Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State Governor, has declared that he will implement fully the ban on open grazing, which was part of the resolutions passed by the Southern State governors in Asaba, Delta State this week.
The decision has generated controversies arising from northern interests who are opposed to it, but Wike said that he cannot be powerful. There is no going back on the decision to ban open grazing in the state, he vowed.
The governor made this declaration on Saturday at a reception given in his honour by the people of the Ogoni ethnic nationality in Bori, Khana Local Government Area of the state.
Wike declared that Rivers belonged to people from every part of the state. He implored the Ogonis to resist any form of intimidation by anyone who wanted them to take the back seat in the scheme of things.
“Nobody should play God. We will flog them again. Militarization of election will not work. Didn’t they bring Army before? Did it work? We will flog them again.
“Nobody can cow me. The government cannot cow me. I will say my mind and I will do what is right for my people. Nobody can kill me before my time. I will die the day God wants me to die.
“Let me also tell those who are criticizing Southern Governors’ ban on open grazing, let me inform them that I have taken further steps to enforce what the southern governors resolved in Asaba.
“If anyone wants to die, let him go and die and hang himself on an electric pole. We (Southern Governors) have taken a decision and there is no going back. Enough is enough. We are not second-class citizens of this country. We also own this country and we must partake in what is happening in this country,” Wike stated.
He asked all residents of the state to obey the curfew imposed by the state government to address the challenge of insecurity, noting that he had instructed the security operatives to arrest prominent personalities who flout the curfew.
Any prominent person arrested or flouting the curfew would be used to serve as an example, the governor said.
“Obey the curfew time. It is very important. I have instructed the security agencies to arrest prominent personalities who flout the curfew time and use them as examples. I am looking for prominent people that I will use as examples,” the governor said.
