With 28,000 Regular Policemen, 5,000 Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) Personnel, 20,000 Soldiers of the Nigerian Army, 5,000 men from the Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Air Force (NAF), 20,000 Civil Defence Personnel, 15,000 other Personnel from sundry Para-Military agencies spewing deaths, intimidation, electoral theft, so-called federal might and disregard for democratic norms, Rivers people on December 10, 2016, made a very clear statement. They will never bow to the forces of darkness. They will never bow to political criminals and agents of misrule.
The people of Rivers State declared that they remain committed to their leader, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, the PDP and the ideals of good governance.
Despite the deployment of 98,000 security personnel, backed by thousands of Boko Haram terrorists and bandits, the people of Rivers State rose to the occasion to encourage other Nigerians not to allow tyranny grow without opposition.
The people of Rivers State proved that they will never be intimidated by forces of terror and state violence. Despite the use of explosives by the agents of state terror and the imported Boko Haram terrorists, Rivers people told Nigerians in very clear terms: “RISE UP AND CHANGE THIS VERY UGLY CHANGE”.
The Rivers declaration was quite clear. Like Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike said, Rivers State is not Edo, neither is it Ondo. Rivers people refused to watch helplessly whilst their mandate was raped by sinful soldiers, policemen and other extremely corrupt security personnel.
If the Nigerian Army was not ashamed , the rest of the country remains embarrased by the conduct of these agents of State , funded largely with resources from Rivers State shared monthly to other states . That the APC’s Federal Government reduced the Nigerian Army into a ballot box and election result snatching agency, is one of the most corrupt actions in the history of the country.
The Nigerian Army , considered a unifying organisation respected by all, was stripped of its honour and integrity by failed APC politicians led by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi. The soldiers shot sporadically without provocation. Wherever people resisted, the Nigerian Army shot to kill. Across the three senatorial districts, the Nigerian Army left a tale of deaths, woe and bloodletting. They unleashed violence as if their lives depended on the rerun elections. The Nigerian Army acted like a force working in line with Amaechi’s philosophy: “This is the election of our lives”.
For the avoidance of doubt, the following seats were at stake on December 10, 2016: Three Senate seats, eight House of Representatives seats and nine Rivers State House of Assembly seats. For the purpose of education, before that election, the PDP had 21 seats of the House of Assembly while the APC had two. The PDP also had five House of Representatives seats. Effectively, Governor Wike was completely in charge of the mechanics of governance control.
As such, the December 10 rerun elections merely provided opportunity for the failed immediate past Governor, Rotimi Amaechi to attenpt to revive his ailing political career. To revive this unproductive career, the Federal Government handed over to Amaechi, 98,000 strong security force. This extreme abuse of Federal Might may not be unconnected to Amaechi’s sponsorship of APC’S National campaign to the detriment of development in the state.
The recklessness of the military and Sars Personnel ensured that no elections held in Gokana, Khana, Tai and parts of Eleme Local Government Areas . In places where elections held successfully, it was because women and youths stood their grounds after voting . They defied the desperate gunshots by the military to scare them, as they insisted that their voices must be heard.
In Gokana , two youths were not so lucky as they were sent to their early graves by trigger soldiers. Videos of SARS personnel and their civil defence counterparts snatching ballot boxes and election materials across the state have already gone viral. Thanks to Facebook, several videos and images that the military and SARS personnel committed against democracy are in circulation for everyone to see. Nobody can pretend not to know that the misconduct of the military, especially the Nigerian Army in the course of the rerun elections, were of devilish proportions. It remains to be seen why the Federal authorities allowed their sponsor to lead them into this crime against Rivers people.
In Ikwerre, Eleme, Gokana and Gokana LGAS , Soldiers and SARS personnel, aside hijacking electoral materials, threatened journalists and civil society officials. They drove them and PDP agents from the collation centres, claiming that their security cannot be guaranteed.
