Two weeks after the National Assembly proposed a peace committee, attempts to bring Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike together have stalled, indicating that the political crisis roiling Rivers State is far from finished.
Remember how Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all state lawmakers were suspended for six months in March after President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency due to increased tension in the state? Vice-Admiral Ibok Ibas (rtd) was named sole administrator right away.
Both chambers recommended the creation of a committee to mediate between the opposing factions prior to the suspension period ending, even though the National Assembly promptly granted the President’s request. But there hasn’t been any real progress in starting the peace process.
Sources in the state capital, Port Harcourt, claim that the part played by several well-known Ijaw and Rivers politicians during the crisis is impeding reconciliation.
This time, the people who ought to have guided us out of the woods chose sides in the crisis. According to an insider, they are not credible enough to invite the two parties to a roundtable.
The source pointed out that the division was further widened when numerous Ijaw leaders publicly backed Governor Fubara while ignoring Wike. Additionally, he attacked groups, including former President Goodluck Jonathan, for purportedly renouncing their neutral positions.
He said that former President Goodluck Jonathan was pressured to support Governor Fubara in the conflict, even though he ought to have been in charge of the peace negotiations at the time. The Ijaw were let down by the Ijaw National Congress (INC), which was led by Prof. Benjamin Okaba, because of its blatant bias in the issue. Professor Okaba did nothing to improve the situation.
“Remember that all of the elders in Rivers are already split into Wike’s or Fubara’s elders,” he continued. At this point, these individuals ought to have stepped up, but they no longer enjoy the respect necessary to promote true reconciliation. Nothing seems to be happening right now to initiate any kind of reconciliation.
Jonathan Lokpobiri, president of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, also voiced dissatisfaction with how certain Ijaw leaders handled the situation.
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Lokpobiri declared, “I can say with all sense of responsibility and conviction that we would not be where we are today if we had used wisdom in the management of this crisis in Rivers.” “We decided to threaten war for which we were unprepared, rather than applying wisdom in issues we could prevent in the first place.”
“People speak carelessly in an attempt to drag an ethnic group into an avoidable war,” he added. The battle arrived, but I no longer heard the words of those who threatened fire and brimstone. When pursuing the Niger Delta’s challenges, we must use caution.
Lokpobiri reiterated support for Fubara to serve out his term, emphasizing that emotional outbursts have no place in important political disagreements. He remarked, “Wisdom sometimes surpasses the weapons we believe we have amassed.” “We wouldn’t have reached this embarrassing point of a state of emergency if we had resolved this issue internally, as we previously recommended.”
The president of the Movement for Izon Ethnic Nationality Development (MOSIEND), Kennedy Tonjo-West, stated that his organization has remained impartial during the crisis and is now prepared to assist in starting peace initiatives.
“In order for the reconciliation process to begin on schedule, I am already conducting some discussions. “We want Rivers to get back to a reconciliation process as soon as possible,” he stated.
Despite Wike’s prior backing of the governor, the two have been at odds since the general elections in 2023.
The majority of suspended MPs, many of whom are Wike supporters, are apparently on vacation overseas, while Governor Fubara has since returned to his own home in Port Harcourt.
