Between Jonathan and Wamakko

Wamakko had not been on the national scene until recently when his ‘political friends’ co-opted him into their camp.Of all the five governors, Wamakko seems to have received the worst treatment from the president. Some months back, Wamakko was suspended from the PDP by its embattled national chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. Also the recent sacking […]

Wamakko had not been on the national scene until recently when his ‘political friends’ co-opted him into their camp.
Of all the five governors, Wamakko seems to have received the worst treatment from the president. Some months back, Wamakko was suspended from the PDP by its embattled national chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. Also the recent sacking of the Minister of Youth Inuwa Abdulkadir was not unconnected with the simmering feud between the president and the governor.
The former minister was single-handedly nominated as the ministerial candidate by Wamakko after he had served as the attorney general and commissioner of justice under Wamakko government. It was alleged that the president wanted to use the former minister to “take control” of the PDP from Wamakko, as he has used the incumbent minister of state for education to edge out Amaechi in the control of Rivers State PDP. The former minister was said to have told Jonathan and ‘his men’ that the mission would be a Herculean task (if not impossible) considering the influence of Wamakko on the state politics. It was allegedly for this reason that the former minister was told to vacate the seat (a claim the presidency has denied). It is on this premise I believe that  whoever is going to replace the former minister  would be a person perceived to be qualified for this political agenda, rather than for ministerial appointment. And this is why our politics in Nigeria is not promoting the Nigerian Project.
It means that the next minister would be used by some disgruntled elements to create political instability in the state. By then, one-third of the members of the State House of Assembly would say they have impeached the speaker (or even the governor). Then the confusion would deepen and anarchy would occur. From there, the National Assembly would take over the State House of Assembly. By then, the state government would divert its attention from implementing its policies to a struggle for hegemony. And the money meant for building schools and hospitals would be used to hire thugs to maim and kill. By then, the initial instigators at the top would direct the security agencies to intimidate and harass the innocent. And all by then, the common man would have been in the dungeon of hopelessness.
This scenario could be voided if our politicians in the state refuse to be tools of self-destruction in the hands of others. The next minister should never downgrade his position to be the weapon against political opponents, even if that will cost his position. On the other hand, Wamakko needs to stop the politics of exclusion he is playing in the state, because this is the only way of cushioning the political tension already generated within the state PDP. Let both the governor and whoever is going to be the next minister understand that peace and progress of our dear state should not be sacrificed for power. Healthy political rivalry motivated by genuine love for the state should occupy the political landscape in the state.
 Mahmud Yabo ([email protected])