PERSPECTIVE - Wike, Fubara and the 48 Laws of Power

By ETIM ETIM In words and actions, Gov. Siminalayi Fubara has shown that he is a good student of history and power dynamics. He has surprised and outsmarted his enemies and impressed his admirers with the manner he’s dealt with the political crisis in his state. So far, the governor has maneuvered deftly through Nyesom Wike’s threats, combustive anger and the subtle intimidations of the Presidency. I think we need to pay attention to Mr. Fubara’s strategy in the context of Nigeria’s politics of avarice, corruption and application of power to serve selfish interests. Fubara, we recall, was the state’s accountant-general when Wike was governor, and they worked together in managing and spending the resources of the state.

Last year, the EFCC suspected that there were some unethical practices in the manner they used these monies and so the commission moved to arrest Fubara who went into hiding. He was subsequently declared wanted by the EFCC. But to protect him, Wike made him the PDP governorship candidate and went ahead to get him elected governor. Fubara now has immunity from arrests and prosecution, but Wike, who was Fubara’s boss and knows everything about how Rivers’ funds were managed and mismanaged, has not been not been questioned by the EFCC. We have seen this play out in many states across the land, including my own Akwa Ibom, since 1999. In these arrangements, the outgoing governor would dictate how much he would be paid in cash periodically by his successor as a reward for facilitating his emergence, in addition to other perks and patronages. In return, the governor will take steps to discourage the arrest and prosecution of his predecessor. In addition, the former governor will assume the status of the ‘emperor’ of the land. But all too often, these agreements don’t last. After a few months in office, Fubara repudiated the understanding he had with Wike (some accounts say the former governor was receiving N2 billion monthly) and discontinued the payment. All hell broke loose and there began the crisis that has engulfed the state since October. Two weeks ago, President Tinubu stepped in and invited both men for a peace meeting. The terms of the peace agreement seemed to favour Wike more, prompting many to term it as a Presidential Directive rather than an agreement. Some persons who attended the peace meeting in the Villa actually said in interviews that it was only the President who spoke at the meeting; and that he was essentially directing the parties on what to do, after which they all signed the paper without as little as stating their own sides. Both Wike and Fubara however elected to stay silent until Boxing Day when the governor released a lengthy statement, in which he announced that he would abide by the terms of the proclamation because ‘’the Peace Pact is not as bad as it is being portrayed by those who genuinely opposed it’’, adding that ‘’it is certainly not a death sentence’’. Many persons interpret this to mean that the governor has finally capitulated, having been subtly intimidated by the President at the meeting, and that Wike would soon return to his former status as the emperor of the state. A well-known TV anchor actually told me that the governor ‘’is dumb’’. They are wrong. Unknown to them, Fubara’s motives, implicit in his Christmas message and evident in some of his actions, show that he is smarter than he’s given credit for. He seems to be taking some lessons from The 48 Laws of Power propounded by Robert Greene, the American author of books on strategy, power and seduction, 25 years ago. Gov. Fubara is dealing with this matter with a great deal of political astuteness and clever tactics. He says one thing in public, but is stealthily undermining his enemies in secret. He has shown that he is a good student of history and power. Law 3 of the 48 Laws of Power states: ‘’Conceal your intentions: Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defence. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late’’. By pledging to abide by the terms of the Peace Pact, when in fact, he does not mean it, Fubara is leading Wike and the President on a wrong path, keeping them guessing, while constantly digging into the trenches and undermining Wike’s moves. While those in Abuja see this as political disagreements, the governor and indeed, the Ijaw people of Rivers of whom Fubara is a scion, have turned it into an ethnic war. Their constant threats to bomb crude oil pipelines if the governor is impeached and removed from office should not be ignored. I am sure that President Tinubu is not taking those threats lightly. Between Wike and crude oil exports, I know whom the President will choose! Fubara also seems to be taking the 12th Law of Power to heart. ‘’Use Selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim. One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armour, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift – a Trojan horse – will serve the same purpose’’. Paragraph 12 of the governor’s speech succinctly captures this selective act of honesty. His words: ‘’I reaffirm my acceptance of the Presidential Peace Pact Proclamation and my commitment to implementing both the spirit and letters of the declaration…without compromising the collective interest of our people and our cherished and shared democratic values’’. Who determines what the interest of Rivers people are and what are the cherished and shared democratic values? Does the interest of Rivers people entail illegal payments of monies to a former governor? Is it part of shared and cherished democratic values for the governor to remain subservient to his predecessor? In other words, only Fubara will determine what constitute the collective interest of his people and their cherished and shared democratic values. The governor is also drawing on the 21st Law which states that: ‘’Play a Sucker to catch a sucker – seem dumber than your mark. No one seem stupider than the next. The trick, then, is to make your victims feel smart – and not just smart, but smarter than you. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives’’. By constantly calling Wike ‘’my Oga’’ and pretending to be compliant and respectful, Fubara is playing the fool, a tactic well captured in paragraph 14 of his speech: ‘’I have said before, there is no price too much to pay for peace. And with the realization that the worst peace is better than the best war, we will try to make peace with all segments and interest groups without surrendering our freedom or jeopardizing the interest and well-being of the good people of Rivers State who graciously entrusted us with their cherished mandate’’. It is notable that the governor is constantly referring to the ‘’interest of Rivers people’’, and his condition for keeping to the agreement is that ‘’it must not violate the interest of Rivers people’’. And who defines these interests? It is the governor himself! This is similar to what happens when the United States invades another country to protect its own national interest. Only America defines what its national interest is! Law 33 states that: ‘’Discover each man’s thumbscrew. Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usually an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage’’. Nyesom Wike’s weakness is his greed and inordinate ambition to control his successor. Fubara realizes this and is misleading the FCT Minister into hoping that he would keep to the agreement. While Wike is hoping against hope that the billions will flow again, the governor is winning more and more supporters, including those who hitherto loathed him, to his side. Sooner than later, Wike’s ‘’structures’’ will collapse like Lagos buildings. Unfortunately, Wike has flouted Law 34: ‘’Be loyal in your own fashion: Act Like a king to be treated like one. The way you carry yourself will often determine how you’re treated: In the long-run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. A king respects himself and inspires the same sentiments in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown’’. Frankly, Nyesom Wike has disgraced himself before the country by allowing his covetousness and greed to overwhelm him. By acting comically and desperately, he has exposed himself to ridicule and scorn. Now, compare Wike’s conduct to that of Senator Godswill Akpabio after he fell out with Gov. Udom Emmanuel in 2016. Akpabio simply walked away and later moved to another party in 2018. If Akpabio had not walked away from his successor when their fight started, he would not be senate president today. What of Gov. Umo Eno and his predecessor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel? Although Udom Emmanuel has succeeded in putting Eno in office as governor, the two men seem to be managing the relationship in a fairly decent manner, and so far, the terms of their agreements have not been breached. Surely, Chief Wike has a lot to learn from others while we have a lot to learn from Simi Fubara.

