By Eze Chukwuemeka Eze,
“….“To Amaechi, I say, it’s a call to duty to help rescue the country from imminent collapse occasioned by both external and internal insurgents.
“Let the miracle of Okochiri forest take place in Sambisa!….” Lady Oby Ndukwe
Preamble:
Chief Eze, a National Public Commentator and Authority in the Politics of Rivers State in this treatise examines Amaechi’s confidence in tackling Nigeria’s security issues. His reaction stems from questions on the capability and capacity of Rt. Hon. Barr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to govern and extinguish insecurity in Nigeria. Having studied Amaechi for over twenty years; Eze remains an authority in the field with versatile knowledge on the personae of Amaechi.
He presents a scorecard on Amaechi which focuses on his Fight against insecurity, arguing that if given the opportunity to govern Nigeria, the concern of banditry, kidnapping, Boko Haram etc will become things of the past in a matter of one year.
In this piece, I will channel focus on, “How Amaechi Tackled Insecurity and the Impacts of Peace Under His Government particularly now that Tinubu have proven that he is totally incapacitated in handling the security challenges of this country”
“I will also attempt to unravel why Wike trades and drinks insecurity as a tool for political victory.”
“…When Rotimi Amaechi assumed office as Governor of Rivers State, Port Harcourt was in the grip of a dire security crisis — rivalry among gun-running militant factions and hoodlums against an incapacitated police had given criminals undue leverage to kill and destroy with impunity.
Economic activities in the state had been crippled, with people being killed, kidnapped, and afraid to go out. The government of Rivers State under Rt. Hon. Amaechi restored normalcy within six months in office.
His security approach was multi-pronged: he devoted huge funds to police financing to provide expertise, equipment, and logistics support, and engaged global experts – including security experts from Israel, to provide cutting-edge security infrastructure.
He acquired two surveillance helicopters equipped with cameras to monitor Port Harcourt and the entire state. This helped in timely detection of criminal hideouts and swifter intervention in events of slight manifestation of criminal indulgences by hoodlums…”
There are questions around the capability of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, to govern Nigeria and particularly, bring to an end the regime of insecurity in the country.
As a matter of fact, “I have studied Amaechi and his leadership trajectory for decades and I can make bold to say he reserves the necessary ingredients in leadership and in personae to nib the menace of terrorism, banditry kidnapping and the rest in the bud, if given the opportunity to lead the country.”
Now that Tinubu have proven that he is totally a failure so far security concerns of Nigeria is concerned; the question therein Is Amaechi the Answer to Nigeria’s Security Concerns?
Chief Eze, a National Public Commentator and Authority in the Politics of Rivers State Examines Amaechi’s preparedness in Tackling Nigeria’s Security Issues.
In this piece, Eze dissects the topic on “How Amaechi Tackled Insecurity and His Impacts of Peace in Rivers State.”
He also unravels the reason Wike trades and drinks insecurity as a tool for political victory.
Amaechi And His Strategy In Handling Security Concerns In Rivers State
According to Noam Chomsky, “The U.S. international and security policy … has as its primary goal the preservation of what we might call “the Fifth Freedom,” understood crudely but with a fair degree of accuracy as the freedom to rob, to exploit and to dominate, to undertake any course of action to ensure that existing privilege is protected and advanced”. The fact remains that it seems that former Governor Amaechi, on assumption of office, adopted this US security policy in tackling the menace of insecurity in the state. Apart from declaring war on all the militia groups in the state and refusing any form of dialogue or negotiations with them, he ensured that the security organs in the state were well motivated and trained to tackle the menace.
Explaining further on how former Governor Amaechi handled the security challenge, Dr. Peterside stated, that, “When I had the privilege of serving in the government of Rivers State under the leadership of Governor Amaechi, I observed that he placed high premium on security because he believed that security was the foundation upon which progress in every other facet of development depends. This is aside from government’s proactive disposition which drew substantially from intelligence gathering, surveillance and the fact that law enforcement agents could reasonably predict potential crime with near perfect accuracy.
