I hate pride and arrogance…and perverse speech (Proverbs 8:13)
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom (Proverbs 11:12)
Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honour. (Proverbs 29:23)
Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud… (Proverbs 16:18)
The foregoing is the story of a certain young man, who was elevated from a humble background. Growing up, he knew no luxury, he struggled to be successful; his struggle pushed him to serve a certain medical doctor as a help, some say personal assistant, but either ways, heaven smiled upon him and his master became governor, fate smiled on him and he became a member of a House of Assembly, destiny favoured him further and he became Speaker of the state House of Assembly. He had no CV, no experience whatsoever. He had never worked, never written an official memo. God elevated him and he became governor, despite his many sins as speaker… what a merciful God…
The he proclaimed – “Once has he spoken, twice have I heard, that power belongs to God…” Very true. That power belongs to God. He wrote this all over the city, we read those inscriptions and gave God all praise.
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man, give him power.” – Abraham Lincoln.
Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Executive Governor of Rivers State ascended the throne in 2007, through divine and judicial intervention, when his cousin, Sir. Celestine Omehia was dethroned. We welcomed him with open hands and wished him well.
He resumed office with so much vigour. He pursued the Rivers State of our dreams. He awarded commendable road contracts, commenced building of schools and hospitals, pursued them with passion, monitored projects at night on power bikes.
That was the first Amaechi. We hailed him; we loved him; we prayed for him; he won national awards; headed many national committees; won national popularity; he was celebrated; he became more powerful.
Suddenly, another Amaechi emerged. He lost focus, he became a bully. He shouted at and insulted his commissioners at will; insulted traditional rulers at will; talked carelessly at public forums; boasted unnecessarily with such reprehensible impunity as though he was God.
He sacked commissioners who dare to question of his policies or decisions. He sacked commissioners who even had a drink with his perceived opponents or said good morning to them. This was not the Amaechi we knew. Whatever happened to him…?
In 2012, Amaechi in an unprecedented manner suspended 11 local government chairmen for coming late to a meeting. The House of Assembly members, who were all hand-picked by him, immediately ratified the suspension… of course they are all puppets. This was just a little display of his new despotic and dictatorial disposition.
Just recently, he influenced the suspension of a local government chairman, a democratically elected chairman, just because he took sides with his perceived political enemy. Even military regimes were not so bad.
That was not all, he loves to have his way all the way and never admitted any failure, or else he would have admitted that his ill-conceived, still-born monorail project, which has gulped more than 20 billion naira and planted less than 90 pillars with a distance I can trek in 4 minutes or less, is a failure. But who dares challenge him?
He’s in fights with almost all his neighbouring governors. Bayelsa, Akwai-Ibom etc. He’s enemies with almost all his PDP governors, what a man. He took the same arrogance to the NGF. He would not let deputy governors represent their governors in an NGF meeting. He would ask them to wait downstairs, while he met with the governors in attendance. Amaechi is a ruler.
Now he rubs shoulders with the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander in Chief; A man that went to school and bagged a PHD. A man who was deputy governor, who became governor, who became vice president, became acting president and was voted back into office as president with a resounding landslide victory. A feat Amaechi may never be able to achieve. This man has a C.V.
He looks for every excuse to disparage the president. He ridicules the president overtly and covertly. He disrespects the president at will. Come on, when you disrespect the president of Nigeria, you disrespect Nigeria. Such is Amaechi’s new hobby.
He blames the president for all his woes. He kicks against a stone, blames the president. He loses oil wells to Bayelsa, it’s Goodluck, and he loses oil wells to Akwa-Ibom, blames the president. He loses PDP structure in his state, it’s Goodluck. His private jet is grounded for obvious reasons, yet it’s Goodluck. Caverton disowns him, it’s still Gooluck, Caverton challenges him to bring documentary evidence of relationship between them and the Rivers State Government, its still Goodluck. The president has suffered.
…Quem deus vult perdere, dementat prius.
Amaechi must remember that constituted authority must be respected and revered. If you want respect from subordinates, respect your superiors.
A son can play with his mother’s breasts, but not his father’s testicles…
Now, his sands are sinking. His state is in disarray. Things fall apart… Chaos has enveloped Rivers State. The House of Assembly has not been able to sit since the Obio Akpo saga. Angry youths are all over the state. Over 7,000 youths under the auspices of the Rivers Peoples Assembly protested recently and called for his resignation. The Nigeria Governor’s Forum for the first time is in disarray. The NGF has never in its history has two factions. Doesn’t he think there is a problem with his leadership model? His state PDP has two factions, his NGF has two factions. The executive arm is currently not functional; the state executive committee has not been able to hold their routine weekly meeting for weeks now. Commissioners in the state have not been working.
The state is grounded, yet Amaechi will not come back home and fix his house. He’s touring the country fighting everywhere, like America goes outside to fight wars. When he comes back home to meet his house topsy turvy, of course, there is someone to blame, the president.
His woes continue, now the PDP has rejected him by suspending him, where does he stand? He’s like a dog with no owner. Maybe he’ll become the head of the cornerstones.
His sands are sinking, the center can no longer hold.
We will still be watching.