When the ways of a man is pleasing to God he makes his enemies to be at peace with him. This popular Christian maxim played out last week when former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi took his turn to be screened by the Senate of the Federal Republic. Whereas it was more of a day of glory for Rotimi Amaechi, it was a day of ridicule, opprobrium and shame for the once almighty Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which prided itself as the biggest party in Africa. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi took time to dress down the party as “hog wash.”
The PDP had set out to let Amaechi down. They had perfected plans to ruin his chances of becoming a minister. They started the ill-fated journey from his Rivers State base where the wife of the former President, Dame Patience Jonathan had done everything within her powers to frustrate Rotimi Amaechi out of office as Governor. She had deployed all army and police powers and even the PDP to wreak havoc on Amaechi’s Rivers. Nigerians watched the most gory tale of a combatant legisture where Jonathan’s police led its men to use 5 law makers to attempt to impeach a speaker that enjoys the support of 19 lawmakers. Then President Jonathan himself on his part had taken the first family war to the Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum led by Amaechi. Amaechi defeated Jonathan in the outcome of the election which saw the reelection of Rotimi Amaechi as the chairman of the forum with 19 votes. His contender Jonah Jang got only 17 votes. President Jonathan chose to recognize Jonah Jang as the chairman of the forum. This was where it became very obvious to political pundits that President Goodluck Jonathan would lose the 2015 presidential election.
The Jonathans had imposed a Wike Nyesome on the Rivers people as their Governor by fire and force. They mobilized all within their arsenal to ensure that he won the governorship election through crook and hook. Wike’s first task on assumption of office was to set up a kangaroo panel to probe the eight years rule of Rotimi Amaechi with an obvious aim of indicting him of corruption winy nily. The panel sat for a few weeks and came up with an expected report. Rotimi’s name still made President Muhammadu Buhari’s list, hence his appearance for screening. The PDP had laid ambush for him filing a petition against him almost immediately. All three Senators from his state had refused to endorse his nomination.
But then came his day of honour. Rotimi Amaechi was at his best and his PDP enemies had met to strategise again on how to bring him down. But their strategy fell on its face as he went through the screening without questions coming from them. He was questioned by APC senators who were also very thorough leaving no aspects of his life. Fielding questions from senators at the screening exercise, Hon. Amaechi asserted that the PDP on which he rode to lime light was infected with corruption of no mean dimension hence he fell out with them.
He told the senators that his bone of contention with former President Goodluck Jonathan was his administration’s arrant display of ineptitude, recklessness, absolute weakness and corruption.
“I thought that as good as the former President may have been, I don’t think he was suitable enough for the growth and development of Nigeria. So, we need to offer opportunity to somebody we believe is better than the former President.
We sold to the public, the fact that, there was massive corruption in the system. And there was the need to fight that corruption. And the only way to fight that corruption is to put a new government. And we had to get a signpost candidate.
The signpost candidate is a man who the Nigerian public has seen as an incorruptible president. And that was why the party had to put President Buhari forward. And we thought that there was a need to do things differently.” Rotimi’s enemies sat and watched him coasting home with victory as they had little to do to stop him. Their recent threat to stop him on the day of final confirmation will not hold water as it is usually done by voice vote and the APC voice is the loudest as they are in majority.
On the much touted indictment of the nominee by the Rivers State Judicial Panel of Inquiry into financial mismanagement and fraud, Amaechi submitted that “there was nowhere I was indicted (in the judicial panel report)”.
“I was born to test my rights and fight for my rights, I was once a student union leader and believe me, if there is one man who does not like corruption, I do not like corruption.
I came here with a copy of the so called panel report, there is no where that the panel indicted me, I am ready to tender this report before the Senate. I was ready for the questions on it and I brought the panel report so that the Senate can juxtapose it with the white paper.
However, because there are challenges, people in Nigerian politics believe that there is the need to compromise and be able to manage yourself around; I will do that but where it clashes with my principles I find it a bit difficult to do what people expect me to do.”
Just as he came out triumphantly from the screening exercise, the Rivers State Governorship election tribunal nullified the election of Nyesom Wike and ordered fresh elections in the state as the whole exercise was marred by massive rigging of the polls. This judgment has sent cold shivers down the spines of Wike and the PDP camp. There is no doubt now that Wike will now be more at home with the transience of power. He now knows that the power you have today could be lost tomorrow. He is home with the reality of emptiness of the world and his co-travelers need to learn some lessons.
Understandably Wike will likely file an appeal but in the end a full nullification is likely and he would have to face fresh elections. That is when a level playing field would be put in place. Nyesome Wike would not have the INEC, Army and Police at his disposal as it were in the days of yore and there will be no rigging. Defeat definitely awaits him at the re-run and Amaechi would have a last laugh.
• Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State