“Another interesting aspect of the Rivers model is the deployment of technology. Without sounding immodest, I can confidently say that the state’s security network is driven by excellent modern technology. Rivers was the first state to acquire a mobile scanning van known as back scatter. Around the Port-Harcourt metropolis, there are Gantry Scanners at strategic entry locations in Onne-Eleme Road, East-West Road, Choba Road, Oyibo Road, Ikwere Road, Aba Road and Mbiama Road among others”.
Throwing more light on the postulations of Peterside, a security expert and CEO, MPD Security Systems, Engr. David Meyer, stated as follows, “The first step we took in Rivers State was to raise capacity among selected police personnel, over 200, through local and overseas training in Israel and other parts of the world on modern crime fighting techniques and intelligence gathering.” Working with modern gadgets and substantial logistics including Israeli-trained concealed weapon detecting dog, these crossbred police team were strategically placed at main outskirts of Port Harcourt City. Others lead a number of metro patrol teams responding to security emergencies around the town and environs. Those were as far as the public could see.
Beyond public view, as part of Amaechi’s long-term vision of security, Meyer pointed to underground application of ICT-aided security hardware and software helping the police to sense and react to security situations with dispatch. This network of technology managed by experts from a hub location which Meyer would not disclose for security reasons, employed the C4I urban surveillance cameras watching over the city and active then 24 hours of the day in Port Harcourt and the environs.
The interactions between the seen and unseen infrastructures, according to Meyer, accounted for the security operatives swift bursting of some of failed organized crime operations, including an attempted raid of a bank in the Mile 4 area of the city. He said then, “These measures have been working well and while the public did not know, it led to several arrests and we have gained convictions against suspects on account of the improved network.”,
Supporting the views of Hon. Chief Peterside and Engr. Meyer, Amaechi had remarked that, We have done a lot about security. We are doing more. Before we came to office, kidnapping was a serious challenge. We have dealt with it substantially. We are finishing December 2012 without a single report of kidnapping or armed robbery. We have specially trained policemen handling security. Barring any unforeseen circumstance, any moment from now, the Rivers State Government’s security web would be two surveillance helicopters stronger, laying foundation for a standing air wing to give the state 24-hour security coverage.”
He disclosed that the state had acquired surveillance helicopters at about to do reconnaissance of Port Harcourt and other parts of the stateHe stated that Rivers then had in place a technology reliable for tracking criminals and their hideouts. But sadly, Wike and former President Jonathan connived against these arrival of the helicopters until sometime in 2017.
The former governor, who is a major proponent of state policing, argued that, “If we have State Police, Rivers would be able to train its police the way it wants. It would not have suffered the loss of those 500 policemen it trained. Most states are spending a lot of money improving the police which are not under their control. States can use the same resources to fund their own police. Only those with something to hide are afraid of State Police.”
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Impacts of peace under Amaechi
The results of a peaceful state under Gov. Amaechi resulted not only in attraction of foreign investments but turned Port Harcourt into a haven for both national and international championships. Apart from hosting one of the best organised editions of the National Sports Festival ever in Nigeria, the School Sports Festival was also hosted by the state. Following them was the Police Games. Port Harcourt, apart from Abuja and probably Lagos, Rivers State was the only state to have hosted the US-Nigeria Bi-National Conference. The city during this golden period, hosted the Miss ECOWAS Beauty Pageant; Pan African Parliamentary Meeting; and the Garden City Literary Festival. The regime Administration also hosted the CARNIRIV which involved several foreign countries that showcased their rich culture, potential and beauty of their people. The Dr. Claude Ake Memorial Lecture Series, Rivers State Investment Forum and Governor’s Interactive Session with Rivers State Youths amongst several other meets, were also hosted.
