[dropcap]T[/dropcap]hese are not the best of times for Nigeria. The economy is at its worst in over two decades. Prices of commodities have skyrocketed. There’s a resurgence in militancy, which impacts negatively on the fortune of the country. Job losses have become commonplace and many States grapple with the inability to meet obligations as basic as paying workers salaries. The situation is truly bad and the future doesn’t seem to inspire hope.
Any state government that, like the current All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government, chooses to offer excuses for non-performance in the face of the current realities may be justified. The situation is so bad that even the federal fgovernment can hardly account for any achievement in the last one year in credit to alleged monumental corruption of the previous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration. Although none of the bogus and mind boggling allegations have been substantiated, it is to the credit of the last administration that Nigeria until it was taken over by the APC was Africa’s most thriving and lucrative economy. What went wrong after the emergence of the APC-led government is not far-fetched. The party was clearly unprepared for governance and absolutely clueless with respect to how to maintain the strides achieved by the last PDP-led administration and not give it credit.
A year ago, today, while the case of the federal government, was about the challenge of the incoming APC-led government in keeping pace with achievements recorded by the out-going PDP-led government, in Rivers State the reverse was the case. The incoming PDP-led government under the leadership of Chief Nyesom Wike, was saddled with the onerous responsibility of clearing the mess of maladministration, the orgy of financial malfeasance and the catastrophe of political rascality bequeathed to it by the outgoing APC-led government. The situation was so bad that the outgoing government could not face the shame of handing over the state in any documented or allegorical form. They simply checked out in the dead of the night heralding the dawn of a NEW era without, as much as, handing over a single shred of paper to account for the 8 years of humongous abundance that were largely wasted on trips of vain fantasies.
Fortunately, the NEW dawn encapsulated in the hopes and aspirations of Rivers people for a better deal and invested in the person of Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike took to flight pronto, after his inauguration Governor of Rivers State.
The very moment he took charge as governor on the sacred grounds of the Yakubu Gowon Stadium (formerly called Liberation Stadium), he announced the opening of the courts with the appointment of an acting chief judge in accordance with the recommendation of the National Judicial Council hitherto jettisoned by the previous APC-led government. He flagged off, not just the reconstruction of roads in the state but also the regeneration, re-engineering, and reNEWal of critical infrastructure. Since his emergence, a year ago, today, Governor Wike has left no stone unturned in ensuring that Rivers State gets back to its pride of place as Nigeria’s capital city of hospitality and enjoyment rather than just being the nerve centre of oil its economy and hub of oil and gas.
While it may be argued that the state is not yet at its El Dorado, it cannot be denied that the New Rivers has covered unbelievably enormous grounds on its way back to its epochal status of enviable reckoning among the comity of states in Nigeria.
PASSION FOR DEVELOPMENT
No one is in doubt of Governor Wike’s passion for development. Even his detractors acknowledge his passion, drive and uncompromising stance on development. In one year, in spite of the gamut of offensive barrage of strategic and coordinated assaults on him and his government, to both distract and boot him out of office, he has remained largely unruffled and unscathed as a result of his focus on governance rather than in attractive bouts in partisanship.
LOVE FOR GOD
According to Charles Spurgeon, “Nothing teaches us about the preciousness of the creator as much as when we learn the emptiness of everything else”. This is so true with respect to life and encapsulates the values that the inspiring story of Governor Wike evokes. Every so often, as occasions permit, governor tells the story of how God saved him; of how he couldn’t have been successful but for the mercies, grace and physical not just metaphysical interventions of Almighty God. His love for God is a strong and guiding influence of his leadership and it is no secret.
GENUINE INTEREST IN PEOPLE
At the center of Governor Wike’s political and governmental duties is his genuine interest in people. This is the secret behind his large following at the grassroots. Empathy for people is his first nature and moderates his strides in politics and governance. Consider his recent action in advising his friend, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to forgo his ambition in being chairman of the PDP since it was a source of acrimony and division to the party. Although, Governor Wike stood the risk of being misunderstood and compromising his relations with Senator Sheriff, he remained resolute in standing with the vast majority within the party as a democrat and it was on account of his genuine interest in people. For him, politics must be about improving the stakes of the vast majority not just the interests of the strong minority.
Every single project he has embarked on as governor has been about improving the lives of people. The interest of people is truly at the center of his call to public service and also one of the many reasons the opposition APC in the State in cahoots with powerful collaborators at the federal government remain determined to oust him from office by every means necessary even if it means to announce results of elections that didn’t hold just to decimate his rising profile and reach.
The distractions notwithstanding, Governor Wike has kept faith with his commitment and pledge during his inauguration a year ago, today, to serve the people of Rivers to the best of his abilities and to collaborate with rather than antagonise the federal government in the best interest of Rivers people, whose trust and mandate he holds. A pledge that obviously does not go well with those who would rather be pleased, and have done everything possible, to have him at loggerheads with President Muhammadu Buhari.
Oraye St. Franklyn, a strategic communicator and good governance advocate, writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He is senior special advisor to Governor Nyesom Wike on New Media. He tweets from @RealOraye. He is also on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
