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Tag: Wike

  • Wike swears in panel on rerun violence

    Wike swears in panel on rerun violence

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday swore in the Judicial Commission of Enquiry to look into the violence and killings that marred the March 19 legislative rerun.

    The governor urged the  members to get to the root of the matter.

    Wike also swore in Mr Ugbana Isaruk as a commissioner in the state’s Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).

    Isaruk replaces a member of the commission, who died.

    The probe panel is led by Justice Monima Wenike Danagogo.

    Wike decried the violence that characterised the rerun, saying it was necessary to ascertain its causes and avert a recurrence.

    The governor advised the panel to identify those involved in the killings, those killed and the scope of violence during the polls.

    He urged the panel to identify damaged property and owners of such property.

    Wike directed Justice Danagogo to use his experience to guide the panel at making recommendations to enhance political stability and peace across the state.

    He said: “The commission has one month, beginning from today, to submit its report. We must know those involved in the violence and the killings. We must get to the root of the violence and killings.

    “Since we were not on the location of the violence, we rely on the Judicial Commission of Enquiry to investigate what took place.”

    Justice Danagogo assured that the commission would work without fear or favour.

  • The Wike, Amaechi tango

    The Wike, Amaechi tango

    Last Easter Sunday, I put a call through to my brother and friend, Professor Steve Azaiki, a two-time secretary to the Bayelsa State government, who was holidaying with his family in Port Harcourt. He was away in Canada when the much talked about re-run election or bloodletting in Rivers State took place on March 19. I had asked him: “How is Port Harcourt?” In a subdued voice, he responded thus: “Port Harcourt is there looking like maybe Afghanistan or Syria. Anywhere you want to go, people will caution you not to venture into that area. Well, I don’t know. I don’t know!”

    For a person like Azaiki who likes to move around, visit people and places, it was a great lamentation. His obvious disgust on the security situation in Port Harcourt, the Garden City, now, turned into a place where life seems to be “short and brutish,” may have echoed the opinion of quite a lot of residents of the city.

    Port Harcourt was virtually a no-go area during the hot days of the militants’ agitation in the Niger Delta region. That was a time people moved about in fear and trepidation. Today, that era seems to have crept back into the Garden City. This time, not because of any agitation for resource control, but because of the selfish interest of some greedy politicians who will stop at nothing to remain relevant in the politics of Rivers State.

    The type of bitter politics that is being played in Rivers today is unparalleled in the history of the country. Perhaps, it can only be compared with the wetie period in the old Western Region, which earned the region the sobriquet “Wild-Wild-West”. That was the time unimaginable violence and arson took over the entire Western Region in the early-60s. The acronym wetie, meaning “pour petrol”, was notoriously acquired as people were doused with petrol in broad daylight, lit with matches and allowed to roast alive while people watched in horror. Houses were also wantonly burnt down. It is a similar scenario currently playing out in Rivers. Many lives have been lost to gun attacks or by the more cruel, callous and dastardly system of beheading by roving head hunters moving from one community to another, hacking down people and burning houses any time of the day.

    In spite of the restriction of movement on March 19, the day of the election and the flooding of the state with security operatives, several deaths and destruction of property were recorded in the state. Why the heavy presence of security agents in the state could not deter the criminal gangs, is still a mystery. What it simply means is that the killer gangs have godfathers and sponsors who enjoy some form of official protection. Otherwise, the gangs would not have been so bold to defy the heavy presence of security agents to perpetrate their evil deeds.

    At any rate, there are two major political parties locked in a fratricidal war for the control of the soul of Rivers’ politics. They are the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and All Progressives Congress, APC. Since the return to democracy in the country in 1999, the PDP had been at the helm of affairs in the state until some years ago when Chibuke Rotimi Amaechi, the then sitting governor, who was on the final lap of his second-term tenure as governor, fell out with his party, PDP. He then pitched his tent with the APC, an amalgamation of four or five political parties and a breakaway faction of the PDP. Since then, Rivers politics has never been the same.