PERSPECTIVE - Killings on the Plateau: The shame of a nation

By Etim Etim The brutal killings of over 160 Nigerians in three LGAs in Plateau State on Christmas eve and Christmas Day by terrorists have once again illustrated the failure of the Nigerian State to protect its citizens. Over 20 villages across Barkin Ladi, Bokkos and Mangu LGAs were attacked in what has become a pattern of a failed or a fast-failing state. I am sad, pained and aggrieved by the flagrant failure of the security agencies to thwart the terrorists’ plots or arrest them after their heinous crimes. Many Nigerians, including a retired general who had once served as the Commander of Operation Safe Heaven on the Plateau, Gen. Henry Ayoola, believe that there are elements in the security agencies that collude with the terrorists and are complicit in these killings. Defence Headquarters, the highest authority of the military high command, has stated that although the military did receive over 30 distress calls from the villagers when the attacks were going on, it could not respond soon enough because the terrains to those communities are bad. What an excuse! It sounds like the police telling victims of armed robbery that they had no petrol in their vehicles or the fire service complaining of lack of water in their trucks while a home is burning. How did the terrorists gain access the communities if the terrains are that bad? Excuses like this give credence to speculations that some soldiers and, perhaps, officers may be sympathetic to the agenda and ideology of the killers.

The frequency of the killings and the fact that no single person has ever been arrested and prosecuted also support the theory of collusion by some members of our police and armed forces. It brings a sinking feeling to my stomach. Last June, over 100 villagers were slaughtered by terrorists in Mangu LGA alone. Nigerians of different walks of life and some members of the international community, have been shocked by what is apparently ethnic cleansing of the Christian communities of some parts Northern Nigeria. The Sultan of Sokoto, Middle Belt Forum, PANDEF, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Northern Governors’ Forum, Peter Obi, Shehu Sani are among those who have shown outrage at the carnage. The Pope and Amnesty International (AI) have cried out. AI has a long history of criticizing the military for what it describes as human rights abuses, but in the aftermath of the Christmas killings in Plateau, the Country Director of AI, Isa Sanusi, is going a step further to ask for a probe into the activities of the military. ‘’The Nigerian authorities must investigate the inexcusable security lapses that allowed the horrific killing of over 140 people by gunmen across over 20 villages… Our investigation shows that the gunmen were on rampage of killing and destruction for more than 48 hours, moving from one village to another’’, said Saunusi. A few days after the attacks, Gen. Henry Ayoola (rtd), former Commander of Operation Safe Haven, the very security organization that was put in place to prevent terrorist attacks on the Plateau, was on Arise TV, suggesting that some elements in the military are more loyal to the terrorists than the country. He should know. Ayoola said in the interview that he had submitted a detailed report to the military authorities on this before his retirement a few years ago. The police authorities have also come under severe criticisms for their tardiness and inability to secure the safety of the people. Nigerians are also venting their anger on President Bola Tinubu for hunkering down in his Lagos home, enjoying the holidays and refusing to visit Plateau State to express solidarity and compassion. Although the President has dispatched Vice President Shettima and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to Jos to meet with Plateau leaders, that is not enough to assuage frayed nerves. Some commentators are quick to liken his response to that of President Buhari who only issued sympathy statements and sent Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on countless condolence visits. Why are US Presidents eager to jump into Airforce One to fly to disaster areas, visit with local officials and offer words of comfort to affected communities but our own commanders-in-chief do not care as much when disaster strike? In the last two years, President Biden has visited over half a dozen cities to assess damage and comfort the hurt. In September 2021, he flew down to New York and New Jersey to survey damage from Hurricane Ida. In January 2023, he went to California to the damage from a series of devastating storms that slammed the western part of the country, forcing residents to flee mudslides and rising floodwaters. In May 2023, he was in Utah and offered federal assistance to aid recovery efforts in affected by flooding. In August, the President travelled 13 hours to Hawaii to tour destructions caused by wildfires and the following month, Joe Biden was in Florida to survey destruction from Hurricane Idalia and comfort victims. The essence of these visits is to show compassion and empathy, which is the number one quality of a good leader. Just two months ago, terrorists crossed over from Gaza Strip and killed over 220 people in Israel. Pronto! Prime Minister Netanyahu declared war against the terrorists and today, bombs are falling on Gaza. But in Nigeria, terrorists from the same ancestry and with the same ideological bent, have been killing thousands of people of Plateau, Benue and Southern Kaduna for years now in a well-organized pogrom designed to seize their