-By Zik Gbemre
DELTA – Should President Bola Ahmed Tinubu allow the oil-rich River state to burn to ashes before acting? No. A solution must be reached to calm nerves. I said a few days ago that I didn’t pity Governor Siminalayi Fubara because he allowed himself to be used.
He enjoyed the political game when Nyesom Wike catapulted him to become Accountant General and then imposed him on the PDP to grab the governorship ticket even when he was not a card-carrying member of the PDP.
The devil will not gift you free without you paying for it. Those who fault Tinubu for declaring a state of emergency in River State are missing the point. Does Gov Fubara have the constitutional power to disobey Supreme Court judgment? No.
Fubara disobeyed the Supreme Court judgment and still ran River State without the River State legislature. He is the governor and legislator. Those talking about the rule of law have not seen anything wrong in Fubara’s autocracy.
One would have expected Fubara to obey the Supreme Court judgment.
They say, “he who comes to equity must come with clean hands”. What is democracy in all this when Fubara doesn’t obey Supreme Court judgment?
After the 2023 governorship election, Fubara’s victory was challenged in the election tribunal and down to the Supreme Court, but he won in the Supreme Court. So why is Fubara undermining the Supreme Court judgment?
Impeachment is not new in Nigeria. Alhaji Balarabe Musa was impeached on 23rd June 1981 in Kaduna in the Second Republic under Alhaji Shehu Shagari’s led NPN Administration.
Under President Obasanjo, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was impeached on 9th December 2005. Obasanjo orchestrated his Impeachment after he escaped from a UK police cell to Nigeria and was given a guard of honour at the Bayelsa State House.
It was rumoured how Obasanjo masterminded his impeachment and he didn’t recover from the shock until he died few years ago. I still recollect how Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in Plateau State on 18th May 2004.
In October 2006, Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in Ekiti State and appointed Brigadier General Adetunji Olurin (rtd) until the leadership crisis was over in Ekiti State.
Obasanjo doesn’t have the moral capacity to talk on state of emergency rule and invasion of the military in any place in Nigeria. Precisely on November 20, 1999, Obasanjo ordered the military to invade Odi, which led to the Odi massacre.
To prevent loss of lives and bring stability Tinubu has acted wisely to prevent killings and avoidable destruction.
Zik Gbemre
March 19,2025
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
