“I am in a confused state because I think something has started today, something has begun today which is going to go much further than most of us here imagine.” -Chief Anthony Enahoro, Action Group Member, in parliamentary debate over the motion to declare a State of Emergency in the Western Region, 29 May 1962 (quoted in Balewa, 1964: 128)
These words spoken by Chief Anthony Enahoro proved to be very prophetic given the succeeding events: the declaration of State of Emergency in Western Nigeria, the imprisonment of Chief Awolowo on the charge of treasonable felony, the unpopular declaration of Akintola as the winner of the massively rigged October 1965 Western House of Assembly elections, and the subsequent descent into unbridled violence (Operation Wetie) across the Western Region. This led to the collapse of governance in the Western Region, with Chief Akintola and Alhaji Adegbenro claiming the position of Premier of the Western Region. The widespread violence continued unabated until the January 15, 1966, Military Coup, which brought it to a stop.
In hindsight, this coup and the accompanying tragedies would not have happened had the Federal Government taken a neutral and decisive stand on the crisis in the Western Region instead of trying to manipulate things in favor of Akintola, who allied with the ruling NPC party.
Based on this sad history, we want to plead that President Tinubu should play the statesman’s role and do what is needed in the case of Rivers State.
An ominous cloud hangs over the nation today due to the unjust denial of the people of Rivers State of what is due to them from the Federal purse.
Rivers State and its people have provided Nigeria with Oil wealth for over half a century. Still, the people of Rivers State are being denied what is rightfully theirs: their merited federal allocation.
We do not think it is suitable for the people of Rivers State to suffer such economic deprivation to appease the bloated ego of one individual, Mr. Nyesom Wike.
All well-meaning Nigerians who followed the genesis of this problem had thought that wise counsel would prevail. That narrow-minded political gamesmanship would not be allowed to overshadow the overall interest of a very strategic state and the nation.
A time like this calls for statesmanship in leadership; the overall interest of the nation must prevail over parochial political or individual interest.
The question begging for an answer is this: how can a state that is a significant contributor to the wealth of our nation be denied its fair share of that wealth?
This is an injustice that should not be allowed to stand in the interest of the unity and progress of Nigeria.
It is against the law of nature to starve the goose that lays the golden egg.
Through this intervention, we seek to do the right thing for the people of Rivers State. Let what is due to that state be released to them in order not to hinder the development and welfare of the people of Rivers State.
We appeal to President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to intervene to avert this crisis that may degenerate into nightmares such as the political imbroglio of the 1960s in the Western region/Nigeria.
That crisis arose from the protracted tussle for political supremacy between Chief Ladoke Akintola and Chief Obafemi Awolowo. At that time, the national government and the governments of the other regions did not read the handwriting on the wall due to selfish political interests.
However, the issue that was not nipped in the bud cascaded into a national crisis that engulfed the nation and precipitated the first military coup and the tragic events that culminated in the brutal Nigerian Civil War and decades of Military Rule.
Subsequent attempts to restore democracy were met with diverse challenges that dovetailed into the June 12, 1993 crisis, which lingered till 1999, when democracy was eventually restored through the grit, blood, and struggles of several Nigerian patriots, including President Tinubu himself.
The lesson from our history is that a problem in a part of the nation, if not addressed fairly and equitably, can spiral into an uncontrollable national crisis.
We were also witnesses to the emergence of the Niger Delta militancy about 20 years ago, which posed a very potent threat to our fledgling democracy at that time.
However, it took the political will and leadership of President Musa Yar’ Adua, working in concert with other patriots, to bring that destructive chapter of our history to an end through the Amnesty Programme.
We believe that we should learn valuable lessons from our history and not allow this cycle of tragedy to arise again.
This is the time for the right things to be done in Rivers State because it is easy to begin a bushfire, but no one can foretell the boundaries of its destructive conflagration.
President Tinubu PLEASE PUT OUT THE FIRE NOW.
Mr. President, your timely intervention is critical at this point to rein in and stop the architect and sponsor of this crisis.
Nigeria has seen crises before—the pains of the past we do not wish to relive. We need leadership that can heal, not harm, unite, and not divide.
Stand with Rivers State, Mr. President. Ensure the release of its due allocation,
avert this crisis, and let justice reign.
The people of Rivers deserve no less; denying them this is a recipe for unfathomable disaster.
Nigeria as a nation today is faced with numerous challenges: almost 20 years of Boko haram terrorism in the North East, nationwide banditry, insurgency, and kidnapping, coupled with tough economic decline. It is time to put an end to all these and allow peace and justice to reign.
Mr. President, the questions we face are grave:
1. How deep will this federalism crisis go?
2. How long before it undermines our democracy and our nationhood?
3. Will this, too, be a crisis left to linger, like others that scar our past?We are also seizing this opportunity to propose that the issue of RESOURCE CONTROL be given urgent consideration.
Only resource control can ensure that at no time will any part of the country be denied what is rightfully theirs on the altar of politics and personal self-interest, as is playing out in Rivers State today.
At this point, we will like to call on Mr. President, the National Assembly, the Governors, PANDEF, and other like-minded associations in the Niger Delta, and indeed all fair-minded Nigerians, to support this call for the RESTORATION of RIVERS STATE FEDERAL ALLOCATION and the enactment of the enabling laws for RESOURCE CONTROL.
God bless Nigeria.
South-South Renewed Call 4 Resource Control (SSRC-4RC)