lands, yet no Nigerian leader has shown any capacity and political will to bring justice to them. On the day of the attacks – October 7 – Netanyahu addressed his nation and promised to dismantle Hamas from power and destroy their military capabilities. The world has been watching with both admiration and anger as Israel Defence Force is pummeling Gaza. Leadership is everything. Those who trenchantly criticized Buhari for appearing soft on terrorists because he is of same ancestry with them will need to come up with new explanations on why the Tinubu administration is not acting differently. The images of Plateau women rolling on the floor, crying and wailing over their misfortunes, and the men fleeing their villages with their mattresses and household items are too heart-wrenching for me. The sufferings of the vulnerable members of our communities cut me to the quick. On December 5, the Nigerian military mistakenly dropped two bombs on the people of Tudun Biri in Kaduna State. Defence Headquarters later explained that the people were mistaken for terrorists. On December 24, terrorists invaded 20 villages in Plateau State and murdered over 150 people. The same Defence Headquarters explained that they couldn’t launch counterattacks to repel the attackers because of bad terrains. What more excuses should we expect? The shame of a country!

Children enjoy bliss at DAO Foundation’s fun-filled Christmas Party, as Doris Ochei urges the rich to show love to less privileged

The sleepy town of Onicha Olona came alive when the Doris Amaka Ochei Foundation (DAO Foundation) on Boxing Day, Thursday December 26,2023, ignited uncommon love for children when it hosted them to a well funded and fun filled Christmas party. The event which was the Foundation's second edition Christmas Party for children was held at Ugba Primary School field, Onicha-Olona, in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State. It was attended by over 2,000 children from all the schools and families within and outside Onicha-Olona. It had the esteemed presence of the husband of the Founder and Executive Director of DAO Foundation, Dr. (Mrs) Doris Amaka Ochei, Major General Raymond Ochei who was the Father of the Day. Members of Ezemu Girls Grammar School Old Girls Associations, Ubulu-Uku, Viva Foundation, Lagos and friends of the founder were also at Onicha-Olona to add colour and support to the party. The monarch of Onicha-Olona, His Royal Majesty, Obi Agbogidi Christopher Uzumefune and members of Obi In Council were also with the children at the event.

At the event, the children who came with their teachers and parents were treated to a three course meal, varieties of activities such as dancing competition, drama portraying the humble birth of Jesus Christ, concentration games, Cultural display, Michy Mouse dance and distribution of gifts by Father Christmas The Foundation also distributed over 2000 customized school bags with water bottles, note books, pencils and biros worth millions of Naira to all the children at the party. In his remarks, the Father of the Day, Major General Raymond Nkem Ochei commended the Foundation's activities, which he said had continued to demonstrate love to the less privileged children and women in the society. He appreciated them for putting up the party for the children, pointing out that it has continued to bring together the privileged and less privileged children together to interact in love.

The General urged the Founder and members of the Foundation to remain relentless in their efforts towards bringing out the less privileged from poverty, even as he urged those present to continue to uphold the Foundation in prayers with a view to doing more for the betterment of the society. Earlier in her welcome address, one of the children, Miss Kikachukwu Glory Olunwa said she was excited to welcome guests on behalf of the entire children to their Christmas party. She appreciated the Founder of DAO Foundation, Dr. (Mrs) Doris Ochei for her kindness towards children and prayed to God to continue to bless the Founder and the Foundation. Speaking in an interview with Journalists in her country home after the party, Dr. Doris Amaka Ochei appreciated God for the success of the Second Edition of the Foundation's Christmas Party for Children.

She attributed the Foundation's gesture to the desire to always want to give back to society. She said the motivation came out of the need to carry children along, in the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ by way of making them happy and giving them what they will live to always remember for good. She said when one is blessed, it is not complete if others are not blessed by the one who has been blessed. She maintained that she is blessed of God and she has made it a duty to ensure that others, especially the less privileged are blessed from that which God has blessed her with. Dr. Ochei said: "The reason God blesses us is for us to be a blessing to others. If you come to this world, you are so wealthy and you have not touched lives, then you have not come to the world at all. "Another thing is that for the children, I want to leave a legacy. I want to be able to teach the kids that this is the way to go. Whatever you have, you share. When they grow up they won't depart from it. They would want to do what I am doing", she said. Dr. Ochei revealed that what she was doing was what she learned from people when she was growing up, saying that she admired such gestures and it helped in no small measure in inspiring her in reaching out and giving to the less privileged and the needy in the society.

