As the crisis in Rivers State swelled to a crescendo, Nigerians waited with bated breath. Nigerians love a theater, especially when it features some of those who have been responsible for their trauma and torture over the years.
Thus, when Siminalayi Fubara who had played a prominent part in the administration of Nyesom Wike on his way to becoming governor, reneged on their agreement after he was sworn in, it was good to see on many levels.
As both men pulled the state here and there, dragging local government chairmen this way, and legislators that way, it was pleasurable on some levels.
But even the worst form of madness is best tampered with by some method. While Fubara was on ground in Rivers State, Wike pulled the grounds in Abuja. There were litigations, a couple of fires targeting government buildings, and a dominance of Nigerian headlines by the chaos in Rivers State.
Since both men had lost the plot, Nigerians thought President Tinubu would bring some method to the madness. He could have at least reined in Wike who was fighting someone under constitutional oath. But he did not. His decision to declare a state of emergency in the state has not only plundered Nigeria’s constitution, it has brought back dark memories from a period Nigeria would rather forget.
To superintend over this illegality, Ibok-Ete Ibas was tapped from Rivers State. While the National Assembly, thoroughly compromised and completely toothless under this administration, was yet to deliberate on the president’s action, he was sworn in.
In his address upon resumption as sole administrator, he was at pains to stress that lawlessness would not be tolerated in Rivers State.
Having retired as the chief of naval staff in 2021, he never could have envisioned that such an opportunity would come his way. But it did. And he, a military officer who in his spare moments and in his heart of hearts must secretly laugh at what is surely one of o
The greatest failures of democracy.
That an outright illegality would be justified by a facetious resort to the constitution and an Attorney-General who seems to have suddenly forgotten how to read the letter of the law to pave a road for the military to return to power is a grave and unforgivable infraction of the constitution.
Nigerians have a notoriously short attention span, but the case of Rivers State and how much the actions of the president threatens Nigeria’s hard-won democracy demands unflinching attention and vigilance.
Democracy dies in darkness, especially darkness fostered by a lack of vigilance. Nigerians must shake off their complacency and keep vigil lest they be caught out by the conspiracy and complicity of government spin doctors who sweeten extravagant tales with elaborate lies.
The state of emergency declared in Rivers State remains illegal and is null and void for flouting the sacred provisions of the Nigerian constitution. Being premised on illegality and the restlessness of government zealots, all actions taken pursuant to the state of emergency remain barren and empty of all and every substance.
Invariably, this means that Ibok-Ete Ibas is an impostor who has no business in the Rivers State government house. All actions taken by him are thus illegal and of no moment whatsoever. He has gone about making a flurry of appointments and calling for accounts to be rendered. He has no power to do anything in Rivers State, and being the pawn of an overzealous federal government rather than the lawfully elected governor of Rivers State, he is and remains smeared by odious lawlessness and egregious illegality.
Posterity will pause some day to ponder on this grave assault on the good people of Rivers State.
Ike Willie-Nwobu,