    Attempt by Amaechi, the then outgoing governor, now current Minister of Transportation, to garner support for his surrogate to succeed him failed. Instead, Nyesom Wike, then Minister of State for Education and one-time chief of staff to Amaechi, beat Amaechi to the game and emerged as governor. In the first instance, people say Wike had actually been Amaechi’s godfather until he, Wike, was cleverly eased out of government and consequently sent to “Siberia” in Abuja where he was made a junior minister. When invariably Amaechi fell out with former President Goodluck Jonathan, Wike gained prominence and became a rallying point for the PDP in Rivers State. He exploited his inner knowledge of Amaechi’s government including his (Amaechi’s) strength and weaknesses to undo his former boss.

    As it is, going by the result of the re-run election with PDP winning three House of Representatives seats and nine House of Assembly seats, to APC’s two seats in the results so far declared by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, no matter what, it goes to confirm Rivers State as being firmly in the hands of the PDP. This is, probably, a bitter pill Amaechi and his supporters find hard to swallow.

    There is no doubt that Amaechi is a strong man politically. He is bold and serious minded too. But his rating at home in Rivers seems to be nose-diving for some reasons. Truly, people say he did not keep open doors when he was governor. He was said to have bolted the door against many people on the advise of Wike, his former chief of staff, who, incidentally, is now the governor of the state. Even within his kitchen cabinet, the Ikwerre-born politician had those that were close to his heart, while others complained bitterly. One thing to remember is that when Amaechi moved to APC, he urged his commissioners and others to embark on “Operation meet your people.” Whether the exercise produced the desired result or not, is left for Rivers people to determine.

    Again, his disagreement with former President Goodluck Jonathan seems to have plummeted his popularity at home. Frankly speaking, many in the Niger Delta feel that he betrayed Jonathan. Another challenge Amaechi is faced with is that he had followers who he empowered. These followers like him, but they cannot embark on a deadly fight for him. Yes, Amaechi embarked on a deadly fight for President Muhammadu Buhari, but how many of his followers can embark on a deadly battle for the immediate past governor at the moment?

    On the other hand, Wike has been trying to impress the Rivers people since he became governor about 10 months ago. He has recalled the judiciary and university workers and paid them their salaries. He has also embarked on the completion of road projects started under his predecessor and many other projects to the delight of the people. All these possibly account for the support he is now enjoying in the state.

    With the perceived arm-twisting posture of the APC in Rivers, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Taraba and other states controlled by the opposition, some people, rightly or wrongly, believe there is no remarkable difference between the APC and the PDP. That is why the people’s sympathy for the APC appears to be waning. It now behoves on these two combatants – Wike and Amaechi – who obviously have said too many unprintable things to demonise and denigrate one another, to stop using gutter language on themselves while their people are suffering.

    Rivers people want peace. Therefore, to find a lasting solution to the violence and bloodletting that has taken over Rivers State, two people, Wike and Amaechi, must sit together and iron out their differences. This is all an ego thing. That is why the talk of imposing a state of emergency in the state is an idle talk because it is a supremacy war between two political antagonists. Unfortunately, it is the innocent, ordinary man on the street that is bearing the brunt. As they say, when two elephants fight, it is the grass beneath their feet that suffers. Wike and Amaechi are not greater than Rivers State. Let them embrace peace and rein in their foot soldiers.

     

  • Wike restates plan to fight crimes in Rivers

    Wike restates plan to fight crimes in Rivers

    The Rivers State Government has said it is working with security agencies to tackle kidnapping, cult-related violence and other forms of criminality in various communities across the state.

    Governor Nyesom Wike spoke at the weekend at the dedication of the remodelled Banham Methodist Cathedral in Port Harcourt, the state capital, and the ordainment of Rev. Sunday Agwu as the Archbishop of Port Harcourt.

    Wike, who was represented by Deputy Governor Mrs Ipalibo Harry Banigo, said his administration would soon end kidnapping and cultism across the state.

    The governor assured of his administration’s readiness to partner the church in providing physical and spiritual needs for the people.

    He said the governor had committed his administration into God’s hands.

    Wike thanked the Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria for his prayers, adding that the prayers manifested through the grace of God with the favourable verdict delivered by the Supreme Court on January 27.

    The governor congratulated the new Archbishop of Port Harcourt on his ordainment and the completion of the remodelled Cathedral.

    He condoled with the church and families of the two bishops who died in an auto crash.

    Also, the Prelate of Methodist Church Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Kanu Uche said political leaders should be magnanimous in victory.

    The cleric noted that what happened in Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Rivers states were good lessons for all to learn from.

