By Oby Ndukwe
In the lyrics of a song by late music maestro, Sunny
Okosun the king of Nigerian music, "who wants to know who owns the land?
We want to know who owns the land!” the campaign violence in Okrika which
disrupted the APC Governorship rally penultimate week seems to be what played
out.
Nothing could best capture the ugly event that took
place which led to the killing of a police man, stabbing of the Channels TV
reporter and maiming of APC supporters.
While I do not wish for a repeat of this madness and
show of shame at Okrika, the native home of Nigeria's leader, sorry, Nigeria's
acting President, Dame Patience Jonathan a.k.a. Mama Piss; but I wish to go
back to find the underlying causes of the crisis that nearly consumed Dr.
Dakuku Peterside, the APC Governorship candidate.
It is no news that Madam Patience Jonathan, wife of
Nigeria's President, Goodluck Jonathan is at 'war' with the state Governor,
Rotimi Amaechi, but what may be news here is that Amaechi's wife, Dame Judith,
who should have been on hand to 'fight' Madam has decided to stay away from the
controversies, rather one of the Commissioners in her husband's cabinet, Ibim
Semenetari, has adorned the cloak of the office in order to 'put' Mama Piss in
her proper place. Hmmmm!!!
While Judith has resorted to prayers, Ibim preferred
to become what the Rivers First Lady has unknowingly refused to become. Now,
let's look at the factors that were responsible for the disruption and
destruction at Okrika.
The Nigerian First Lady is by tradition, a native of
Okrika considering her Igbo blood, precisely, Umuahia in Abia State abi
Ochendo's haven? Patience Jonathan is Okrika while Ibim by marriage is also
Okrika, though a native of.
Opobo, my mother's kith and kin as well as Dakuku's.
Though the Commissioner for Information and the Director, Media and Publicity
of the APC Campaign Organisation, she has probably set aside the toga of Mama
media in order to prove that what Patience can do, she can also do better.
And just like
the biblical injunction, "his place let another take", Ibim decided
to fill up the missing gap for both the incoming and outgoing First Ladies of
Rivers state.
Don't get me
wrong here, cos even the. PDP governorship candidate's wife, Justice Wike is no
where to be found through out her husband's political sojourn. Why? Your guess
is as good as mine.
Don't expose your family here to avoid any hidden
family secrets! Let's continue anyway in our discuss and leave petty gossip for
now.
While Dame Patience has exhibited the will power to
defend her husband or his office, Ibim thinks she may be taking too much, after
all, "we are all from this Rivers women". After the first attempt to
hold a rally in Okrika failed, stakeholders from the area minus Dr. Samson
Parker and his wife, met to strategise
on how to ensure a successful rally.
The Police had reassured the state governor and the
APC leadership that there would be maximum security on a new date. Considering
the public outcry against the perpetrators of the violence that. Disrupted the
first attempt, everyone was convinced that the security agencies would do their
best.
Less than 24 hours to the rescheduled rally, madam at
the top landed in Port Harcourt and headed straight for Okrika, her home town.
Her visit coincided with the visit of Dakuku to a
place where he had as a young boy, lived and attended secondary school. While
the entourage of the APC left the palace of the traditional ruler and headed
for Dakuku's alma mater, they received what I described as a warning signal
that the big madam is around, and as such, no foul language.
Even though she has a doctorate degree in being
uncouth.
At this point, I had expected the campaign train led
by the state chairman of the APC, Ibiamu Ikanya to take a cue from former
governor Peter Odili who never challenged Sergeant Awuse in his hometown,
Emohua, instead, those who were set to claim ownership of the land fired on
like loose canons.
After the praise and prayer section, the APC party
chairman and madam media took turns to speak. In order to impress their guests
particularly, the watching public, they lambasted those who attempted to stop
them.
While the party chairman was trying to prove his
mettle as a leader, the Commissioner for Information, was even harder on the
First Lady. She told the listening public that she has as equal right as Mama
piss, considering that she is fully
married to an Okrika son.
As if that was not enough, she said that she has also
shed her blood for Okrika through child birth, while being delivered of her
children who are indigenes of Okrika.
Soon after her speech, the shots came banging and the
guns started booming.
Everyone scampered to safety as the security man
whisked away Dakuku. And his deputy to the waiting vehicles. I asked myself,
'what could have wrong?'.
Wait a minute, Dame Patience had just been reminded of
her unfortunate status, something she would never like to remember. She was
told in clear terms that she did not belong there.
Ibim was short of telling her that she has not made
any 'blood' sacrifice for the land of Okrika through child birth.
Who would ever like to be reminded of that in any
case? Chaii! "these bloods they are shedding abi sheering?”
It is like looking a man at his face and telling him
that he has no balls. No man, even the ones who know its true, will never take
that. Both religion and tradition abhor such. Tufiakwa!
The militants who were on hand waiting and watching
needed no other reason to disrupt the rally more so with the level of crowd
present on that day. They began to fire gun shots which threw everyone into
panic.
At the end of the day, Dakuku went, saw but never conquered.
Accusations and counter accusations trailed the ugly
incidence. Yes, Governor Amaechi passed the buck to Madam First Lady, and I
agree with him. But, you can't tell me to my face that I am barren and I leave
you to go free either by omission or commission.
Madam peace was
pushed to the wall! Her boys led by self-acclaimed Speaker, Evans Bipi were on
hand to retaliate.
It was a battle for supremacy of two first ladies who
have one thing in common, indiegenes of Okrika residing in the corridors of
power!
While I do not subscribe to violence as the best form
of retaliation here for whatever provocation, the truth is that the new Rivers
First Lady, Mama Media failed to realise that long before she relocated from
Lagos state in 2010 or there about to help Amaechi's government, Okrika was a
hotbed of violence.
She also failed to remember that the pen is mightier
than the sword, as it is said. What she needed to do as a journalist of high
repute was to sit down and put her pen to work against these agents of
violence!
Ibim lost it when she sought to remove her garment of
a writer in order to wear the garment of a First Lady.
Though, she is actually one. Don't get me wrong here.
She is married to an Okrika son! After all, every married woman is a first lady
to her husband and her home.
I guess, the problem here is that my sister from
Opobo, my mother's biological home failed to understand that there is a great
wall of difference between an official first lady and a domestic one.
Well, she was only helping Dame Judith in this area.
Hmmmm!
For me, the opposition party, PDP, should just own up
to the crisis in Okrika abd just like a lady once responded to the question of
the court, "Guilty or not guilty?", and she said, "My Lord, I am
guilty with reasons"! That of course did not spare her of the hammer of
the Judge.
The challenge subtly thrown at Dame Patience over the
sacrifice of blood through child birth, apart from provoking her loyalists who
say she is their Jesus Christ, eventually saw to the spilling of the blood of
the police officer, the Channels TV reporter, the wounded as well as the death
of Bayelsa women who were in Okrika with the First Lady.
All said and done, the police is yet to bring to book
those behind the terror that was unleashed on innocent Nigerians.
My other sister, Mama Peace with Abia blood like me
may have unknowingly trained some younger women in the act of being
canterkerous!
She has consistently engaged General Buhari and called
him unprintable names. Buhari's wife just like Amaechi's wife have refused to
engage her in any gutter language.
This is not cowardice but wisdom! For the Holy Bible
describes wisdom as the principal thing to be sought after in life.
For me, the violence that erupted in Okrika can only
best be described as the battle of two First Ladies.
I hear the governor has ordered that the alternate
First Lady be assigned another bullet proof jeep for her safety and for a job
well done. Who says courage does not pay? I just dey watch! See you here next
week!
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