The highly charismatic woman maintained that she did not establish the DAO Foundation because of politics and that she has never been involved in politics, saying that the Foundation is all about giving back to the society from what God has blessed her with. "DAO was born out of compassion for humanity. It is a Foundation that is to reach out to the downtrodden, a Foundation that is meant to reach out to those who are genuinely in need and we are indeed living to our goals and objectives. We are torching lives in different ways and one of them is the children's Christmas Party," she affirmed. The DAO Foundation boss also revealed that the Foundation has the youth section and hinted that a programme geared towards empowering the Youths has been fixed for Easter next year. "The youth section of our programme comes up by Easter when some of the Youths would be empowered. We are coming up with a unique idea to empower them and teach them how to fish, from there, they can fish for themselves," she said. Doris Amaka Ochei also said her Foundation is focused on Women development, even as she said the DAO Foundation had been able to empower over 140 women who she revealed were given interest free loans to engage in one form of small scale business whereby the loans are put together, return at the end of the year and given back to the women to continue with the business at the beginning of the new year.

"By so doing, they have the capital, year in, year out to continue with their business all the time. "We also have DAO Market Women Empowerment Programme. It is a scheme basically for market women which we have done in Ubulu-Uku and we are ready to replicate in Onicha-Olona in January 2024," she said. While revealing that the Foundation is also involved in infrastructure development for communities such as building and rehabilitation of markets, construction of roads, provision of water bore holes and provision of Solar Street lights, Dr. Doris Amaka reiterated the fact that DAO Foundation remains a Non Governmental Organization being fully funded solely by herself. She said the Foundation did not receive donations from anybody or from any organization, even as she debunked the insinuation that the Foundation was established for money making just like some other NGOs.

She maintained that she remains a business woman, a serial entrepreneur, a stock broker, having a stock brokerage company, a traveling consulting company, a water producing company and other business that gives her the ease to be able to fund her Foundation. Other highlights at the event was the Bible quiz, and cutting of the Christmas cake. Also of significant importance was the presentation by the K'ibedinma Divas, the wives of K'ibedinma Social Club of Enuani, which in collaboration with DAO Foundation made the following presentations to primary six pupils of two schools to help them to enrol for the Common Entrance and first School leaving certificate examinations in 2024. The schools which each were presented with a cheque for N300,000 making it a total of N600, 000 were Iyiogbe Primary School and Ugba Primary School, Onicha-Olona.

Atiku mourns Akeredolu, Na’Abba

It was with a rude shock and sadness that I read about the passing of the Governor of Ondo State, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Gali Umar Na’Abba. Governor Akeredolu was a quintessential gentleman who took the finesse to governance. A two-term elected governor of the Sunshine State, Akeredolu was a politician of class because he was never known for destructive politics. Hon. Na’Abba on the other hand raised the bar of legislative enterprise in Nigeria as it is evident that the 1st Session of the National Assembly where he served with distinction between 1999-2003 remains one of the best in the annals of our legislatures. Both Governor Akeredolu, Aketi, as he was fondly called, and Speaker Na’Abba will be sorely missed for the inestimable roles that they played in our national development. I express deepest condolences to their respective families and pray to God to grant their souls a peaceful repose. I also join the good people and governments of both Ondo and Kano States to mourn the demise of these towering political figures. Signed: Atiku Abubakar Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007 27th December, 2023.

Oborevwori mourns as Governor Akeredolu dies at 67

Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori has expressed deep sadness on the passing of Ondo State Governor, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, at the age of 67. Governor Oborevwori, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon in Asaba, expressed his condolences to Akeredolu’s wife, Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, family members, the government and people of Ondo State on the passing of the renowned senior lawyer. He noted that the late Governor Akeredolu who was Chairman of Southern Governors’ Forum, was an urbane and cerebral leader of great value who was progressively committed to the growth and development of Ondo State and Nigeria. “On behalf of the government and people of Delta, I commiserate with the Akeredolu family, the government and people of Ondo State on the painful passing of my brother governor, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN). "As a senior lawyer and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Akeredolu contributed immensely to the growth and development of the legal profession in the country. "Chief Akeredolu paid his dues and had a fulfilling legal career that culminated in his emergence as President of the Nigerian Bar Association and later as Governor of Ondo State. "It is my firm belief that the achievements of the late Governor in the legal profession and in the governance of Ondo State will continue to inspire many to take to the legal profession and contribute to nation-building," Oborevwori said. The Governor prayed to God to grant the soul of the legal luminary eternal rest.