    He said: “God puts people in positions of authority. Whatever He ordains, no man can change.”

     

  • Wike to head PDP’s convention committee

    Wike to head PDP’s convention committee

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike is to chair the National Convention Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    His Taraba State counterpart, Mr. Dairus Ishiaku, will serve as deputy.  Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi will serve as secretary.

    A statement yesterday by PDP’s National Publicity Secretary  Chief Olisa Metuh said the committee would be inaugurated tomorrow.

    There is also the Reconciliation Committee, chaired by Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson.

    Senator Ibrahim Mantu is to serve as deputy chairman.

    There is the Finance Committee, which has Gombe State Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo as chairman. Senator Godswill Akpabio will serve as deputy.

    The Zoning Committee has  Akwa Ibom State Governor Emmanuel Udom as chair, and Mr. Kelechi Igwe, secretary

    It said the committees would be inaugurated by National Chairman Alhaji Modu Sheriff inAbuja.

    Stakeholders have been mounting pressure on the leadership to set in motion programmes for the national convention on May 21.

    The pressure was a reaction to a directive by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) mandating the national chairman to set up the committees, for the purpose of conducting the convention.

  • Wike is a danger to democracy, says Amaechi

    Wike is a danger to democracy, says Amaechi

    •Minister brands Ikwerre LGA elections inconclusive
    •Says gov’s thugs carted away the materials before they were collated

    Transportation Minister Amaechi yesterday called Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State a threat to democracy and free and fair elections in the state.

    Amaechi, the immediate past governor of the state, cited the re-run in his Ikwerre Local Government Area (LGA) which he said was inconclusive “because thugs sent by Wike violently disrupted the collation of votes for the LGA.”

    He was reacting to allegations by Wike in THISDAY yesterday in which the governor claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was plotting to release some of the results in the eight local government areas in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Amaechi dismissed the governor’s allegation as riotous, disgraceful and shameful.

    “His resort to blackmail, threats and more violence is a clear danger to the practise of democracy, to free and fair elections in Rivers State,” the Minister’s media office said in a statement.

    It quoted the minister as saying: “You would recall that Wike has been threatening INEC and INEC officials. Before the re-run elections, he threatened INEC officials coming to conduct the elections to write their wills before coming as if they were coming to die in Rivers State.

    “Sadly, an INEC ad hoc staff, a youth corper was murdered. This is a classic case of the owl crying in the night and the baby not waking up in the morning.

    “He threatened INEC before the elections and an INEC official sent to conduct election was murdered on election day, what other evidence do we need to know who is responsible for the death of the INEC official?”

    “Wike is loose cannon, threatening INEC with violence, fire and brimstone. This is intolerable and completely unacceptable. No democracy can survive with Wike’s kind of attitude and disposition to elections.

    “Wike can’t just go on and on threatening crisis, war and more violence just because of his desperation to win elections.”

    On Amaechi’s LGA, Ikwerre LGA elections that Wike claimed PDP won, the Minister said: “The problem in Ikwerre LGA elections was caused by the same Wike who sent his goons to the LGA collation centre to disrupt the collation.

    “The collating officer for the LGA, Dr. Allwell Egeonu told the press and it is on video, that he was lucky to escape alive as thugs, hoodlums invaded the Ikwerre LGA collation centre in Isiokpo,  that they were shooting for over 30 minutes and everybody had to run for their lives.

    “The Wike goons took away all the materials. According to the INEC Collating official, nothing was collated in Ikwerre LGA.  And this man’s story is on tape. He spoke to the media.

    “The Collating Officer for Ikwerre LGA also went to the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner(REC) in Rivers State, reported what happened and also wrote about it to the State REC.”

     

    “So what result for Ikwerre LGA is Wike talking about? The man INEC sent to collate the results for the LGA, Dr. Egeonu says there is no result for the LGA because he didn’t collate anything, yet Wike is all over the place disgracing himself that Amaechi lost his LGA.

    “He’s all over the place, threatening crisis, threatening INEC with fire and brimstone, for INEC to release a result that does not even exist, in the first place. You can now understand the kind of desperate fellow we are dealing with here. This must not be allowed to continue. Wike cannot hold an entire state, hostage.  He’s a clear danger and threat to the practice of democracy, and free and fair elections in Rivers State.”

