“Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky
When you think that you know how politicking goes on in Nigeria, you must admit that you really don’t know, not at all. There have been a lot of to and fro from the last general election and subsequent ruling seems to have claimed the scalp of another.
As far back as May, this year, the Election Tribunal for Rivers State, that seated in Abuja, proceeded the hearing on the election of Nyesom Wike. This man, Wike was a Teflon Don, they tried to subpoena him, but his security men won’t allow the summons to be delivered to him and on many occasions and they really did try. Due to the protraction, the ruling on the petitioner’s counsel’s motion, Justice Pindiga, ordered that the court processes be pasted on the wall of Wike’s house. He said that “I have gone through the motion ex-parte and it is hereby granted; all the court processes are deemed valid.” You cannot make this up even if you try, only in Nigeria, things like this happen.One must admit the drama has kept people spellbound as the dust had not settled in the Rivers State Government House and now the governor has been given the boot. The governor has hardly got used to his newly elevated position. Others may argue that it was just a matter of time and that he was not a governor material anyway. Well, it seemed the writing was indelibly on the wall, but, Wike refused to take notice. He actually did not want to respond to the allegations that he did not win a clean contest.
Justice Pindiga then ordered that substituted service be effected against Wike either by pasting the court process on Wike’s house or at the office of the PDP secretariat in Rivers State or in Abuja. After failing to serve Wike, the presiding Justice Muazu Pindiga approved the request by Mr Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu (SAN), the counsel to Dr Dakuku Peterside of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to grant an order for substituted service on the Governor-elect because Wike kept evading the service of court summon and any other processes in the petition challenging Wike’s elections. Of course, it was Dr Dakuku Peterside, who sought for the tribunal to nullify the election of Nyesom Wike.
Peterside argued that though, Wilke was declared winner as governor in the poll held on April 11, 2015, the outcomes in favour of Wilke was fraught with malpractices and non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act; the election was marred by intimidation of voters, non-availability of result sheets, snatching of electoral materials, non-collation of results at wards and local government levels.
In reaching a decision, the tribunal adopted only one issue for determination – whether the petitioners had proven their case. Of course, Nyesom Wike was very vocal in opposing the allegation and more so that the tribunal had to be held in Abuja and not in Port Harcourt. The president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachawa, threw out Wike’s protests and held that the the tribunal should sit in Abuja, simply they said it would be safer. They may be right as the last election in, Rivers State was not safe at all and it was very much a garrison zone as the previous administration flexed its might and had police and military invading the area. The Rivers governorship election, by all standards, was criticised by local and international observers that it was fraught with widespread violence before and after the elections. Seriously, it was not the only election petition that was held in Abuja: Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
So now with the nullification of Rivers State governorship election of Nyesom Wike, by the tribunal, it is surely not over as Wike said he will definitely appeal the ruling of the tribunal. In the meantime, the election tribunal ordered Governorship election rerun in Rivers State within 90 days immediately after the day of the ruling.
Some may say that Wike is the victim here and others will say that he got what was coming to him. After all, he was a favoured choice of the former president, GEJ and the fragrant lady. The PDP is up in arms as to why its man has been given the chop and they think it is the oppositions’ hatchet job to destabilise the state and have their own man installed in the government house. They seem to be forgetting the crucial ingredients here: the peoples’ choice. They should let the people of Rivers State go and vote without intimidation or pressure for who they want and who will best serve the people. It has got to stop being about do or die politics, about time they got the change they needed and the delay of this saga will not be good for anyone.
There have been allegations made that the judge heading the governorship election tribunal was in the pocket of the Wike. It was said that the Rivers peoples’ mandate was stolen by Wike’s supporters, godfathers and people. Whatever the case, it is hoped that the ordinary people of Rivers State will use their votes and maybe justice will prevail and democracy will at last be restored.
Perhaps things will change for the better and the bullying tactics and intimidation will dissipate and the spirit of intimidation, thuggery, criminality and fraudulence will eventually leave its stench out of the state and its people. Here is hoping.
From my archive: The aggressor will fall on his own sword on June 09, 2013:
“Couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article titled; Jet, ladies and all things tasteless (12.05.13) which mentioned Rotimi Ameachi and the trouble between him and GEJ. So, fast forward two weeks, it does not look as if the fight is abating anytime soon. On the contrary, it seems that the fight has been nudged up another level; to isolate, intimidate and humiliate Governor Rotimi Ameachi. The assault is reaching a crescendo of an enormous magnitude that only can be imagined taking place in the dark, shady and mucky dealings of the political occult.
This audacious gerrymandering and devil-may-care attitude by the so called movers and shakers of the PDP is been played out in full view of the Nigerian public. I am sure that the heavies and bullies think that they are untouchable.They must feel so confident that the power they have mustered to coerce and usurp an incumbent governor is fair game. This in-fighting is a distraction happening daily in the ordinary lives of a Nigerian household. What use is it to the man on the street that there is a split in the PDP and that Rotimi has been suspended from the party? Not a lot, unless it can quench their thirsts, fill their bellies, make them feel secure at home or on the roads or put clothes on their backs, it means nothing. Nothing at all. So what do we make of it? That it is all about power and money and not about the people they serve.
To the PDP, I remember, a quote from late Chinua Achebe: “We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without devaluing our own. If only they heed the sagacious maxim and concentrate on themselves and not try to disrupt others”.
VANGUARD
END
Be the first to comment