Specifically in Ikwerre LGA , embattled Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi did the unthinkable. Backed by the Commissioner of Police in charge of elections , Mr David and soldiers, he invaded the collation centre at Isiokpo. In the course of campaigns, Governor Wike who was privy to credible intelligence alerted Nigerians of the conspiracy to rig the elections through the use of security agents and other tricks to be adopted by INEC. His predictions played out. Security agents deployed for the elections were programmed to promote the interest of the APC. They did everything to frustrate credible polls.
The height of the impunity of the Nigerian Army and SARS personnel, was the wild invasion of the Rivers East Senatorial District Collation centre by SARS Personnel led by Akin Fakorede. This notorious SARs Commander shocked the entire world with the lowest form of police conduct. Attempting to rob the People’s Mandate .
Commenting on the elections on December 10, Governor Wike said: ” I anticipated it. I tried to let the world to know that these are the plans of the security agencies.
“In all my political career, I have never experienced this kind of invasion by security agencies. What causes violence is when you give certain persons undue advantage. “Be assured that we are resisting it, it may take our lives, but we will resist to the last. That is what is expected, when you are fighting for freedom. You must make sacrifices.
“It is unfortunate that we are congratulating the opposition for winning in Ghana, but here the military are directly involved in rigging and hijacking materials. ” The governor added: “They say that they want to give Rivers State Governor problems, but you are not giving Rivers State Governor problems, you are giving Nigeria problems”.
VICTORY FOR RIVERS PEOPLE At that end of the day, PDP won elections in all the constituencies where the Nigerian Army and SARS personnel allowed voting to hold. At the last count, the PDP got two Senate Seats (Rivers East and Rivers West Senatorial Districts ), Five House of Representatives seats (Asari-Toru /Akuku-Toru Federal Constituency, Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency, Okirika /Ogu-Bolo Federal Constituency and Andoni /Opobo-Nkoro Federal Constituency and Etche /Omuma Federal Constituency ) The PDP in addition emerged in five state constituencies .
In all the constituencies where INEC declared APC , elections never held. The military and INEC connived to mess the entire process, robbing election materials which they took to hideouts for concoction of results. This ugly scenario played out in Gokana , Khana and Eleme Local Government Areas. For Tai, the Federal High Court ordered for elections in all units, but INEC did otherwise. In the Ogoni axis, soldiers killed and maimed several persons just to delivered Magnus Abe. In Ikwerre Local Government Area, voting was done, but soldiers and SARS Personnel alongside the Minister of Transportation stormed the Collation Centre, beat up party agents and journalists before settling down to cook up results.
The results from the polling units were elections held indicate that PDP emerged victorious across the Local Government Area . Amaechi and his security personnel were so eager to rig that they forgot to include the votes of PDP during the March 19 Rerun. CONFIRMATION OF POLICE/ARMY PARTISANSHIP With videos flying left and right on how the military helped the APC get a few seats illegally in a state where it is not on ground, the report of a reputable non governmental organisation serves as a confirmation of what the public already know.
One of the major observer groups that monitored the election, the CLEEN Foundation indicted the Army, the Police and DSS for their involvement in electoral malpractice , ballot snatching and rigging. According to CLEEN Foundation in its report, “The way and manner in which the election was conducted is a validation of the outcomes of the Security Threat Assessment report, and justifies the concerns of various stakeholders that the outcome of the election will not reflect the will of the people. ? [1]
“There were serious cases of electoral violence orchestrated by the Police, Army and DSS in Ward 3 Bodo community in Gokana and Khana Local Government Area. This led to the shooting to death of Mr. Mbari John MeeBari. “At Ward 12, Unit 5, Abonnema, Akuku Toru, Police shot sporadically to scarce away voters. At Sara 1, Sara 2 and Kalakama (Ward 12), Okirika LGA electoral materials were hijacked by the Army and officers of SARS at gunpoint.” The report claimed that the killing of a police officer, DSP, Alkali Mohammed and his orderly, were due to “unwarranted use of force and shooting”. “INEC, Police, Army and DSS provided overt and covert support for one of the political parties during the poll at Isiokpo INEC Collation Center,Ikwerre LGA, Ngo in Andoni LGA, Bonny LGA and Ahoada, INEC Staff and security agencies especially the army and police were observed openly aiding a political party,” CLEEN said NEED FOR SECURITY REFORMS Though the security agencies are living in denial, playing the ostrich, their woeful outing in Rivers State is an immediate alert that they require immediate reforms.