Kudos, of course, must go to Suleiman Abba, the then Commissioner of Police, and former Inspector General of Police, for their commitments and no-nonsense approach to crime in the state; the then Brigade Commander, the Air force Commander, and Director of SSS, for their commitment in ensuring that Rivers State was recovered from the hands of hoodlums. Kudos also goes to the then Secretary to the Rivers State Government Magnus Abe.
In this treatise also, I will be discussing the “Wike’s reckless ambition Towards creating the ‘Rivers of blood’
Recruitment of militants & Implication of his donation to some militants Groups
In this part of this treatise, I will be discussing the “Wike’s reckless ambition Towards creating the ‘Rivers of blood’
Recruitment of militants & Implication of his donation to some militants Group
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Wike’s reckless ambition
Wike’s ambition to succeed Amaechi as governor started from his days as Chief of Staff to Governor Amaechi. The fact remains that while Amaechi was busy providing dividends of democracy to the people, Wike, on the other hand, was busy undermining Amaechi and using all the connections and goodwill of the Rivers State Government not only to station his men in strategic positions in government, but also to empower them financially through award of contracts. He tested the ground of his ambition when he was appointed as the director-general for the re-election of Amaechi as governor of Rivers State in 2011. It was a position he ensured that only his men were appointed into strategic positions to serve as key mobilisers at the grassroots. By the time he was appointed minister of state, Federal Ministry ducation, based on the recommendation of Amaechi to Dr. Jonathan, Wike went further with his gubernatorial ambition plot by forming the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI). It became the political pressure group he used to deceive the public which he feigned was formed to assist in the re-election of then President Jonathan. But in fact, the outfit was formed to pursue his gubernatorial ambition. He used the outfit to formally recruit his foot soldiers for the battle ahead. Under our nose, this body was heavily financed and motivated, and its presence was established in all the constituencies of Rivers State.
It was this group that he used to dislodge over 11 key Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members that wanted to contest the 2015 governorship election under the PDP platform. Those that wanted to play games were properly beaten up and molested at the party’s national secretariat at Abuja. Before this time, Wike, based on political exigency, tactfully suppressed his gubernatorial ambition from public view. Instead, he offered himself as a tool to spearhead the political battle between Jonathan and Amaechi. He gave everything within him to execute this, with the PDP ticket as a target.
Towards creating the ‘Rivers of blood’
Recruitment of militants
Apart from creating the deadly and infamous GDI, Wike, while serving as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria paid visits to some notable former warlords from the Niger Delta, dislodged by the Amaechi’s administration. He was known to have solicited their support for his gubernatorial ambition. In this regard, it was reported that he donated his six months’ salaries to the Tompolo Foundation. Stanley Azuakola of TheScoop, in his report entitled, Nyesom Wike donates 6 months’ salary to ex-militant Tompolo Foundation stated: “There are reports that the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, who is currently involved in a bitter struggle with the current Rivers Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has donated his salary for the next six months, which amounts to about N11.742 million, to the Chief Tompolo Foundation.”
Implication of the donation
An online media platform, Newsdiaryonline, which also reported the donation and its purpose said: ‘The donation by the Minister is seen as part of covert moves to consolidate plans to work with Mr Tompolo to disrupt the peace in his home state, Rivers State. This is seen as part of the plot to oust the incumbent Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who is seen to have parted ways with President Goodluck Jonathan. Reports indicate that Mr. Wike has boasted that he will deploy his wide contacts within the judiciary to recruit everyone necessary to ensure he has his way in Rivers State. No one has yet made any response on behalf of Rivers State Government to this revelation. However, reliable sources reveal that residents of the state have sighted a gradual resurgence of ex-militant groups that had hitherto taken flight from the state due to the tough stance of the Amaechi-led administration on militant activities. Most of these militants had fled the state for more accommodating havens like Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states, and Abuja in the face of the onslaught on criminal activities by the Rivers State Government. With the frosty relationship between the governor and Presidency, and with the controversial complacent role of the State Commissioner of Police, these ex-militants are now finding their ways back to the state.