PERSPECTIVE - Buhari and Fashola’s legacy of killer roads

By Felix Oboagwina This fateful Friday of 28th July 2023, a heavy blanket of sorrow enveloped the entire population of Eket Council in Akwa Ibom State. A burial was taking place at the Eket Stadium. But this was no routine funeral. It was a state burial, a mass interment of 13 indigenes, including a baby, killed on a journey. THE EKET 13 Their Salvation Army-branded bus, “AKWA IBOM-KET-779AV,” travelling back from a church conference trip to Lagos, had joined the long queue of vehicles traversing the bad portion at the Ovia-River Bridge along the Ore-Benin Expressway that Thursday 29th of June. That spot had become notorious for accidents –whole families had been wiped out there; carcases of all makes and shapes and sizes of vehicles even now lie around there perished forever. Yet the cause of the accident was nothing a little effort could not fix. All it would take to patch that blood-sucking spot would be no more than two tipper loads of coal-tar. But day after day, vehicles are forced to queue up there in a snarling traffic jam, to navigate the potholed portion at snail-speed. That queue could drag for one whole hour. Several days on which the road thirsts for blood, one careless heavy-duty driver would forget the routine, fly into the place at top speed and slam into queuing vehicles, spilling blood, death, cries and anguish. Those homebound Salvation Army from Eket were killed, 13 of them. Of the returning church members, four missed death –a man and his wife and two others. The couple, who sat in front, had fortuitously taken the opportunity of the slowdown to climb out of the vehicle to ease themselves. Backs turned to their bus, they heard the deafening bang. They raced back only to behold the mangled, broken bodies of their brethren trapped in the bus underneath a heavy-duty trailer. Everybody in Eket knew everybody who died. The whole town mourned. One family lost four. Governor Udom Emmanuel turned up for the funeral at the Eket Stadium. He wept openly. Neither Governor Emmanuel nor Eket’s Salvation Army mourners would be the first or the last to weep over the blood spilled unnecessarily at that killer spot of Ovia Bridge. Yet it would cost less than N20 million of an inflated contract to fix the bad portion. Even the FERMA or PWD arm of the Ministry of Works would make the repairs in less than 48 hours. On the day the Salvation Army travellers got killed, Lagos State’s former Governor Babatunde Fashola was Minister of Works and Housing. WHERE DID THE TRILLIONS GO? The girls of “YOUR VIEW,” the breakfast show at TVC just love, love, love Fashola. The ladies of the flagship breakfast programme of the Lagos-based TV station once had a show where they wondered aloud when Fashola would receive his call-up to continue his "meritorious service" with current President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. But truth is that after his eight-year stint as a "super” Minister under President Muhammadu Buhari, the SAN’s report card shows that, just as he did in Power and Housing, he ended up performing woefully in handling the roads construction portfolio at the Ministry of Works. What can this Senior Advocate boast of after eight years as Buhari’s Works Minister? In September 2022, Information Minister Lai Mohammed informed that the Ministry of Works had constructed 8,352 kilometres of roads, rehabilitated 7,936 kilometres more, constructed 299 bridges, and maintained 312 bridges more. They reportedly spent some N1.584 trillion for Works and Housing in six years of Buhari’s government, between 2016 and 2021. Can they point out the 8,300 kilometres of done roads? Where did all those trillions go? Today Northerners complain of bad roads. Southerners complain too. Where are the roads? Even the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway project the Buhari regime inherited from President Goodluck Jonathan, who inherited it from President Umar Yar’Adua, who inherited it from President Olusegun Obasanjo, remained unfinished till the tenure of Fashola expired. That road is just 128 kilometres. It remains Nigeria’s most important road, connecting the nation’s commercial capital and ports to everywhere upcountry! Eight years of Fashola left it a half-baked work-in-progress. ALL ROADS LEADING TO LAGOS However, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is not the only project in which overrated Fashola fell short. The man simply refused to avert his mind to the inlets into the state he once governed. Lagos-Abeokuta remains a death-trap that only those with a “death wish” dare to traverse. Articulated vehicles routinely crash on that hell highway virtually every day, spilling all their goods, several valued at millions of dollars. Except that Dangote took over the road from Apapa Port and Tin-Can Port in Lagos, that axis would still have remained a forbidden zone. Even