Rivers of lingering political crisis – Hallmark
Democracy has the concepts of equity, justice and freedom as its underpinning. It presupposes the idea that association is based on the freedom of people to come together to pursue common objectives which may or may not tally with the objectives of the majority, the most powerful or the most influential members of the society. In this light, Hallmark joins all well-meaning Nigerians to deplore the political crisis in Rivers State, which worsens and becomes more intractable by the day.
We are, therefore, compelled to implore the Nigerian political class and all parties to the crisis to desist from taking the nation down the road of disaster once again, even as we condemn the seeming partiality of the Nigeria Police in the conflict.
The fall of every democratic government in Nigeria can be traced to untamed disagreement among the politicians. The cases of the first and second republics should serve as object lessons to the dramatis personae in the current political crisis emerging from Rivers State.
In the crisis, Governor Chibuike Amaechi is pitted against the Peoples Democratic Party and other forces associated with the Federal Government are now quite the predictable flashpoint. The incidents there are analogous to those of the Western Region between 1962 and 1965. There are several causes to the crisis such as the disagreement between the Governor and the wife of Mr. President, the transfer of Soku Oil Fields from Rivers State to Bayelsa State, the dissolution of Obio/Akpor Local Government, the reconstitution of the State Executive Committee of the PDP, Governor Amaechi’s suspension from the PDP, the truncation of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum or a combination of these events.
We are concerned that all the issues can be resolved by dialogue or the courts but the belligerents have declined to pursue diplomacy and the rule of law, just as the Federal Government was unwilling to wait for the decision of the Privy Council on the fate of Chief Ladoke Akintola before clamping the State of Emergency on the Western Region, in 1962. Particularly, we are concerned about the mounting evidence that the Nigeria Police, which has a duty to protect every citizen and to maintain public law and order, seems to have become a party to the dispute.
The worst demonstration of this partiality occurred on January 12, 2014, when supporters of Governor Amaechi had planned a solidarity rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for noon in Port Harcourt. But the Police stormed the venue and dispersed the gathering demonstrators ostensibly for the organizers failure to obtain Police permit. It is noted that peaceful association and assembly is a right granted every Nigerian under the Constitution. Since the Police have not disclosed any security information that dictated their pre-emptive strike, we hold them indicted for acting beyond their powers under the constitution. The insistence of the Rivers State Police Command that no high-calibre weapon was deployed in the incident flies in the face of the medical report on Senator Magnus Abe in Port Harcourt before he was flown abroad, which indicated severe shock, trauma, internal bleeding and swelling.
Defusing a gathering storm
For the avoidance of doubt, this newspaper concedes that the crisis must be as puzzling to President Jonathan as it is to us. How on earth could this degree of disaffection come from his home zone of the South-South? That Amaechi, a brother of the same region and governor of the State that approximates to his home, has become the arrow head of his opposition, almost the way Ladoke Akintola turned out to be the Brutus of Obafemi Awolowo must be galling to the President. We are not unmindful of the suspicion in some quarters that Governor Amaechi and his supporters might contrive incidents that would naturally draw the Police against them and then cry wolf, to curry public sympathy. We also observe and deprecate Governor Amaechi’s seeming disrespect to the President as is sometimes evident from his body language and some utterances.
But so long as Governor Amaechi does not breach any official protocol or laws, Mr. President should not allow personal hurt or indignation to rule his emotion. Moreover, because the underdog always wins the heart of the public, there is the dilemma that Mr. President is still likely to pay more in public perception than Governor Amaechi for the crisis! After all, most people have argued that Nigeria is still a federating state and Governor Amaechi has decided to exercise his freedom of choice as he best sees fit for the people of Rivers State, whose unflinching support he claims to have, and should not be gagged!
This festering crisis is an ill wind that will blow nobody any good. This newspaper, therefore, calls on all the parties to the crisis to exercise great forbearance. Particularly, we call on the Police to be even-handed in carrying out its lawful duties. The President must step in diplomatically and pull Rivers State back from the brink. He should then call for truce and get all the belligerents to a round table for peace-making, with the Commissioner of Police for Rivers redeployed as a confidence boosting gesture.