‘Some residents who prefer to remain anonymous have expressed concern that the sudden return of these ex-militants to the state hold very ominous signs for the state, and that their intentions cannot be good.’ This fear is now loudly very imminent in Rivers State today, as residents now sleep with two eyes wide open.”
In another development, according to TheScoop publication of January 20, 2014 titled ‘Amaechi has not started crying yet’, Wike reportedly boasted, ‘We are free of any arrest; no police will arrest any member of GDI or interrupt their activities or gathering in this state. Don’t forget, it is Amaechi who was ordering police to arrest GDI members anywhere they are gathering. Now he is the one crying over arrest and disruption of APC gathering in the state. He has not started crying: the police will continue to chase them until they learn how to follow the due process before hosting any meeting or rally. Rivers State is for PDP. The best thing for Governor Ameachi is to resign and have peace, because as long he remains the governor, he will never have peace.’
Comments
A public commentator and then a doctoral research fellow at Sussex Centre for the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex, Uche Igwe, in an open article he titled, “Of Nyesom Wike And President Jonathan’s Conflict Entrepreneurs”, described Wike as ‘a tough and undiplomatic man with a thug-minded determination and a deep-pocket that thrives in a policy of vindictiveness.’ Known as Eze Gburugburu by his admirers, the former Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government is acclaimed to be a brutal schemer who maximised his position as chief of staff in Brick House to stockpile enormous financial resources for himself. The bulkily framed politician is also someone who understands and believes in the power of money and readily deploys it as a political tool to achieve helpful and, most times, unhelpful political ends. Another former loyalist described him as ‘a merciless politician with a limitless capacity for mischief.’
Late Sam Nda-Isaiah, a frontline APC Presidential candidate and Publisher of Leadership Newspaper, in his reaction to Wike and Jonathan’s absurdity in Rivers State in an article published by TheScoop on August 12, 2013 titled, “Why does the President enjoy the company of gangsters?” wrote that ‘The Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, who is at the centre of the crisis in Rivers State with the clear support of the President, Goodluck Jonathan, and the co-president, Patience Jonathan, now operates above the law in the state. To worsen the joke, he has even declared for the governorship of the state. It is very hard to believe that a serving minister would make that kind of statement and still be kept in the cabinet by the President. But that has been our lot since Jonathan became President.’ Link:
Given the forgoing, why should blood not flow in Rivers?
Before and during the March/April 2015 General Elections in Rivers State, it was reported that about 100 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were slaughtered, with their local secretariats at Andoni and Okrika bombed. The live telecast by Channels TV during the shootings on the APC Rally at Okrika should still be very visible in the minds of Nigerians.
During the 2016 rerun elections of April 2016, the APC’s National Working Committee, in a press statement, noted: “APC members in Rivers State are fast becoming an endangered species.” That was after scores of members were killed in successive attacks in as much as a week. The committee released a list of 32 party members it claimed had been killed by a variety of methods: “several were beheaded, others clubbed to death and one man burned alive.”
Reportedly, till date, under the watch of Governor Wike, about 200 Rivers State citizens have been killed.
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Wike’s ‘Rivers of blood’
Kennedy Friday, a social commentator, in a presentation, painted the present situation in Rivers State thus: “They were killed and beheaded in Ula-Upata community in Ahoada East Local Government Area. After that, their corpses were set ablaze! In this 21st century, this bestiality happens every day in parts of Rivers State, almost unchallenged. Insecurity is at its most rampaging level. Oh God, what is happening to Rivers State? We have this very dire challenge and people look the other way and pretend that all is well. This barbarity happens every day in one part of the state or the other. When will these killings stop?”
In the words of Ibrahim Modibbo, a social commentator based in Abuja, “Not even under the evil and satanic regimes of Mobutu Sese Seko, Emperor Fidel Bokassa or legendary Idi Amin of Uganda did we see such a fascist regime that displays optimum barbarism and primitive parochialism as in Rivers. The state is currently buckling under the full weight of a heartlessly ravenous political brigand, where life has lost its meaning and value. A cabal that swims in obscene opulence has made political power to be so critical to its survival that any opposition that stands on its way, even if it’s a fly, must be crushed with a sledge hammer. I am, therefore, not surprised that opponents are now hunted like a game: with many beheaded, clubbed to death or buried alive like chickens.”
