Attack On Odili, Wike, Sim By David Oguzierem, Media Hireling With APC: A Bare-Faced Insult On Rivers People

By Bon Onyedi

We read with consternation the ranting and bare-faced insult on Rivers people by one media hireling, David Oguzierem, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Etche Local Government Areas of Rivers State an ally of former Transport Minister, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who has elected to attack some respected Rivers leaders, which include former Rivers State governor, Dr. Peter Odili, Governor Nyesom Wike and the state People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.

Unfortunately, his attempt of political revisionism backfired with his poor sense of history. He raised an interesting narrative of Rivers political sojourn since 1999 to justify the peanuts he is being fed with by Lucifer. 

We pity him because he has just stoked up a raging fire that would consume him and his sponsors. Perhaps, David completely forgot the wisecrack of the English man that admonished those living in glass houses not to throw stones. I certainly knew he would forget, after all, he just forgot a short space of political history in a moment. He truly has a short memory or we guess his masters weren’t smart enough to tutor him.

In any case, we shall spank him like the poor school boy who is completely ignorant and refused to learn by observation. Since he picked the fight, he shall be paid in greater equanimity without qualms.

By his warped narrative, David has made his reader to believe that Rotimi Amaechi is the canonised saint of the Rivers political journey since 1999 and castigated Dr. Odili, a man who picked Amaechi from the gutters, washed, cleaned and gave him the platform that pulled him out of the dungeon of poverty till date. David, indeed, forgot so soon that Amaechi (his paymaster) was an unapologetic loafer with indescribable low life and morally deficient, which of course, reflected immensely during his stead as the governor of Rivers State. 

In a pointblank response to David’s uncouth rantings, the same Dr. Odili he called names had landmark accomplishments like Rivers Independent Power Projects built at Eleme, Trans-Amadi, Omoku and Ahoada, which at the twilight of Amaechi’s administration, he sold to his business cronies at a paltry sum and was never found in the financial records of the state. 

What about the Olympia Hotel? I believe David will pretend not to know about all these. Why would he? Let him know that his master sold the hotel to his crony as a place holder. Has David not also heard about the transferred $50 million USD of Rivers money to same person that he now projects to Rivers people as the best candidate to govern them? If he pretends not to know, let me inform him that, both his canonised saint Amaechi and his man Friday are on trial for the obvious financial profligacy that occurred during his tenure.

We certainly believe that David wouldn’t also know that Amaechi’s administration witnessed the worse project conception, planning and execution with some abandoned till date and others glaringly standing as white elephant projects. Instances abound like the failed monorail project, which over N60 billion Rivers money went down the drain and the phantom Karibi Whyte Hospital, which contract was awarded, contract sum paid and no sand or cement found on site. Okay, let’s be moderate with the Mother & Child Hospital contract awarded by Amaechi, sum paid and was left on ground level. 

With these insight, David should now know that his ranting and warped narrative to re-invent the wheel of history was a direct affront on Rivers people. In fact, he should apologise to Rivers people for such an audacious insult to ever think of selling such a counterfeit character as a candidate to Rivers people. Was it to justify the filthy lucre he got from Lucifer?

Anyway, it is very obvious that David is grossly ignorant of events in Rivers State and his folly has just brought some sad reminders of things that we have almost let go. What an affront and he chose to canonise his master as a saint, though, such is no longer strange with the All Progressive Congress (APC), if they can easily ordain Bishops of Agbado in a jiffy without recourse to morality and good conscience. They have no shame, even when the nation is collapsing under their direct watch. 

However, we have a duty to point out to David, in case he pretends not to see that today on Wike’s stewardship in the state over nine flyovers have been added to the aesthetic ambiance of the Port Harcourt city, one almost on completion stage and two more coming on stream before the administration wind down. Same man he referred to his time-tested projects as sand and cement has changed the entire landscape of Rivers State either building new roads or expanding old ones. We can testify about the landmark projects of the Opobo/Nkoro Unity road, the Abonnema ring road, the ongoing trans-Kalabari road with several bridges, the dualisation of Sakpawan-Bori-Kono road, the ongoing dualisation of Ahoada/Omoku road, the construction of Igwuruta/Ochokocho/Etche road and re-modelling of several internal roads within Port Harcourt metropolitan city and surroundings of Obio-Akpor. 

