
the rule of law, with his 'remote controlled' house of assembly sitting
in his bedroom to do his bidding. Emperor Amaechi's case is like that of
the king who went around dancing naked under the illusion that he wore a
magic apparel.
With each passing day, more and more Rivers people realized their
governor was leading the state towards anarchy; with each careless(as
has become his trademark) utterance, he further deemed the chances of
his party in the state. With every media opportunity he got, he bragged
of how Rivers State is APC unknown to him the "glory had departed", he
had(has)become an empty barrel. His last card was playing ethnic
politics of "an ikwerre man succeeding another ikwerre man" - on a 'good
day' his message could have made sense to his audience but here was a
messenger who had lost all credibility. With uncompleted projects
scattered all over the states(the monorail "cartoon network" being the
most outstanding), to outright corrupt practices, land grab for selfish
reasons etc Amaechi believed money could buy every body or solve all
problems hence the spending spree he embarked on during the campaigns.
If there is any lesson he ought to learn, it is that money cannot buy
everything(VP slot inclusive).
On Saturday 11th April 2015, Rivers people in one accord decided to send
Rotimi Amaechi on 'exile' to Abuja, with a clear message of outright
rejection. The abysmal performance of the APC in Rivers State has
rendered Amaechi's political associates jobless, all because "their oga
no know map"! This may/may not be a sign that Wike is the 'dream lover'
but it is certainly a sign that a people have rejected the crying
emperor - who has taken it upon himself to accuse everybody (Senator
Musliu Obanikoro inclusive) but himself for his failings both as a
governor and a state party leader.
Dr Dakuku Peterside's loss is quite pathetic(when one considers the
'embarrassing' margin). Maybe he would have been a better governor, that
we may never find out(honestly I am not interested in finding that out
though), he is a victim of his inability to choose his friends properly.
I hope his boss remembers him in his 'Abuja paradise' but knowing
Amaechi and how unruly he is, only time will tell how long his romance
with the hausa-fulani cabal will last.
My sincere wish is that Nyesom Wike will be the governor Amaechi never
was and further prove to some of us who were skeptical(for a while)
about his candidacy, that some of the things said about his personality
are mere propaganda. The stakes are a lot higher now, this I am sure
Chief Wike knows and considering the election result majority of Rivers
people are with him.
Pending when Amaechi relocates to Abuja, I hope he enjoys the task(of
weeping) he has given himself. When he realizes that Chief Nyesom Wike
has the mandate of the people and that the election in Rivers state
cannot be cancelled, he will save himself red eyes and headache. Since
Mr Amaechi has decided to become an 'election result activist'(despite
being an election day offender) he should start by screaming about the
'day light robbery' in Lagos and the underage voters in Northern
Nigeria. Only then will his audience take him serious; till then he can
"cry me a river", it does not matter one bit.
Rivers state is happy. Emperor Amaechi has lost his throne and no amount tears can save the rejected emperor from his pains.
Enenim Ubon tweets from @EnenimUbon
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