Jimitota Onoyume, a Vanguard Newspaper Correspondent, reported on May 17, 2016, how five cops and six civilians were butchered in Rivers. According to him, “Mortal fear has seized the people of Rivers State since last week when armed marauders murdered five police officers, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Muhammadu Halidu, and six civilians at Okobe in Ahoada West Local Government Area. The rampaging gunmen laid ambush for the police officers attached to the 30 Mobile Police Force, code-named 30 MPF, Bayelsa State, on their way back from a national assignment in Yobe State and stole their rifles, after snuffing the life out of them.”
Reacting to the ugly scenario, Senator Magnus Abe stated, “But the point I want to make is that there are reasons here in Rivers State why we should not and cannot celebrate democracy day. Just yesterday, somewhere in Ahoada, I hear over eight people were killed, including the oldest man in the village. As we speak now, in my own village, boys are going around with guns; nobody slept last night. I was told they even chased somebody to a church, and macheted him right there in a church, with people scampering for safety. As we talk now, in Luawii and Kapnyo, several people are dead, houses burnt… You know, all over… Yesterday, a friend of mine stopped at a fuel station at Rumuola to buy petrol, and while at the filling station, some people brought out guns and robbed everybody, right there in Rumuola. This is what is going on all over Rivers State. In such circumstances, do we really have much to celebrate? The first responsibility of government is the maintenance of law and order. If people are free and safe, they can look for water, they can look for light, they can look for food. But they cannot look for security if they’re not safe. So, I think the governor should really do something to address the issue of security in this state. And until he does that, there is really nothing to celebrate in Rivers State.”
The security mechanism put in place by Gov. Amaechi to tackle insecurity
was destroyed due to the inordinate ambition of Nyesom Wike, then Junior cabinet member of the Jonathan administration, through the instrumentality of the then Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, aided by wife of the President, Patience Jonathan.
In March 9, 2014, the Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), through a statement signed by the Media and Publicity Committee Chairman of its Governorship Campaign Organization, Emma Okah, alleged that Gov. Amaechi was plotting to use a special unit of the state police command to sniff life off some key members and leaders of the party in the state.
Okah, in the press statement stressed that the Amaechi and the APC had also concluded plans to use the Mossad-trained unit, known as C4i, to disgrace notable PDP leaders, including President Jonathan and its gubernatorial candidate, Nyesom Wike.
Excerpt from the statement read: “PDP has totally lost confidence in the C4i. By their conducts and operation, the C4i is independent of the control of the Rivers State Police Command. A completely scandalous and alarming conspiracy resulting from an unholy alliance between the Government of Rivers State and APC on one hand and a department of the Rivers State Police Command called C4i on the other hand, to abduct, assassinate or frame up and arrest leaders of PDP in Rivers State and to generally orchestrate political violence, chaos and anarchy in Rivers State.”
Continuing, Okah said, “after their stage-managed arrest, false confessions would be obtained from them in consonance with the orchestrated plan, to the effect that they were armed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the PDP Governorship candidate in Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, to commit sundry criminal acts including kidnapping, armed-robbery and political assassinations.
“As a means of suppressing evidence and concealing the false confession, the young men would thereafter be killed by the C4i through administering poisons on them. The C4i and their APC co-conspirators would then falsely allege that the President in concert with Nyesom Wike and PDP are responsible for the murder of the young men”, Okah further stated.
Following the grossly unfounded allegation, the then Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 6, Tunde Ogunsakin, ordered the closure of C4i Unit and directed that officers in the special security formation should no longer be deployed neither to provide security at political rallies in the state nor to Governor Amaechi or any official of the state government. This opened the floodgate of the massacre and bloodletting perpetrated by the PDP-trained gunmen at APC rallies in the 2015 elections.
