Rivers After Ibok-Ette Ibas:What Next? By Reuben Abati
“Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas says he has restored peace in Rivers state. He over-praises himself. What they have in Rivers state at this moment is not peace but the peace of the graveyard, as well as anxiety and uncertainty about what would happen next. The Sole Administrator held an inter-denominational thanksgiving service on Sunday, September 14. If that thanksgiving proved anything, it was his lack of popularity among the people of Rivers state. The event was boycotted by prominent leaders in the state. Traditional rulers stayed away, but the Chairman of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, fulfilling all righteousness, managed to show his face. Vice Admiral Ibas quoted Bible passages and thanked God. He should not blackmail God. The crisis in Rivers state was caused by the greed and vaulting ambition of men. The Pastors who officiated at that interdenominational service also just showed how pastors are part of the problem in Nigerian politics. Many church leaders have lost their prophetic calling. The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Federation of Nigeria (PFN) were among the first set of persons to visit and pay homage to the Sole Administrator on his arrival. No one should be surprised if the same set of Pastors show up at Brick House when Governor Fubara returns and they would also gladly officiate at a Thanksgiving Service to welcome him back!
Ibas told the people of Rivers state: “Let us forgive, let us reconcile and let us heal…” Does he even know the people whose resources he managed for six months without accountability? How many LGAs did he visit? How many town hall meetings did he hold outside the government House? What projects did he complete? He promised to rebuild the Rivers State House of Assembly? Did he do so?
What happens next would depend on the return of Governor Simi Fubara, and what he elects to do. In the past six months, he has kept a low profile. With six months taken from Fubara’s four-year tenure and the humiliation to which he has been subjected, Governor Fubara has been taught some very serious lessons about the game of power.”
