State Of Emergency In Rivers, Sad Day For Democracy — Don

A political science lecturer at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Dr Christian Okeke has described the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu as unfortunate and a sad day for democracy.

LEADERSHIP reports that Tinubu had on Tuesday night declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Ordu for an initial period of six months.

In their place, Tinubu has appointed a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas, as the Sole Administrator of the State.

Reacting to the development, Okeke said the state of emergency did not help to enrich the country’s democratisation experience, stressing that it is a total failure on the part of politicians.

“What has happened in Rivers State is most unfortunate and it is a sad day for democracy. Largely, it has not helped to enrich our democratisation experience as a country, and is a total failure on the part of politicians. It is a shame that political elites persistently work for democratic reversals, rather than expected maturity,” he said.

According to the scholar, Fubara was unfortunate and appeared not to have shown mastery of the art of politics all through his ordeals.

“He was not the only governor whose political godfather made governor against all odds, but he was not just as lucky as the likes of Governors Charles Soludo, Francis Nwifuru and Babagana Zulum whose godfathers left office after eight years and never bothered to exercise control over.

“Perhaps, Fubara forgot how his godfather dragged him higher above his counterparts in public service to become accountant general and further pushed down card-carrying members of the PDP to make him, a non-member of the party at a time, candidate for the 2023 governorship election in the state.

“Most importantly, he failed to take into account the personality and temperament of his political godfather, as well as the character and gluttony of an average African political elite in taking the rather ill-fated decision to hurriedly delink from him.

“Having found himself in such pathetic situation and quagmire, Fubara should have explored more dynamic and conflict-free options to manage the mess, at least till he secures re-election, without allowing governance and the interest of the state to suffer loss. That was the wise thing to do.

“His doom today may be likened to that of a man who surrounds himself with bad advisers, sycophants and political neophytes, except he himself is a person who rebuffs sound advice. As it stands, he is the greatest loser since the struggle was not between him and the state House of Assembly per say.

“Today, he is out of office and did not mostly make the best of times in office while his contender is still in power at the centre, with access to some public funds, part of which he may decide to use to service the interest of the lawmakers and any other person loyal to him. He may even quickly fix them into certain offices where they will remain politically relevant.

“Fubara, on the other hand, does not have access to public funds anymore, did not leave as much marks in the sands of time as he may have wished, and has gone the way no governor of the state had, at least in recent time. Most likely, Fubara may be in a corner now shedding some tears over the fate that has befallen him while his adversaries are not much perturbed.

“It may be a final bye to his governorship and a big lesson on loyalty and godfatherism in general in Nigerian politics. It is a shame that some political godfathers choose some inglorious paths.

“Obviously, a big lesson has been learnt on the elements of Nigerian politics and we hope that big events will one day unfold for desperate godfathers to learn their own bitter lessons in the good interest of the country,” Okeke said.