What else?

Governor Wike has further stamped his name in the education sector of the state with the repealing of the law that established the State University, changing it from its specialised status to a more conventional university, thus giving it the latitude to create faculties that Rivers people were formally denied admissions in other institutions. With the creation of faculty of medical sciences, he upgraded the Braithwaite Memorial Hospital to a first class Teaching Hospital, equipping it with world-class facilities. By the new law, he has also created additional campuses at Emuoha, Etche and Ahoada. In the same breadth, he upgraded the State College of Arts and Science to a polytechnic, now Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Rumuola. Not forgetting the State School of Nursing and Midwifery as well as renovation of several secondary schools in the state. 

It will certainly be unfortunate for the likes of David not to also find a place to commend Governor Wike’s star project in education with the attraction and construction of an ultra-modern Port Harcourt Campus of the Nigerian Law School, which has recently been adjudged the best in Nigeria by members of the National Assembly. Can that also just be seen as sand and cement?

Alright, in the health sector, we can further testify to David that Wike has lived up to his promise to Rivers people. Beside completing the Mother & Child Hospital abandoned by Amaechi, Governor Wike is currently building Dr. Peter Odili Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Centre at Rumuokuta. We are definitely sign-posting these projects for David to verify, just as Wike’s administration has also built several Primary Healthcare Centres and Zonal General Hospitals located in Ahoada, Okrika, Omoku just to mention a few,  including the new Government House Clinic.

David lamented about lack of human capital development. Like I said earlier, he is completely gloating in deep ignorance just like his masters. 

Is David aware that there are some Rivers children enjoying the state scholarship studying at the Pamo Medical University as well as those studying medicine at the Rivers State University? Or did he know about the Julius Berger Limited training of Rivers youths as well as engaging some of them in several of its project sites as part of the deliberate human capital development programme of the Wike’s government? Ignorance is truly a disease.

In same breadth, David should ask his masters to purge themselves of moral depravity before accusing others. They are standing trial for various financial profligacy committed against the people of Rivers State. His saint, Amaechi, cannot foist his man Friday on Rivers people. They are morally and administratively deficient. Arch. Tonye Cole cannot be compared to Sir Siminalayi Fubara. In terms of grassroots politicking, Tonye is not a match for Siminalayi, who is in touch with the people always. In experience and competence, it has been obvious that one of the challenges of Amaechi’s administration was his lack of knowledge of bureaucratic training, thus failing to understand the boundaries between politics and the modus operandi of the extant rules in public service, thereby violating lots of financial regulations and administrative commands. This is what Siminalayi Fubara is bringing to bear as governor, not the Oshodi-Oke business model of Tonye Cole, who is a complete neophyte both in politics and government business.

It suffices to educate David on who Sir Siminalayi Fubara is as he rightly asked. Fubara was a seasoned teacher and accomplished technocrat with immeasurable knowledge of the extant rules and financial regulations. He rose meteorically as a chartered accountant from the ranks and file in the civil service to the pinnacle of his career as Permanent Secretary and Accountant-General of the State without any blemish. He is a man with uncommon political pedigree, humble and well-prepared for state craft. He is rightly focused at sustaining the impeccable accomplishments of Governor Wike as a square peg in a square hole. His social contract will certainly satisfy the yearnings of Rivers people to deepen social welfare and security, advancing infrastructure through re-modelling of other urban centres to create industrial clusters and hubs, fortifying education through innovative learning and healthcare services at affordable rate and at the reach of every Rivers person, strengthening innovative governance; improving agriculture; and promoting entrepreneurial development scheme. SIM is a bundle of network connections to make Rivers State great.

May we further remind David that Sir Siminalayi Fubara is free and not on any EFCC’s radar. If not for ignorance, David would have known that there is a court baring the agency from investigating any Rivers official which his master relied on while serving as the governor of the state.

Again, David should rightly be informed that rather his boss, Amaechi and Tonye Cole are the current fugitives of the law as they are under trial for their sins. It is unfortunate that those with logs in their eyes often want to chastise those that have specks. 

Let David remove the logs blurring his eye first; then we can debate the rest.