Race To Bayelsa Government House; Will Affliction Rise The Second Time In Bayelsa State….
Since former Governor Timipre Sylva indicated his intention to vie for the governorship seat in Bayelsa in the forthcoming December 5th governorship elections, the prayer on the lips of discerning Bayelsans has been “affliction will not rise the second time”.
Yes, affliction hit Bayelsa the first time in 2007when it elected a man with legendary life of deceit and violence as its governor. Bayelsa has been battling to survive the yoke of the army of occupation unleashed on it by this serial liar.
In 2007,Timipre Sylva was imposed on the party as the governorship candidate by Obasanjo because of the elevation of the then winner of the governorship primary, vDr. Goodluck Jonathan, to the position of Vice President under the late President Umar Musa Yar’adua of blessed memory.
Timipre Sylva reportedly popped champagne when he was announced as the candidate. To him, the purse of the State has been safely deposited in his dirty hands.
Politics, it is commonly said, is war. And again recently, the All Progressives Congress, APC in Bayelsa State unveiled its latest weapon in its bid to win the state governorship election. For weeks, the weapon’s major components had appeared in newspaper advertisements, providing the public with a surfeit of materials for political gossip.
In every way, each component of the weapon carries equal amount of menace, as they all question the integrity and eligibility of Timipre Sylva to be candidate of their party in the build up to the election.
The emergence of Sylva as the APC’s candidate have raised, and still raising so many question. Today, Bayelsan are confronted with a lot of scenarios that they were face with during the five years, that Timipre Sylva raigned as the “Lord” of the Creek Haven. Topmost on the mind of the average Bayelsans today, is the guarantee of security for their lives and property. As the saying goes that “when there is life, there is hope”.
Today, it is no hidden fact that Timipre Sylva is a confidant to so many gangs, operating in and around the State. You could look at these gangs confidence in Timipre Sylva, from the angle of those who repose this uncommon confidence in him.
Before we go ahead to look at the people, the kind of people, the militants who rest in Sylva’s confidence, we should agree on the definitive essence of militancy.
To Sylva, crime is not important. Some Bayelsans, no matter how few, think Sylva, a registered gang man should now be raised to a democratically elected governor again.
The super gangsters are still the points men of our generation, because, they reserved the right to always fine-tune our corporate morality, legality and ethics. They, by being there, would tell us how angelic and acceptable a person like Timipre Sylva should be and when it was time for elections, they were the only ones who could lead it.
What kind of confidence did you suppose these gangs had in a Timipre Sylva? The confidence of, at least, one who would condone his massive looting and killing. Guess what? Sylva condoned all that and more. What manner of man condones murderers, looters, incinerators of blameless human beings and then calmly returns to ask for the Governorship of the same state?
The fact that know gangsters today repose so much confidence in Sylvai should not be a major surprise. Like begets like. Light does not repose its confidence in darkness, nor does darkness repose its trust in light. In the fold of all shades of violence and insecurity, Timipre Sylva is at home.
Till now, peoples oriented campaign are neither the priority of Sylva nor his party, APC. Nigeria in the last six month has been plunged into unimaginable backwardness. Economy, as a campaign point would have been worse for them because, under Jonathan, Nigeria overtook South Africa as the largest economy. How that translates beyond vital statistics is another matter. So, they desperately needed the x-factor. Do not forget that they always told the people that they only, had the answer to Nigeria’s security, even when no security queries were being raised. All that was needed to bring their hidden expertise to the campaign podium was to raise the security query. Now, that makes them relevant? At least, they could now campaign.
The endpoint of this gambit would shock all of them. The gods are not just making all these brigands mad at this juncture for the fun of it. The gods have a program in mind. It is not possible for millions of human beings to be subjected to pseudo-slavery into their generations and something would not give. They are lost and there is no compass. It might look like a huge tragedy right now, but that which seemed to have spiraled out of control is actually mad with a steady pattern.
Do not believe that an earthquake is not afoot in Bayelsa state this year. We have come to that cycle once more. It is a great time to be alive.
We see, feel and know the truth. It has not set us free, because we deny it at different degrees. It does not matter how many years falsehood gains running, though. Truth catches up and dusts it in a jiffy. Truth approaches in Bayelsa at the speed of light. It is upon us all.
Affliction shall not arise again.