then, it remains unfinished. The less than 20 kilometres between Oshodi and Apapa Port is an international route. When the government failed to maintain the road, Dangote took it over for concrete matting. Today, it remains unfinished and has become a second home to drivers and motor-boys, whose tankers, trailers, haulage and articulated vehicles line up to access and exit the Apapa Port. They spend months per trip. They keep crawling on that impossible queue to access the ports and then spend an equal duration to exit. Not less daunting is the nightmare of plying both the Badagry-Seme road or the Ijoko-Otta road to connect our next-door neighbour, Benin Republic. All these border roads constitute a disgrace. Imagine the disgust other West African citizens must feel when they come visiting, when their own countries boast of expansive autobahns. What then is the whole hype about Nigeria being Giant of Africa? ALL ROADS LEADING TO ABUJA, EAST AND NORTH Equally, all roads leading into the Federal Capital Territory Abuja suffer the same fate: The one from Kaduna. The one through Lokoja. The one from Suleja. The one from Jos and Keffi. Under Fashola, the Abuja-Kaduna road remained a write-off. Apart from the insecurity, the deterioration of the road caused travellers to massively embrace the train. As I put together this piece, a video clip went into circulation, telling the same story of woe about the Nsukka-9th-Mile Enugu-Ngwo Expressway that connects the South-East to Benue and the North. The Ibadan-Ilorin highway remains bad even after an expenditure of N23 billion. The entire East-West-East route lies totally tattered and ruined! The Benin Bypass remains a hellhole. Trailers and tankers perpetually park thickly on both sides. At that bypass, vehicles end up spending up to two and more hours to hip-hop through what should be a short 15-minute drive. Similar fate befalls the Benin-Sapele road connecting Edo State to Delta State, ditto the highways from Delta to Rivers, to Akwa Ibom to Cross River. Going to Abuja from the South-South remains a nightmare. Benin, through Ekpoma, Irrua, Auchi and Okpella in Edo State to Okene to Lokoja in Kogi State en route Abuja comfortably competes with the Hammer House of Horror. On the Benin-Auchi axis, smaller vehicles pass through inner roads of villages to escape the horror of heavy articulated vehicles that have languished on those evil spots for months. That route new Works Minister Dave Umahi travelled recently and spent 12 hours for a five-hour trip, with all his blaring sirens, gun-toting MOPOL and daredevil soldiers. In traversing the harrowing Yola-Maiduguri road, like several Nigerian roads, you would be funnelled into driving one-way, facing oncoming traffic, terrible go-slows and ACCIDENTS! This writing did not set out to catalogue Nigeria’s deplorable roads, but mention needs to be mentioned of notorious nightmare routes in the North like: Kano-Kaduna Road, Kano-Maiduguri Road, Kano to Hadjia in Jigawa State, Kano-Katsina Road, Yobe State’s 50-kilometre Damaturu-Tarmuwa road and Nangere-Jakusko roads, Maiduguri-Damaturu Road that leads to other states and the Bama Road. Drivers also dread the Gombe-Biu Road, the Bauchi-Gombe Road that regularly claims the lives of commuters and motorists, and the Kaduna-Saminaka Road that links Jos, the Plateau State capital. Can any insurance cover the wear and tear, man-hour loss and stress that man and machine suffer on Nigeria’s killer roads? Terrible roads have turned Nigeria into the graveyard of vehicles from all over the world. Cars used in this country lack second-hand value anywhere else. Abi have you heard of Nigeria exporting fairly-used vehicles to even “poorer” neighbours like Benin Republic or Cameroon? Just when we thought Fashola and Buhari could salvage their tattered roads records with the completed Second Niger-Bridge, suddenly, the country woke up to hear the shocking news that N260 billion would be needed to make that bridge usable. This is a bridge that they did not start but ONLY completed. DEMYSTIFIED Pray what did Fashola and Buhari spend eight years and several trillions doing in the country’s roads sector? The question begs for answers. However, like it did Buhari, the last regime clearly demystified Fashola. As former Works Minister, Fashola unfortunately will only be remembered by his legacy of killer roads. That is the testimony of passengers, goods and drivers wasting their days sleeping on bad roads North, South, East and West Nigeria. That is the testimony as well from those 13 tombstones of the Salvation Army travellers in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, and from all those other unknown souls cut short in needless road accidents nationwide. Those deaths stand as epitaphs to that ingloriously disastrous era of Fashola as Works Minister. • Oboagwina is an author, journalist and publisher, reachable via: foboagwina@gmail.com