Till date, the state has continued to reap in multiple folds, the satanic scheme of Wike and the PDP in destroying that key security formation. The state Government is overwhelmed and the people, helpless.
CONCLUSION
The socio-economic impact of insecurity
Who else could explain the economic impact of the insecurity situation in Rivers State more than Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, who threw light on this while speaking at the Annual Lagos Traffic Radio Lecture Series in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos. He accused the incumbent Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, of driving away investors from the State
His words: “Do you know that people are now emigrating from Port Harcourt? When I was the governor of Rivers State, nothing like that happened. The crime rate in the state has now increased and the IGR dropped. As the governor, the IGR of the state was N8 billion. And that was why I have often advised Nigerian public office holders not to play with figures. Due to the crime rate in the state, people have started migrating away from the state and the IGR has dropped to N4 billion. The state governor (Wike) now moves like chairman of a council, asking traders and others if they had paid their taxes. But when I was the governor, I didn’t engage in that.”
According to Amaechi, “Migration is either voluntary or involuntary. But in the case of Rivers State, it is involuntary. They are forced to relocate from the state. The man complained that I am corrupt. But I have asked him to go to court but until today, he is yet to bring evidence forward to buttress his claims.”
But not minding the above sad and negative reports on Governor Wike, the Rivers State chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) and SUN Newspapers applauded Wike’s style of leadership by giving him ‘Apostle of Peace’ And ‘Governor of the year’ Awards, respectively.
But reacting to those developments, a versatile writer, Lady Oby Ndukwe, described the awards to Wike in these words, “Yes, Wike deserves these awards! Yes, he won because he was in the news more than any other governor in 2016 in these nefarious areas – “Judiciary scandal, electoral fraud, fake amnesty, rig-and-die threats, excessive bank loans, highest political fights with APC, FG, Army, Police and INEC, suspicious church hosting, IPOB links, Four CPs in two years, audio evidence of rigging and death threats, Avengers, and a whole lot more. The SUN Newspaper Correspondent must have filed more stories about him than his colleagues did in other states!
“The bottom line is, to win, make headline news either in popularity or notoriety!
“The latter suits the best reason for this misunderstood SUN NEWSPAPER MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD!
Call on Amaechi ignites his feat of arresing insecurity in Rivers state to tackle the menace of Boko Haram and other security challenges in Nigeria
In one of her public discourses on Amaechi Lady Ndukwe titled “Amaechi: When passion overshadows knowledge” argued that “…While I restrict myself to issues bothering on the security of lives and properties in our nation, I won’t fail to commend the Federal Government in areas where it has done well. But what is a good railway without security? What is a good road without adequate security for road users? And even if we have more Okonjo-Iwealas, Amina Mohammeds and Akinwumi Adesinas representing Nigeria in the global market, of what relevance would that be without the security of the people they represent back home?
“The sing-song of putting square pegs in square holes ought to hit the President now. The obvious war situation in the North by Northerners against Northerners is gradually trickling down to the South with local collaborators aiding and abetting the supposed foreigners in their own homes. Do we sit down and play politics while the country drifts into the abyss without remedy?
“The time has come for stiffer measures in combating the security issues we face and only those who have proved their mettle in similar situations can be handed over the responsibility as such a time as this.
“To Amaechi, I say, it’s a call to duty to help rescue the country from imminent collapse occasioned by both external and internal insurgents.
“Let the miracle of Okochiri forest take place in Sambisa!”
I just pray that our eyes can be opened to understand the import of this treatise and pray for the presidency of Amaechi to end banditry, kidnapping, Boko Haram etc in Nigeria. If he can ensure that no armed robbery incident took place for complete one year in Rivers State he can achieve the same in Nigeria .
Eze Chukwuemeka Eze is a Port Harcourt-based Media Consultant & can be reached on: ezemediaconcept2020@gmail.com or 08022049770.