     

  • Wike suspends works commissioner

    Wike suspends works commissioner

    The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, yesterday suspended the state’s Commissioner for Works, Mr Kevin Wachukwu.

     Wike, according to his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, in an online statement, stated that the suspension was with immediate effect.

     The governor also directed that his Special Adviser on Special Projects should take over the responsibility of supervising projects in the ministry in the meantime.

    No reason was, however, given for the commissioner’s suspension.

  • Wike to deliver projects on schedule

    Wike to deliver projects on schedule

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has assured residents of the Elelenwo-Akpajo Road in Eleme Local Government Area that the road will be delivered on schedule for the area’s economic development.

    The governor also said the rehabilitation of Trans-Amadi Industrial Road would enhance economic activities in the state capital’s commercial hub.

    Wike, on Wednesday, had direct interaction with workers on the two major roads in Eleme and Port Harcourt City local government areas.

    The governor urged them to maintain the speedy pace of work so that the projects could be delivered on schedule.

    He noted that the dualisation of the Elelenwo-Akpajo Road would reduce traffic in the area, while the residents would have smooth access to Onne Port.

    Wike also inspected the proposed new site of the Slaughter-Market, on the Elelenwo-Akpajo Road.

    A statement yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, by his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, said the governor was accompanied by the Commissioner for Urban Development, Mr Chinyere Igwe.

  • Wike playing politics with Rivers development, says Amaechi

    Wike playing politics with Rivers development, says Amaechi

    •‘Monorail belongs to Rivers, not minister

    The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, has decried what he called the deception of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike in his recent interview on Channels Television broadcast live on Monday from the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

    Amaechi, who was Wike’s predecessor, faulted the governor’s statements on the achievements of the former administration.

    A statement yesterday in Port Harcourt by the minister’s Media Office noted that Wike was playing unhealthy politics with the state’s development.

    The statement reads: “We watched with disgust and disbelief the recent television interview of …Governor Wike, the excerpts of which had also been used in some newspapers. It was the typical Wike, twisting, butchering and turning the truth upside down, and in most cases telling outright deceptive lies in his failed bid to denigrate, tarnish and rubbish the towering image, person and laudable landmark achievements of …Amaechi.

    “Most troubling was Wike’s propensity, without any qualms whatsoever, for playing politics with the safety and security of the lives of Rivers people. This is indeed most worrisome. It is no secret that Wike plays politics with development, the welfare and well-being of Rivers people. But no government should play politics with the safety and security of its citizens like Wike is sadly and shamelessly doing.

    “Governor Wike claimed that the brutal political killings and murder of the All Progressives Congress (APC) members and other hapless citizens in the state are cult-related or a result of cult clashes. What cult wars is he talking about? Since he claimed to have security reports, we challenge Wike to tell Rivers people the cult group that Franklin Obi, the APC Ward chairman in Omoku, belongs to, which led to his being gruesomely, beheaded and butchered, alongside his expectant wife and teenage son.

    “Or, did Franklin suddenly become a cult member because he had the guts and courage to host a resoundingly successful ward meeting of APC faithful in the same ward as Wike’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Sstate chairman, Felix Obuah, just a few days to the rerun elections?

    “We challenge Wike to tell us the cult groups and the cult wars that led to the killing of the innocent National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Chukwudumeibi Okonta, on the rerun Election Day? Was the Corps member a cultist or victim of a cult war, or yet another victim of politically motivated killings in Rivers State?

    “Wike must tell Rivers people the cult wars that led to the brutal murder of hundreds of Rivers people since the so-called election, which made him governor, and the cult groups that all those that have been murdered, belong to. Wike’s cult wars/cultists claim is akin to insulting and spitting on the graves and memories of all those murdered and their families.

    “With pity, we watched as Wike tried to compare the political killing of the late Okonta and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ad hoc worker on the rerun Election Day in Rivers State to the fire that occurred at the home of the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Kano State days after the elections of 2015. How pathetic! Even for Wike, this is a new low.

    “On the Rivers monorail project, Governor Wike said he would not touch Amaechi’s monorail and that the state has told him not to continue with the project. Can someone please tell Wike that the monorail belongs to Rivers State and it’s not Amaechi’s private monorail? Pray, Governor Wike, which Rivers people told you not to touch the monorail project? Is it the same Rivers people that have consistently praised the project and see it as a catalyst to jump-start the local economy and place the state at the forefront of transport infrastructural development in Africa?

