THE AMAECHI/WIKE STREET BRAWL

The people of Rivers State deserve peace and good governance

There seems to be no end to the battle for superiority between the former governor of Rivers State, Mr Rotimi Amaechi and his successor, Mr Nyesom Wike. Last weekend, the strained relations between the duo again played out when their security operatives engaged one another in a street brawl in Port Harcourt to the amazement of onlookers. But the pertinent issue here is: If the sordid encounter was a sneak preview of what the 2019 elections may degenerate into in Rivers State, then the people should be very worried. While the spin doctors of the two politicians are trying to outdo one another in the media, both men should share the blame almost proportionately. For Amaechi, an ex-governor must of necessity assume the responsibility of a statesman. The experience of eight years in office and his current role as a federal minister combine to make his recent utterances and actions clearly unacceptable. Similarly, the responsibility of a state governor compels Wike to rise above his rabid partisan and idiosyncratic limitations. Incidentally, when the roles were reversed in the last dispensation under President Goodluck Jonathan with Wike as minister and Amaechi as then governor of Rivers State, the former was always using federal might to harass the latter. It would appear that the same scenario is playing out again but the people of Rivers State deserve peace. While a minister is responsible to all citizens of the country and can visit any state at any time, the frequency with which Amaechi visits Rivers is unhelpful. Meanwhile, the role of the governor as protector of all citizens in the territory of a given state should also transcend petty inter personal squabbles. Therefore, Wike should not continue to behave like a mobster; he should face the job for which he was elected by the people of Rivers State. We are particularly worried that Amaechi and Wike cannot work together for the good of Rivers State, especially considering that they are kinsmen. Whatever may be the issue, an open street brawl between two adult leaders has nothing to do with a contest for the good of the ordinary man or woman. It is a needless squabble over turf at a time when the nation is wracked mostly by a crisis of leadership. Both Amaechi and Wike must therefore stop inciting their supporters to violence and face serious issues of governance.

Be that as it may, by far the greater failure in this incident is that of the security forces attached to both men. The most elementary code of security in VIP protection is that the operatives attached to high political office holders must see themselves first and foremost as professional managers in the efforts to protect their principals while also ensuring that public order is not sacrificed even in episodes of dire stress and provocation. The best security systems in the world excel by navigating this precarious balance. The incident in question could very easily have been managed as a traffic matter if the security personnel acted first as professionals. However, there is a bigger issue here. The sad fact in Nigeria is that once attached to protect individual VIPs, state security and police personnel quickly get absorbed into the political biases and personal idiosyncratic predilections of their principals. They soon become part of the politicians’ private army. They are ready to die for such individuals and even kill opponents for them. Clearly then, the politicisation of security forces begins with allowing their personnel to become permanently attached to key political office holders. This is a level of corruption that has hardly been mentioned or addressed by the current anti- corruption csars. The Amaechi/Wike brawl therefore presents an opportunity to address the problem of the growing partisanship and lack of professionalism of the security operatives attached to VIPs in our system.

The Amaechi/ Wike brawl presents an opportunity to address the problem of the growing partisanship and lack of professionalism of the security operatives attached to VIPs in our system