The governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, deserves a short lecture on how to take charge of one’s situation. The governor has, for long, been hooked to withdrawal syndrome. This seeming aloofness has not helped his situation. Instead, it is has given his traducers the impression, rightly or wrongly, that he is a walkover. Let me therefore invite the governor to spare a few moments with me as we browse through the dialogic imagination of the Roman philosopher and Christian theologian, Anicius Boethius.
The philosopher is famous for his book “On the Consolation of Philosophy”. The central message of the book is the relationship between providence and fate. It teaches that while human life is governed by fate, individuals can attain wholeness through virtue and understanding. In his treatise, Boethius seeks to provide the soul with a kind of moral and spiritual medication in times of distress. It serves as a guide to navigate through despair and understand the nature of true happiness and existence. He holds that genuine happiness stems from aligning oneself with divine reason rather than seeking fulfillment in external fortunes. In the book as well, Boethius reminds himself, and by extension the rest of humanity, of how to think. The ultimate goal, he posits, is to free oneself from over reliance on external forces but, instead, chart a pathway for self-emancipation. His submission is that infantilism must be surpassed. Men should not be children forever.
This, in a nutshell, is Boethius’s treatise on the debilitating human condition called infantilism. This philosophical outlook, in my considered opinion , fits into the condition of Governor Fubara as he strives to find his feet in the midst of the power play in his Rivers State. The governor, as is very well known, is politically distressed. He has been since he assumed office as the governor of Rivers State. His problem began too soon after assumption of office. His political godfather, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, who handed over the reins of governance to him, never pretended about his overbearing posturing as a godfather. He never allowed Fubara to operate for one moment without his stamp of authority or approval. Fubara, as we all know, was ill at ease with the setup. He could not put up with the suffocating order. The brewing but unspoken hostility between him and his principal was soon to snowball into a showdown. In the battle of wills that ensued, Fubara had his fingers burnt. A state of emergency was declared in his domain, leading to his suspension from office for a period of six months. Within the intervening period, a peace deal was struck by President Bola Tinubu between the governor and his godfather. The content of the peace deal was kept under wraps. Governor Fubara just licked his wounds. But that peace has since turned out to be the peace of the graveyard. The combatants have returned to the trenches a few months after Fubara’s reinstatement, with the Rivers State House of Assemby threatening to impeach him. In fact, the House has commenced impeachment proceedings against the governor.
This is the critical juncture in the renewed hostility between Fubara and his traducers represented by Wike and his collaborators in the House of Assembly. As we should recall, the first phase of the battle was decidedly skewed against Fubara because his tormentor-in-chief, Wike, had the backing of the president. But there appears to be a little shift this time. The second leg of the battle is not looking as hopeless for Fubara as the first. Under the new order, Fubara appears to be enjoying some sympathy and, maybe protection, from the president. That may explain why, according to him, he is not bothered by the show of might that the House is rehearsing.
Fubara’s condition compels a recourse to Boethius’s outlook. As the philosopher counsels, there comes a time in the life of a man when he needs to look inwards, seek understanding, and toe a pathway that will lead to liberation and freedom. In other words, Fubara needs to assume full responsibility for his fate and deal with it as appropriate rather than rely on external medication. The president, ultimately, may decide to save Fubara from the aggressors. But that will be at a great cost to the governor’s freedom and sense of proportion. To be free from this baggage, Fubara needs to grow up. He should not remain a child forever. He must rise above infantilism which, in Boethius’s scheme, stifles growth and freedom. Regrettably, it is taking Fubara too long to get to that state of nirvana.
In practical terms, Fubara must step out of the scroll and assume his role fully as a state governor. He has been subservient, too docile and complacent for comfort. No matter how much Wike throws his weight around, he cannot run the governor out of the state. If anything, it is the governor that has everything it takes to keep Wike in check, and if he likes, throw him into temporary exile. But Fubara has remained a lame duck thus far because he does not understand power and its dynamics. The governor is fighting shy. He does not recognize the enormity of the power he wields as governor. It is, indeed, strange that Fubara has not been able to penetrate the House of Assembly so far. This does not show deftness in power management. Which House of Assembly member will not be willing to jump unto the governor’s boat if he plays the right politics? Again, why has the governor not been able to subdue the recalcitrant Speaker of the House who has shown him so much disrespect? Martin Amaewhule, Wike’s man Friday, can be weakened and thrown out if the governor exercises his executive powers. But none of these has happened because Fubara is still trying to be a good boy.
While striving to be in league with Tinubu, Fubara must understand that the president cannot be fully predicted on this matter so far. Tinubu, from what we can see, is still playing from both sides. He is still considering who, between Wike and Fubara, that can deliver Rivers State to him in the 2027 presidential election. The president, no doubt, is still trying to gauge what the Rivers state political atmosphere would look like if he dispenses with Wike. Fubara should therefore be wise enough. He should also be strong enough to know that nobody will fight his war for him. He should step out of his cocoon and square up with whoever that is posing an impediment to his governorship. It is better that the governor fights gallantly and goes down than fight shy and still gets subdued. But the fact is that the governor will not fall . He will win the war if he bares his fangs. Wike, as it is now, is a visitor in Rivers State. Fubara as governor, is the Lord of the Manor. Nobody can displace him from the land unless he is unintelligent to the point of not knowing how to wield power for effect.
QUOTE:
“To be free from this baggage, Fubara needs to grow up. He must rise above infantilism which, in Boethius’s scheme, stifles growth and freedom. Regrettably, it is taking Fubara too long to get to that state of nirvana”.