    “Or, is Wike aggregating the jaundiced views of the coterie of court jesters, who hang around him daily, as the opinion of the people of the State?

    “It is sad, very sad that Wike has elected to play politics with this laudable project that was almost completed before Amaechi left office.

    “Governor Wike also described several ongoing projects in the state when Amaechi left office as ‘abandoned projects’ that he claimed to have completed or about to complete. He specifically mentioned the Ogoni-Andoni-Opobo Unity Road, which connects the Island of Opobo to Andoni and the rest of the state. What a shameless lie! This project was ongoing and was almost completed as at May 29, 2015. “May we also remind Wike that the Eagle Island-Diobu Road, which he once claimed to have been abandoned, was 90 per cent completed with just the final course of coal tar remaining as at when he succeeded Amaechi?

    “It’s repudiating that Wike would even attempt to rubbish and destroy the laudable projects and achievements Amaechi made in the Health and Education sectors as governor. Shamefully, what has happened in the past months since Wike became governor is that he has neglected the model schools and health facilities built by Amaechi and allowed them to rot away, taken over by weeds and grasses, in tandem with his policy of not wanting to touch Amaechi’s projects or build on Amaechi’s enduring legacies.

    “Governor Wike, these projects belong to Rivers State and its people, not Amaechi.”

     

  • Why I said those coming to Rivers should write their Will, by Wike

    Why I said those coming to Rivers should write their Will, by Wike

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday defended his statement that those coming to the state for the rerun election should “write their will.”

    Speaking in an interview with Channels Television monitored in Port Harcourt, he told his interviewers that he made the statement which some of his critics believe is an evidence of his support for violence, that he said in reference to those who might have sinister intention.

    Fielding questions on a wide range of issues, he said it

    will be difficult for another party to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

    The governor noted that the state was in the firm grip of the PDP, besides his administration’s modest achievements in its short period in office.

    Wike spoke yesterday as a guest on Channels Television breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, broadcast live from the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

    The governor said Rivers residents were determined to vote for the PDP because of his achievements in the last few months in office.

    He noted that despite the poor federal allocation to the state, his administration was able to complete projects.

    Wike said no distractions could make him abandon his campaign promises to the people.

    The governor said the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) had increased from N4 billion to between N9 and N10 billion.

    According to him, if there was a high rate of insecurity in the state, as reported in some sections of the media, the IGR would not have increased because investors would have run away.

    Wike said: “It is difficult for anybody to defeat us in Rivers State because of the projects I have done in my short stay in office, and the fact that Rivers is a PDP state.

    “The civil servants are happy with us. Nobody would be happy when, at the end of the month, they cannot take their wages home.

    “We have done much to fulfil our campaign promises. If you go to Borokiri, where the former governor was living at Okaki Street, everybody was afraid to go there because of bad roads. But today, we have fixed the road and the people are happy.

    “In Diobu axis, we had many bad roads before now. But today, we have fixed them. The general hospitals were dead; some health centres were not functioning. What we are trying to do, as a matter of policy, is to pick one hospital in each of the three senatorial districts and equip it.

    “We are also going to train and retrain our doctors. For now, we are focusing on health and education. We don’t want to carry all at the same time.

    “We received N4 billion as (federal) allocation when our salary wage is N5.5 billion. How do we make up to pay salaries? When we took over, I had an IGR of N4 billion to N5 billion, but as I speak to you, we have improved our IGR to between N9 and N10 billion.

    “This means nobody is running away from the state, because if people were leaving the state, our IGR would not have increased. And if the insecurity is much as is being claimed, why is our IGR increasing? Yet, if you read the newspapers, people would say the state is Rivers of blood.”

    The governor, who pledged not to complete the monorail project started by his predecessor, said Rivers residents and other stakeholders told him to forget about the project and focus on another, which would have direct meaning on the people.

    He said the monorail project consumed over N45 billion, adding that he did not want to have a headache over a ‘white elephant’ project.

    Wike accused his former boss and Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, of allegedly attempting to destabilise the state because of his “desperation” to capture the state.

    The governor said it was clear the All Progressives Congress (APC) could not defeat the PDP in the state.

