By Iliyasu Gadu, Ilgad2009@gmail.com
08035355706 (Texts only)
I lived and worked for ten solid years in Rivers state; long enough indeed to consider myself (subject to the approving authorities in the state) as a Rivers person by association. Rivers state is so etched in my consciousness that even after I have ceased to live there I have maintained my numerous contacts and kept track of developments in the aquatic state of splendour called the ‘’Treasure Base of the Nation’’.
This is why as I write this, my heart has been tugging with trepidation at the ugly turn of events that followed the October 5, Local Government Elections in the state. Indeed the state has been on knife edge since the parting of ways between incumbent Governor Simi Fubara and his predecessor Nyesom Wike currently Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister in the President Tinubu administration. I have watched along with many Nigerians their parting of ways growing bigger and more threatening to the point where as the proverbial fight between two elephants, Rivers state had become the grass that had been suffering the effects unfortunately.
There is no need recounting the details of the beef between the two principal gladiators. Nigerians are more concerned that Rivers is hurtling dangerously down the road of violence and uncertainty which will not bode well for the state and the nation at large.
Fortuitously, I can say that I have crossed ways with some of the personalities involved in the imbroglio. On Wike I recall that when he was Chairman Obio/Akpor Local Government his ‘’Revenue Task force’’, a motley collection of muscle-bound toughs ‘’arrested’’ me somewhere in the Trans Amadi area on the alleged ‘’offense’’ of having no licence for my car stereo. The beefy bruisers piled into my car and threateningly ordered me to proceed to the LG headquarters at Rumuodomanya to pay the appropriate fees for the ‘’offense’’. On arriving there, I was lucky to meet a friend of mine who offered to talk to the Chairman. I was summoned to Wike’s office where looking genuinely embarrassed he profusely offered his apologies for the inconveniences and ordered my car released.
Governor Fubara on the other hand we met under more salubrious circumstances. His senior colleague and fellow Accountant Iyala Stewart of blessed memory who used to publish a local newspaper titled Ibani Herald along with his wife Linda Somiari Stewart now a legislator at the Rivers state House of Assembly, hailed from Opobo and was a close friend. I remember on a certain Friday evening in Port Harcourt, Stewart came racing frantically to me pleading for a boat booking for two of his friends to Bonny Island. They were to attend a function there and desperately needed to be on the boat. Even though the booking had closed and I had used up my booking slot for Stewart, I nonetheless was able to squeak a couple of seats for the two. What caught my attention was the name of one of the two passengers.
The one Fubara was a two penny name in the Ijaw areas of Rivers State. But the other name Finebone puzzled me even though in the riverine areas of the Niger Delta such similar names like LongJohn, Fyneface, Finecountry, California, Liverpool, Heineken etc were commonplace owing to historical contacts with British adventurers to the riverine areas of Nigeria. Subsequently until I left Rivers state through Stewart, our paths occasionally crossed with these two gentlemen. Finebone later became the publicity secretary of the All Progressive Party (APC) in Rivers state and a close associate of Rotimi Amaechi the former Minister of Transportation under the Buhari administration.
Amaechi of course I came to know when he first became Speaker of the Rivers state House of Assembly in 1999. And even though the circumstances of our interaction were official, it was inevitable that we would come to relate informally as happens from time to time.
Fortuitously these three gentlemen Amaechi, Wike and Fubara who eventually became Governor of the state at different times are now the main dramatis personae in the vortex of the current imbroglio in River state. And this write up is addressed to them as well as to the people of Rivers state and Nigerians at large.
With my deep connections to the state I find it difficult taking sides with any of the factions involved in the ongoing debacle in there. My overriding interest like other well- meaning Nigerians is in helping to promoting peaceful co-existence in Rivers state.
Most people talk of Rivers state in terms of the abundant oil and gas resources in the state and the revenues that this generates to the coffers of the country. It is indeed true and that is why it is referred to as “The Treasure Base of the Nation.’’
But Rivers state I know is much more than that. It is a state rich in history and a tapestry of cultures. It is also a state that pulses with an in your face vivacity and vibrancy that matches the diversity of its peoples.
From the northern part of the state Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni and Ahoada where the visitor gets welcomed with mashed dried fish and kolanuts to Ikwerre land were you are hailed with greetings of ‘’Ammeka” to Abua/Odual where you are served with arguably the sweetest tasting pineapple in the country and to the land of the graceful, sophisticated Kalabari people and their preference for sartorial elegance and etiquette and where you are welcomed in the Kalabari language with ‘’Annua”; then to Okrika, the land of marine warriors and amazons bravely paddling through the creeks in dug-out canoes, fishing and trading in the hundreds of fishing ports dotting the famous Cawthorne channel. You are welcomed here warmly in the Orika dialect with the expression ‘’Ndaani” and among the ‘’Kirikese’’ (people of Okrika) the common reference to one another is the informal friendly term “Iyo” (friend) or ‘’Iwaribo” (among members of the same war canoe house). And to the land of the proud but genteel Ibani people of Bonny and Opobo, and their colourful war canoe house festivals and dances where names like Peterside, Hart, Allison, Wilcox, Brown (Boye-Omuso) Halliday, Green etc reflecting their long contacts with the British. Here the common greeting in the Ibani dialect is ‘’Toroh.”
Rivers is also the land of the great Andoni people who greet you warmly ‘’Ire ire” in the language. They have a reputation of being so skilful at fishing that they almost often ‘’outfish’’ fishermen from every other ethnic group in the state. And not leaving out the amphibious people of Ogoni land who form the link between the riverine and upland areas of the state with names like Barinem, Baridua, Nwinudee, etc. Lastly the Etche people of Umuma and Etche who share culture links with their Igbo and Ikwerre neighbours are a prominent component of Rivers life.
Indeed Rivers state can be described as poetry of colours, cultures and history in addition to its vast mineral resources which should qualify the state to be considered as a United Nations cultural heritage site.
Nigerians should be very concerned that such a very important state with such endowments is tipping inevitably towards implosion. We cannot sit by and allow Rivers state fall into this unfortunate fate. We must not just passionately appeal to the people of Rivers to sheathe the daggers they have drawn at each other. Nigerians must also encourage and join hands with the people of the state to prevent it from going down the dangerous path of destruction it seems bent on.
The flames of such an avoidable conflagration will likely spread through the Niger Delta and certainly engulf the country eventually.
Iliyasu Gadu, a former Foreign Service Officer who served at the Nigerian Missions in Germany and the United Kingdom (UK), is a columnist with Daily Trust
