The Abia vs Rivers spat
People & Politics Nov 4, 2010 vanguardBy Ochereome Nnanna
TODAY, I want to address the hot media exchanges between officials of the Abia and Rivers State governments over the rescued school children from the den of kidnappers about a month ago.
It all started when the Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, gave an interview, claiming he was the one who rescued the children. Stung, the Abia State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Anthony Agbazuere, surfaced in Lagos and gave it back to Amaechi in interviews with some television stations.
He said that Amaechi, having not won any elections, did not know what it takes to behave and speak like a governor.
He likened this loose talk to a similar exchange with the wife of the President, Dame Patience Jonathan, which ended her first official visit to her native state in a fiasco, adding that since Amaechi was not the Commander-in-Chief of the security forces, he could not have rescued the children as he claimed.
Not to be outdone, the Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, made allusions to the fact that Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State won his election "from prison" (it was actually detention, not prison), adding that her principal had reached out to him to see what could be done to jointly deal with criminality in the South East but received no reply.
She managed to give the impression that South East and Abia State are dens of criminality.
As far as I am concerned, this row was childish and absolutely uncalled for. It was wrong for Governor Amaechi to have made that claim without telling his audience exactly how he led that rescue effort. Even if he contributed to that rescue by giving useful information, that is what responsible citizens are expected to do. It does not call for any sensational media outing capable of creating tension between the people of the two neighbouring states which share so many other things in common.
If the aim of Governor Amaechi's utterances was to paint Abia State as a theatre of criminality, then recent history would view that effort as the kettle calling pot black.
As I noted above, the two states and other states in the South East and South-South share so many things in common. This is the reason behind the many efforts to create a common platform for the two zones to work and grow together, but which some narrow-minded elements have depicted as ploys for the domination of one side by the other.
There is nothing that is happening in Aba that did not originate from Port Harcourt. The kidnapping as a political protest and later, criminality, started in Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa, before criminality spread to Abia, Anambra, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Edo, and parts of the South West and the North.
That is the nature of criminality. Once it is seen to "pay" and there is little deterrence, it spreads. Some groups in and around Aba have also mimicked the idea of turning the kidnap saga into a political protest against what they see as their political marginalisation in Abia State.
The connivance of members of some communities with kidnappers also started in Rivers. Governor Amaechi himself once paraded an old man who kept and fed victims kidnapped by his children. Again, the use of all methods necessary (including the military) to flush out the criminals also started in Rivers State.
No one can accuse the Governor Amaechi regime of treating the criminals with kid gloves. He does not, like some mischievous pretenders, distinguish between "criminals" and "freedom fighting" and oil-stealing militants. Till date, Amaechi wants to demolish the waterfronts mainly because they are hideouts of criminals.
The same thing applies to Abia, where the Governor, after equipping the police, deploying trackers, deposing traditional rulers and offering amnesty to no avail, decided to bring in the military. About two years ago, Port Harcourt was shut down by criminals. Corpses lay in the streets and night life evaporated. Hotels were empty.
Expatriates relocated to Abuja and Lagos and chose to sneak into Rivers through Owerri Airport. Once in Port Harcourt, they moved by helicopters to their business engagements. The same thing happened to Aba at the height of the reign of terror. Residents fled, and banks, schools and markets shut down.
Also, as in the case of Rivers where Amaechi's strong arm tactics sent the criminals into flight and returned life to the nation's foremost oil city, Aba is back on its feet, as the latest security sweep initiated by Governor Orji has returned the commercial city back to full functionality.
As far as I am concerned, the two governors have done well in dealing with the kidnap saga. Governors faced with similar problems should be comparing notes and sharing ideas.
They should help one another without coming to the papers to claim credit for what they did or did not do. They should not try to paint one another in ugly colours. They should not promote tension or dig at each other as if there is something to be gained by so doing.
Criminality in any part of the country is a problem of all Nigerians. The reason is that (just as the kidnap saga has proved) it is an infectious virus that will spread unless controlled.
I therefore commend Governor Orji for summoning maturity and leadership in calling his officials off the war of words with Rivers State. I hope his brother governor will reciprocate. I look forward to the two state chief executives paying each other courtesy calls and addressing a joint press conference to show that the spat has been resolved.
That is how genuine leaders behave. They do not store grudges in their hearts like people who are not qualified to hold such exalted positions.
This must never happen again.
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