    He noted that if President Muhammadu Buhari supported him, he would achieve peace and stability in the state.

    But Wike regretted that the frequent change of his security chiefs would jeopardise his plan to tackle the security challenges in the state.

    He said: “The continued removal of the commissioners of police, director of State Security Service and other security chiefs in the state is to frustrate our effort. Of course, the minister is behind this, and people are saying we should reconcile. In what way?

    “That means if I reconcile with him, they would not be removing my security chiefs. That was why I said we are personalising this, it shouldn’t be. If there is need that we should come together to talk, we should not be desperate to take over the state. As far as I am concerned, I don’t want to assert that kind of responsibility.

    “But the issue of security is not political. We are fighting to stop this situation and there is a system trying to destabilise the state by removing the commissioners of police all the time. This is a man who has served as governor for eight years and Speaker for eight years. What has the state not done for him?

    “As far as I am concerned, the Federal Government should support me by leaving the security chiefs to plan for the security problem in the state. The only problem we have with the election is for the umpire to say we must be fair to all. Security people should not be used to manipulate the process.

    “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should stop employing those who, one way or the other, have interest in a political party. That is the way we can maintain peace…”

     

  • Between Wike and Fayose

    Between Rivers’ Nyesom Wike and Ekiti’s Ayo Fayose, southern Nigeria risks two ticking retrogressive bombs, set to blow, into smithereens, their respective states.

    Incidentally, both rode to power via suspect mandates, nevertheless sanctioned by the highest court in the land.  Ironically too, both cases epitomise how the judiciary, the apogee of lawful civility, by commission or omission, haul the society right back into Stone Age outlawry, where brutes and savages hold sway.

    It’s a scary neo-Hobbesian state that the coming generation won’t find funny at all.

    From Fayose’s Ekitigate comes the rancid ooze of electoral rot, which high-powered conspirators in the Goodluck Jonathan Presidency cooked.  It was sheer executive banditry, involving the security forces, real and fake, that put the legal force of the state to the unfettered service of election criminals.  But even with the military arm of that conspiracy apprehended and punished, their civilian counterparts, led by Fayose himself, roam free and run amok with even more outlawry.

    When bandits are bivouacked in State House, they proclaim lawlessness as the new law.  And boy, has Ekiti trodden that chequered path!  From a governor-elect sacking the courts, mugging lawyers and judges and shredding court papers, with the collusion of the Police, Fayose has become the unfazed outlaw cynically manipulating the law; and is not unimpressed by his own legendary uncouthness and devil-may-care barbarism.

    Unfortunately, Ekiti, the famed land of professors, would be the ultimate loser.  As it happened, within one electoral mandate, Obafemi Awolowo vaulted his Western Region into progress and civilisation, that continues to be the envy of the rest of the country.  Ekiti, the pristine land of honour and integrity, was a prime and proud beneficiary.

    Well, Fayose with his infantile brinkmanship, uncouth noise and empty demagoguery is set to take Ekiti on a reverse gear.  Again, Ekiti Kete would be the prime — and proud? — losers.  Just as well, as almost everyone over there, elders and youth, men and women, appear too dazed, deaf and dumb!

    As for Wike and his Rivers, the scenario is no less scary.  Wike “won” a controversial governorship poll, in the run-up to which people were freely slaughtered.  After getting a judicial seal for that blood fest, he is also “winning” the legislative reruns: no less blood flowed, many were roasted, a few others beheaded and the majority scared from making any choice.

    Wike, the electoral warlord, is flush with victory; and looks even more foreboding, to the blood-cuddling cheer of his savage troops and even the people — a very good number, it would appear, from the vote tally so far.  Rivers appear well and truly proud of their descent into the Hobbes state of nature.

    But the question is: will that victory last or would it be pyrrhic?  That is in the belly of time.  Still,   history would record two Rivers consecutive governorships.

    One branded itself on futuristic model public schools, Port Harcourt, its capital, as World Book Capital and other indices of renaissance, enlightenment and development.  The other is branding itself the beheading capital of Africa, haven of bloodthirsty cultists and equal-opportunity criminals; and where supposed democratic elections are nothing but Hobson’s choices, pressed by free and heinous mass murder.

    The future of Ekiti and Rivers are well buried in the past — unless of course, someone, somewhere, woke up fast and rolled back this twin-tragedy before it is too late.