The Recent Media Siege On Governor Wike

The past week has been belabored with an intense media siege on River State Governor Nyesom Wike, which has bordered on the incidence of cult wars and violence in certain areas of Rivers State.

First it was Eniola Bello of ThisDay with a Backpage report titled 'One week, One Death' with Wike. The appallingly vicious article, written by someone who had clearly not visited Rivers State had all the trappings of well scripted hatchet job targeted at damaging Governor Wike while patronizing Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers State, current Minister for Transport and de facto political leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Rivers State.

One will never be able to say what the true intentions of the authors of these articles could be. Some are wont to say that they may be angling for appointments from either Amaechi or one of his recently appointment-compensated lackeys. One would therefore not be surprised if one of these emergency hatchet jobbers is suddenly appointed as a media aide or public relations consultant to either the Minister for Transport or even the Director General of NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside.

Not surprising, The Nation Newspaper (a media arm of the Tinubu empire) of Tuesday, March 15, 2016 also came with a fair dose of anti-Wike articles and reports.

They include 'Wikes Rivers of Blood' penned by one Olakunle Abimbola, 'Supreme Court Ruling  Wikes appointees afraid of Sack' by Clarice Azuatalam, 'APC Leaders gun attack in Rivers' by Bisi Olaniyi amongst others.

As a matter of fact, within the same week, an official of the APC from far away Ondo State made a call demanding that a state of emergency be declared in Rivers State.

In spite of all the media charade, it is interesting to see that the people of Rivers state have outgrown the antics of the Lagos based media mercenary groups.

Rivers people know the truth and the truth they say sets free.

In no other state has the issue of insecurity been as trivialized by opposition politicians like Rivers State. There are those who even say that if the Agatu (Benue State) incident with its despicable killings had happened in Rivers state, APC politicians and their media agents would have wasted no time in accusing Wike of paying Fulani herdsmen to kill and maim their members.

As a matter of fact, gory pictures of beheaded students (in Abia state) were brandished by APC agents in Rivers State as though it was an incident that happened in Rivers State. This is how saddening the reports have been so twisted, all in a bid to misinform Nigerians and provoke the good people of Rivers state who have found for themselves a leader who they trust and who they know is truly grateful, level headed and sane.

It is not uncommon to see political editors at some of the national dailies wine and dine with well-known APC politicians at weddings funded and supported by the same politicians in the Lagos area. What is however regrettable is the fact that some of these editors cavort with these politicians at the expense of the truth and engage in campaigns of despicable calumny against political leaders all in a bid to appease those who water their pockets.

The truth is, in Rivers State, we now know who our enemies are. Time will tell all things.

Written by George Kerley.