Gov Wike’s hand of friendship; The Governor has disposition for peace and he is emotionally attached to the welfare of our people, and he cannot achieve the objective, if the people are quarreling, or are not co-operative. It is not necessarily because of the Supreme Court verdict. Governor Wike is a man of peace from day one. His disposition towards peace was the reason the clergy in the state gave him the award of ‘Appostle of Peace’.
He has ever looked forward to a situation politics is decently played, so it was a mere coincidence, he made the call then, besides, it was not the first time he had made such a call for coexistence, unity of purpose, for collaboration, to ensure that the state is moved forward.
The understanding and benefit of our people is that, they have a leader that has their interest at heart, and would like peace to reign.
On the expectation of possibly setting up a Reconciliation Commission, to reconcile aggrieved members he said. “There are several ways to achieve his objectives. Setting up of a Reconciliation Commission, looks rather theoretical and formal. Knowing him, as much as I do, as he has voiced out his determination and desire to forgive those, who offended him, and those he might have offended in the course of governing the state, to forgive him.. That alone is peace. Anybody who is not a trouble maker will grab that.
If I were in the position of the opposition, I should be the first to place a call to the Governor to tell him, ” thank you very much. We didn’t know, you have such milk of human kindness. So whether or not he will set up a Commission in that respect, does not matter. He has already said, ‘no victor, no vanquished’.
In fact the more you present !matters, the more you open up new wounds. Honestly, if I were in the opposition, I will make things easy for the state, by embracing the ‘olive branch’, the Governor, has offered them. I do know also, that, since after the offer, he has made contacts to those he could reach, to say. “This is what I said and, I mean what I said. Take advantage of it.” Therefore, setting up any Reconciliation Commission, or committee may even waste our precious time. The way his mind is now, is to ensure there is peace, to enable us move the state forward.
On emotional breakdown, prior to his declaration as the winner of the state’ Governorship election, he explained. All of us know that the ‘Wike’ you see on television, is not same, as when you encounter him physically. He is the one you are likely to liken not to be able to hurt a fly. He is so attached to the state. All of us were there to see him break down. For the Governor to break down in a public place, gave us much concern. Those who must have made him feel the way he felt, should be the first, to go to God, to ask Him for forgiveness. The Governor has not done that before. He was touched by the level of insecurity unleashed on our people, because of power. The only interpretation one can give to that is, ” this is a man, who is emotionally attached to his people, who prepared himself for governance, and who would wish that, his people remain united, where they are being governed.
On job creation and youth empowerment, (ie human capital development), he explained:: Infrastructural and human capital developments run concurrently. While he is building roads and houses, he is also developing people, although the ones that can be seen easily are constructed roads and houses springing up here and there. You may not see clearly the efforts in terms of human capital development, because, you are not part of the system, bit those of us in the system, do know that, as he is developing infrastructures, so he is developing human beings.
Today he announced to leadership of the Rivers State University RSU, to employ with immediate effect, all our indigenes, with PhD certificate and those that made first class in their graduation last year. One of the pieces of advice he gave to them, was to recruit not only PhD and 1st class materials, but to prepare a programme for training and restraining for them. This is part of his human capital development programme. It is not peculiar to RSU. It also applies to the Ignatius Ajuru University and Polytechnics. He is working hard to see that our people grow according to times.
The University, has been in existence since the creation of Rivers state in 1967. There was no medical school. He has just put one, and the people are very grateful about that.
The University of Port Harcourt is not our University, but he established a law faculty there. The University of Port Harcourt was the only Federal University without a law faculty, since it came on board 30yeats ago. He established the faculty, because of his determination to see that our people were developed from that point of view. He did it to ensure that the institution runs a law degree programme there Specifically on youth empowerment and job creation, he noted. First of all you train people, before they can be ready for the job. If people are trained, the next step will be to utilize their training. We have no difficulty to believe that our people are happy with the programmes and policies of Wike administration, for the past four years. Many of our youths are engaged in technical support services.
The University of Port Harcourt and RSU are now encouraged to run technical programmes they did not have before, and they have been accredited to offer those courses, because the Governor fulfilled his own part of the conditions the National University Commission NUC, requested. We are proud of him in that respect.
