Today, Governor Amaechi and some of his aides, aided by a section of the media have gone all out to portray Rotimi Amaechi as the oppressed Governor who is currently being persecuted for his frankness and bluntness on critical issues.
It does not even matter to them whether it is crudeness in manner of speaking that has been misinterpreted as frankness and bluntness.
In building their commentary, this gang of Amaechi defenders have forgotten or maybe deliberately refused to give us some insight into the way and manner in which Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, Governor of Rivers State had run his politics since he became Governor after a Supreme Court judgment that terminated the administration of Celestine Omehia in 2007.
During the build-up to the 2011 elections and thereafter, Governor Rotimi Amaechi, then Lord of the Manor and Leader of the PDP in Rivers State conscripted some of his foot soldiers to take over the party and key positions in the National Assembly much to the chagrin of the then holders of the positions who were also PDP members.
And so he rolled out his foot soldiers.
Magnus Abe, then Secretary to the Government of Rivers State was selected and drafted into the race for the Senate where he upstaged the more popular Senator Lee Maeba in a phoney electoral process that shook Ogoni land. There are growing reports that Amaechi may have been favoring him to run for Governor in 2015.
Dakuku Peterside, who was Governor Amaechi’s Commissioner for Works was selected and drafted to the House of Assembly race for the Andoni, Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency. Last week, Dakuku Peterside, who is now House Committee Chairman on Petroleum Resources (downstream) in a poor show of political thoughtfulness, attributed the crisis in Rivers State to Governor Amaechi’s decision to run again for the position of NGF Chairman. This might be his last term in the House of Assembly.
Ken Chikere, his Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice was selected and drafted into the race for the Port Harcourt City Federal Constituency to usurp the member who had the mandate at the time.
Dawari George, his (Amaechi) Commissioner for Energy was selected and drafted into the race for the Akuku Toru/Asari Toru Federal Constituency to also usurp the mandate of the member who was there at the time.
At that time, nobody cried foul about how Amaechi had dictatorially marshaled out his own men to take-over and then foisted them on the leadership of the PDP in Rivers State and the communities and constituencies that they represent.
At that time, nobody pointed hands at the Presidency for whatever undemocratic practices that was going on in Rivers State.
At that time, we did not see any Lagos based media consultant writing as though they were Rivers State and complaining about the brute disrespect for democratic rules and principles that Governor Amaechi had unleashed on Rivers people at the time especially against those who he feared were not loyal to him.
We did not hear any of these rented media consultants writing long articles on the rape of democracy in Rivers State.
Maybe it was because the Emperor himself, Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, was the one calling the shots. At that time, he was the oppressor.
He flew with choppers to rescue some of his selected candidates who were almost being mobbed by their community people during elections and then straddled into his waiting jet to confer with the ogas at the top about the electoral success at home.
Today, he cries likes the oppressed. More so, he has rented town criers from out of town to cry harder for him. How the table turns.
Anyway, why he cries, he should not forget those he made to cry so hard not too long ago. There is a season for everything.
George Kerley
Port Harcourt
May 31, 2013
