[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s election season and as expected the stakes are high. The battle for the soul of Rivers State by the All Progressives Congress, APC, cannot be expected to be by conventional and socially acceptable standards given their penchant for the mundane especially as has been severally seen in their bids to undermine free speech, free will and the votes of the Nigerians.
The ragtag remnant of the failed political opposition in Rivers State having lost the ability to make a valid argument against the candidature of current Governor of the State, Nyesom Wike, have resorted to the promotion of hate speech, distorted facts and white-washed falsehood against him in an attempt to impugn his character, discredit him on account of his impeccable rising profile in Nigeria and estop him from benefiting from the consequence of his remarkable service delivery to Rivers people and Nigerians in general.
The question the promoters of the mundane propaganda against him did not ask themselves before embarking on their vacuous venture of vain vengeance is whether their strategy can validly impinge on the credibility that Gov. Wike has garnered for himself over the years based on his forthright leadership and people-centered pro-Rivers service delivery in the State?
If they did, as the evidence now shows, they wouldn’t have ventured in the first place. It gladdens the heart to read the livid reactions of Nigerians overwhelmingly condemning the demented and puerile attacks on Governor Wike across social media platforms by those who wish to derail governance in Rivers State and Nigeria.
The big question is: who stands to benefit from stopping a man who himself is standing for the best interest of his people? Of course, they didn’t expect Nigerians to ask that question.
Those who oppose Gov. Wike and conjure up devious strategies to compromise his unblemished legacy must realize that false propaganda cannot erase a legacy founded on the solid rock of matchless and renowned service delivery. If he hadn’t worked hard yesterday, toiling day and night both for Rivers State and Nigeria, they would have had their day today. But alas, it’s too late in the day to wish that yesterday never happened. The ship has sailed.
What is before Nigerians at this present moment is the embarrassing national failure of the APC that has resulted in not just job losses in the millions but preventable reported and unreported deaths in several hundreds of thousands on account of a calamitous lack of capacity by the APC to administer something as simple and fundamental as good governance. Nigerians are not only less fortunate than they were before the emergence of the APC, we are more divided than we ever were in our entire history and the gapping walls of antisocial attrition are expanding daily. These and many more are reasons the APC themselves are the clowns that need to be stopped in Nigeria’s best interest rather than those who are constantly striving for the best of Nigeria.
Gov. Wike and Rivers people will not be distracted. Our eyes are on the ball. The time is up for the APC. If they don’t check out, they would be checked out. No time.
Oraye St. Franklyn is a barrister-at-law. He is senior special assistant to Governor Nyesom Wike on Social Media. He is a strategic communicator and good governance advocate, writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He tweets from @SaintOraye. He is also on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