It is disheartening that the entire security structure could be handed over to a desperate politician simply because he stole Rivers funds and used same to sponsor the APC National Campaign in 2015. By the illegal deployment of security personnel for criminal political activities to favour the APC, the Federal Government reduced the rating of the nation’s in the eyes of right thinking members of the public. Unless urgent and transparent reforms are carried out, these security agencies will continue to slide. The very first step would be to make the security agencies apolitical and truly independent .
INEC AND THE REGRETTABLE AFFILIATION TO APC The rate at which INEC has become close to APC under the leadership of Mahmoud Yakubu and Amina Zakari is worrisome . Both groups defend each other actions, with INEC always hand in glove with APC leaders. Rivers Rerun elections exposed INEC’S partiality. Though a Federal High Court ruled on the Tai results, INEC decided to disobey that valid order. Same INEC forgot that weeks ago, it obeyed the order of Justice Okon Abang on Ondo election.
It would do INEC good if Amina Zakari resigns. She has become a major liability , working hard for the APC more than Odigie Oyegun. OVERRATED APC FAILED LEADERS It is a necessary to say a word to the failing APC Governors who laid siege on Rivers State at a time that the people of the state were to elect their representatives. Their unbridled disrespect for Rivers people and desperation for Rivers resources underscored while their respective states are failing. To think that these governors donated over N3billion from their poor states’ coffers to the Rivers Rerun Elections, tells the entire story of their failure. The entire APC governors that attended the Rivers APC Rally jointly don’t have projects that equate Governor Wike. This was why the had no message for the Rivers people other than naked incitement.
These APC Governors from Benue, Kano, Plateau, Bauchi, Oyo, Edo etc need to visit Rivers State for a two-week practical training on projects implementation and salary payment during a recession. Of course , Governor Wike is ever willing to assist his colleagues .
MR AMAECHI : TIME TO REPENT Immediate Past Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi should eat the humble pie and repent. Rather than use the N3trillion of Rivers resources in his kitty to sponsor outsiders to destabilise the state, he should repent and seek forgiveness from the people. Inviting jihadists and Boko Haram terrorists to the state in the name of politics will not improve his political rating.
Already, he has the blood of those murdered by soldiers in March and December on his head. Rivers people have moved on. Amaechi should follow suit by seeking forgiveness. GOVERNOR WIKE’S ASSESSMENT Governor Wike in a state-wide broadcast after the rerun elections said:We wish to most sincerely thank you all for your enthusiasm and participation in the just concluded re-run legislative elections in the State despite the many troubles you had to go through before and during the elections. “We appreciate you all for your courage and determined effort to defend your votes and ensure that you exercise your democratic rights to freely elect your representatives at the National and State Assemblies in the face of the malicious intimidation and obvious threat to your personal security.
“We know that most of you are clearly unhappy with the manner the election process was brazenly maneuvered with federal might to undeservedly return some candidates at all cost, but we still have to thank God Almighty and give Him the glory for the outcome, because it could have been far worse” LAST WORD Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike is the custodian of the mandate of the Rivers people freely handed to him on April 11, 2015. That mandate was confirmed by the Supreme Court on January 27, 2016. He is a peoples’ governor who has lived up to the expectations of his people. Therefore, he is like the Biblical tree planted by the waterside. He will continue to flourish and lead Rivers State into greater prosperity . He cannot be uprooted by outsiders, no matter the level of military and security mobilization. Hunger experts have nothing to tell Rivers people who are already living under a divine economy .
Written by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor, Electronic Media.