If the Governor’ s hand of friendship extended to the opposition All Progressives’ Congress APC, and other political parties is all inclusive and real ? The chief noted. If you are in this state, you will realize that, prior to the Governorship election, more than 88 political parties out of 91, came together under the forum of Conference of Registered Political parties, or Inter Party Advisory Council, IPAC, and endorsed the Governor as the sole candidate for that election. Even those who wanted to run the election, have so far congratulated him, for his victory. The chances are that, the PDP umbrella is large enough. Both the National and State chairmen of our party, Prince Uche Secondus and Bro Felix Obuah, respectively, have emphasized that whoever wants, should come and take advantage of Governor Wike’s open door policy, to bring in more people under the umbrella. We have no difficulty to believe that everybody will come on board. APC, you know, is already fictionalized. The only way they can get unity is to get into the PDP.
Advising the state electorate and entire state, he submitted. Our people are peaceful. The State’ has been peaceful. Our founding fathers had a tall dream, to ensure we get some level of emancipation, some level of independence, given our antecedents, before the creation of our state in 1967. We believe that once upon a time, God brings one of own, to help galvernize his people. You know the story of Jesus Christ, you know the story of Mao of China, and other leaders.
“It does not have to be me, nor you. If God decides to choose the 3rd party, so be it. Gov Wike has cement Ed the bond of fratanal co existence, and has broken the barriers of what we used to know as riverine/upland dichotomy. This is the government, that has instilled the new sprint of times”
He promoted fresh commitment to the values of efficient performance. All solutions to our problems, has he not localized to a particular place. He has done it within a frame work of more ideological perspective. He did it with conscious and strictly patriotic commitment to harness available scarce resources, for developmental growth of our State. “We have in him, a leader that is detribalized. Our bane in time past used to be riverine /upland dichotomy.
I can assure you that even his political opponents have acknowledged that, for the first time, in the history of our state, they have not seen a leader that is so accepted across the several divides of the State, in such a manner that, he could pull such number of votes, at a time, voting was very scarce, because people were no longer excited about voting due to the nature of the institution, that was organizing it. We advise everybody to come together. More so, in the past, people struggled to go and see their leader, who had won an election. Governor has been very magnanimous in victory, such that he is even asking people to come over, “let’s work together”.
The former Governor, Sir, Dr Peter Odili described government as elephant meat. Wherever you are, you can cut from there. There is room for everybody, so we call on them to join hands with our People’s Governor, to move the State forward.
On the ability’s to resist provocation, likely to have caused declaration of ‘State of Emergency’, He summed up by describing Gov Wike as being mature and focused. If he were not the mature and prepared leader, the expectations of the opposition and others would have come through. It was “Let’s provoke him, let him react, and let us declare state of emergency.” That was not the portion of Rivers State. The type of commitment, passion and emotional commitment, he has for the state, made God to guide him not to follow his opponent, to react in the manner, they had preplanned. He disappointed them, it was like, they did not know his inner most heart, which is to ensure the state remains stable. It is only in a stable state, that investors can come and invest in, and we make progress.
Immediately after the election, he continued to sing it like a song, that the type of Rivers State, he wants, is the united, indivisible Rivers State, without boundaries. He believes in the type of Rivers, in which people will on their own, begin to believe in, and think of it, just as the Americans think of their country. At the end of every speech, every American leader will end it up with the word, “God bless the United States of America “.
Governor Wike at the end of every speech, whether he pronounces it, or not, what he has in his mind is, “God bless Rivers State”, and that’s why, we are where we are now.
If Amaechi and the African Action Congress AAC, Mr B. Awara were to return to the PDP, would you accept them? He responded thus: The PDP is a big umbrella. Actually, I do not know the man called Awara. I have not met him before, nor have I met him physically, and do not therefore know, if he was a member of the PDP. As for Rt. Hon. Amaechi, he was a founding member of our party. Any or both of them, are welcomed anytime, into the fold. Our National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, the Governor’ and even the state party chairman, Bro Felix Obuah, have all spoken that the party is ever willing and ready to accommodate, as many as would want to return to it. Shortly before the election, we received more than 8700 APC members into PDP and the Governor’ warned that anybody who discriminated against the returnees would be perceived as the enemy of the party. There is nobody that will not be accepted into the party. The membership register is not closed. The Governor and party leadership did not restrict their invitation to some people. The Governor’ said everybody is invited, so we are looking forward to a time, everybody irrespective of political party, will return to the party. The more the merrier. ###.