PERSPECTIVE - Fubara vs Wike: Rivers becomes Edo, PDP clever by half over members' defection

By Ehichioya Ezomon The crisis in the Rivers State polity is escalating and cascading in line with the advice of supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara - and literally as demanded by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) - to adopt the Governor Godwin Obaseki playbook of taking no prisoners, to deal with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former Governor of Rivers State, Mr Nyesom Wike, for meddling in the running of affairs of the state. The Fubara backers' bare-knuckle approach, and PDP's demand converge at commencing the assault on Wike from the Rivers State House of Assembly, to flush out pro-Wike 27 lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and install as the de facto the Fubara-backed four PDP members of the assembly. The 27 APC members decamped from the PDP on December 11.

For perspective, Governor Obaseki of Edo State adopted a scorched-earth approach to dealing with his "political enemies" when he'd his back against the wall after he's denied the APC ticket for re-election in the September 2020 governorship. Former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole - as national chairman of the APC - frustrated Obaseki from obtaining the APC ticket. Obaseki then decamped, secured the PDP ticket, and defeated the APC candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, on the basis of a voter-backlash against Oshiomhole. For vendetta, Obaseki prompted the suspension of Oshiomhole by his APC ward executive in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, and eventual sack by the courts as APC's national chairman. Obaseki also ruled Edo for four years with a minority 10 members in the 24-member Edo State House of Assembly. While defying court orders to inaugurate the majority 14 APC members until their supposed tenure lapsed in June 2023, Obaseki housed the minority members at the Osadebey Avenue Government House in Benin City, as he dismantled the House of Assembly complex under the guise of rehabilitation. In-like manner, Governor Fubara's supporters have recommended the Obaseki tactics to him: to demolish and lock-up the Rivers Assembly; relocate the four PDP members to the Government House; revoke the certificate of occupancy and demolish Wike's house in Port Harcourt; and probe the Wike administration, of which Fubara was Accountant-General. That's a call for Fubara to probe himself! Fubara - perhaps made of sterner stuff than his mien portrays - has bought the warmongers' counsel to assault Wike, beginning with the assembly demolition, and legally, proxily declaring vacant the seats of the 27 APC members. This accords with the call by the PDP on the Speaker Edison Ehie-led four-member chamber to declare vacant the 27 APC members' seats, to enable INEC conduct fresh election into those state constituencies, "by virtue of the provision of Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)," as relayed by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Debo Ologunagba. Mr Ologunagba said: "The PDP asserts that by defecting from the PDP, the political party platform on which they were elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly, the seats of the respective 27 former lawmakers have become vacant by virtue of the provision of Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). "For the avoidance of doubt, Section 109(1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that, "a member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if… (g) being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected… "By reason of the above constitutional provision and its clear interpretation by the Supreme Court, the 27 defected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have vacated and lost their seats, rights, privileges, recognition and obligations accruable to members of the Rivers State House of Assembly." Ologunagba added: "The PDP therefore demands that the Speaker of the Rivers State House Assembly immediately comply with the provision of the Constitution by declaring the seats of the 27 former lawmakers vacant. "In view of the vacancy now exiting in the 27 State Constituencies in Rivers State, the PDP demands that INEC should within the stipulated period under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) conduct fresh election to fill the vacancies." But Ologunagba cleverly avoided highlighting an exception to the rule in a proviso to Section 109(1)(g), which caveats that: "Provided that his (defector's) membership of the latter political party is not as a result of division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or faction by one of which he was previously sponsored." The PDP knows the truth: that the law won't avail the party's request, as the defectors breached no provisions of the Constitution, especially if they can prove that going by the reality on the ground, there's division in the PDP, particularly in the Rivers chapter, which's on all fours with the provision of Section 109(2) regarding division in their previous political party. So, the PDP's only option is recourse to the court, to restrain the 27 APC members, to pave the way for a four-member legislature for the Fubara government. And that's what the party did on December 12 through minority Speaker Edison Ehie of the Rivers assembly. Presented with a golden opportunity, the PDP directed the Speaker of its four members in the 32-member assembly, to declare vacant the seats of the 27 APC members, and asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct fresh elections into the 27 state constituencies within the stipulated period. To achieve the goal, a Port Harcourt high court, presided by Justice Monina Danagogo, on December 12, restrained the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule and Deputy Speaker, Dumle Maol of the majority 27 APC lawmakers from accessing the assembly for any legislative duties. While the judge recognised the minority Speaker Ehie as the "authentic Speaker" of the House of Assembly, and dangled a "contempt of court" before Mr Amaewhule, if he forcefully gained entry into the assembly, or disrupted the legislative activities of the Ehie-led four-member chamber, he adjourned hearing of the motion on notice to December 21. And pronto, minority Speaker Ehie declared vacant the seats of the 27 APC members, and directed INEC to fill the seats in a fresh election. So, Governor Fubara and the PDP have secured, by legal means, what social media warmongers had advised Fubara to do: to demolish and shut the assembly on the pretext of renovation, as a result of thugs setting the complex on fire, to prevent alleged moves to impeach Fubara. The Rivers chapter of the APC has threatened to report Justice Danagogo to the National Judicial Council (NJC), for what the chapter's Caretaker Committee Chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, described as a "jankara (procured) judgment" given by the judge. Accusing the judge of bias, Mr Okocha, in a statement on December 12, said: "Today, Rivers people woke up to hear that one Justice Danagogo of the Rivers State High Court granted, with impunity, an exparte order to one Hon. Edison Ehie, recognizing him as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. "It will be recalled that the same Hon. Edison had approached a Federal High Court in Rivers State, seeking to be declared as Speaker in the case in issue; arguments have been taken and judgment reserved for January 2024. "Surprisingly today, on same subject matter, Justice Danagogo granted an exparte order purporting to recognize Hon. Edison as Speaker of the Assembly. This is flagrant abuse of court processes. "The judge claimed that the case was filed by Hon. Edison on October 30, 2023, and assigned to him on November 1, 2023. For all these length of time, if the subject matter required urgency, why did the judge wait till today, December 12, 2023 to grant an exparte order?" Okocha recalled that 27 PDP members of the Rivers Assembly publicly cross-carpeted to the APC on December 11, citing irreconcilable crisis in the PDP - "a move supported by Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria" - and they were "handsomely received" by the Rivers APC. "It is the palpable fear of the irreparable loss and the concomitant chornout that has led to the procurement of an exparte order from the court of Justice Danagogo," Okocha said. Noting that, "Justice Danagogo is younger brother to Dr. Tammy Danagogo, who serves in the Rivers State government as the Secretary to State Government," Okocha accused the judge of berating the NJC, "who had decided against the granting of frivolous exparte by judges and have punished erring judges and justices who ventured." "We use this medium to send notice, in advance, to the learned Judge that the APC Rivers State will not sit and watch the jankara exparte order in clear violation of principles of law (and) in clear violation of the NJC," Okocha said, adding, "we shall be left with no option than to petition to the NJC if the Judge does not reverse himself immediately." Saying that, "we know that the reason for this affront on democracy is to allow the governor to present the 2024 budget to the assembly," Okocha queried: "Can four members of Rivers State House of Assembly sit in leadership over 31-member house with the other 27 members who have defected to APC?" (Well, the Speaker Ehie-led four-member chamber had deliberated and passed an N800bn 2024 budget in less than 24 hours, and the appropriation bill signed into law by Governor Fubara immediately it's presented to him). In closing, Okocha advised Governor Fubara to "refrain from any action that may escalate the political tension orchestrated by his party, the PDP, in Rivers State." "We as a party, APC, with the overwhelming majority in the House, shall not tolerate intimidation, harassment, hounding and threatening of our party members in whatsoever and howsoever way," Okocha said. "We will not comply with the order (by Justice Danagogo) because you cannot place something on nothing. We will not allow illegality to stand. It (order) is procured and we will not allow it to happen." For months, there's been a running battle between Mr Wike and his political protégé, Mr Fubara. As the battleground, the House of Assembly was initially shut by the Police over arson to a part of the complex, which's been demolished by the Rivers government. It's no secret that Wike hand-picked Fubara, his Accountant-General, for the post of governor, and campaigned for him amid pressure from the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), which declared Fubara wanted for alleged financial sleaze. Speculations indicate that Fubara signed a "gentleman's agreement" to give Wike a "substantial" share in the composition of the State Executive Council (SEC) and a controlling stake in running of the government. According to the Wike camp, Fubara could hardly wait for Wike to take appointment in the ruling APC government of President Bola Tinubu "before he showed his colour of who he really is: a pretender, who hid his fangs under Wike's administration in Rivers State." Fubara's declaration lately "never to surrender his mandate to intimidation and blackmail" may lend credence to the claim by the Wike camp. At the quarterly general meeting of Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers in Port Harcourt, Fubara said: "Let us not forget that Rivers State is our collective inheritance, presently under my watch, to protect, defend and advance it as the governor. "I assure you that I will not fail in this responsibility nor will I surrender our mandate and progress to intimidation, blackmail and deliberate sabotage." Relatedly, former Governor Oshiomhole had single-handedly picked Obaseki - who's the nominal chairman of the Economic Strategy Team (EST) that secured financing for major projects of Oshiomhole's administration - for governor in 2016, and vigorously campaigned for him to win the September election of that year. But no sooner Obaseki got into power than he revealed his real persona, accusing Oshiomhole - as Fubara did to Wike - of trying to dictate the pace of his government as a political godfather, thus feigning ignorance of the fact that had Oshiomhole not played the role of a godfather, his (Obaseki's) governorship ambition would've been stillborn. At the peek of his assaults on Oshiomhole, Obaseki banned him from coming to Edo State without his express permission; engineered thugs to attack him at the Benin airport; deployed bulldozers and trucks to block access to Oshiomhole's private residence in Benin City; revoked the certificates of occupancy and/or demolished private and business property of Oshiomhole's associates; and sacked Oshiomhole's aides in government. Fubara is also on a similar warpath in Rivers, directing Wike's aides in government to resign or be sacked by today, December 18, even as several Commissioners had voluntarily resigned before the directive. Next maybe Wike's house in Port Harcourt, which supporters had asked Fubara to revoke and demolish. Yet, these come as Fubara's continued to sue for peace, and reaffirmed Wike as his "oga" (master), and that the "recent political events in the state belonged to the past." It's during rededication service of the 2023/2024 legal year of the Rivers State judiciary on November 9, where Wike's present, shook hands with Fubara when he came into the church, and sat with him in the front pew for the service. In his speech, Fubara said: "My oga (referring to Wike) remains my oga. Whatever that has happened is in the past. "I want us to continue to pray for the peace and development of this state. I have not sent anybody (his supporters) to malign anybody (Wike)." But from current happenings, Fubara's declaration was for the gods, and to the dogs. He appears to have crossed the rubicon, and wants to demytify and dismantle Wike's political power, structure and machine in Rivers State, just as Obaseki did to Oshiomhole in Edo State. Can Fubara succeed, given that the same Wike, now ranged against him in Rivers State, was behind Obaseki's assault on Oshiomhole? Wike, backing Obaseki to the hilt - financially and "judicially" - relocated to Benin City and neutralised all plans by Oshiomhole, the APC and then Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to defeat Obaseki during the 2020 governorship in Edo State. And for the fight for the soul of Rivers State, Wike, who's labelled Fubara "an ingrate," threw down the gauntlet at a media parley in Abuja, and dared Fubara to pick up the challenge. "Nobody can take away the political structure in Rivers," Wike boasted. "Nobody can intimidate me. If I want to do something, I will do it. The impeachment (moves against Fubara) is not a military coup, it is provided under the (amended 1999) Constitution." This led to the defection of 27 pro-Wike PDP lawmakers in the 32-member Rivers Assembly to the APC on December 11, who've been checkmated by Fubara-backed four PDP members, whose minority Speaker Ehie has been recognised by a Port Harcourt high court, as the "authentic Speaker" of the House. Interesting and anxious times ahead in Rivers State polity, as both camps in the Rivers State House of Assembly lay claim to the demolished chamber, and holding separate sessions to pass bills and resolutions for the growth and advancement of the state. The public watches and awaits the outcome of the escalating scenario! • Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.