The invectives visited on Gov. Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State by Elder Godsday Orubebe, the embattled minister of Niger Delta Affairs exposes the degeneracy and failings gripping the leadership cadre. Even as the brickbats continue to fly, one of the enduring outcomes of this needless exchange is the penchant of men of power to resort to blatant blackmail in the face of their cross incompetence.
Yet, no amount of sabre-rattling by imperial public servants can mitigate the judgement of the people. For government to achieve its objectives, public officials must be held accountable at all times.
From the unfolding high drama and farcical comedy in the theatre of the absurd, Gov. Rotimi Ameachi’s crime is that he sighted incompetence in the handling of the East-West road under Orubebe‘s watch and dared speak out and for his temerity, he must be pilloried to submission. By now Orubebe and his handlers would have come to the conclusion that Amaechi is not a man who can be intimidated to silence as he has stood his ground in defence of his principled stand in favour of accelerated development of the Niger-Delta.
The rantings of Orubube and his hirelings not withstanding, given the systemic neglect of Niger-Delta, it is the vicarious responsibility of every public servant from Niger-Delta to apply his energy and ingenuity to bring about accelerated development to the region. Not to do this amounts to not only gross incompetence and lack of patriotism but smacks of disdain for the people.
It is under this circumstance that we believe that Gov. Amaechi’s act of courage stands him in good stead. History will vindicate him for standing up against incompetence as typified by Orubebe‘s leadership at the ministry of Niger-Delta. Positive anger as espoused by Gov. Rotimi Ameachi should be used to tackle the several developmental challenges besetting the region. It is this positive anger that is at work in Rivers State and has led to monumental transformation in all spheres of life in the state.
If the truth must be told, the people of the Niger Delta are seething in anger and are clearly frustrated over the failings of the Ministry of Niger Delta with Orubebe at the helm to drive any meaningful developmental project within the region. Going by the slow pace of work in the East-West road, it is increasingly glaring that this project may join the long list of abandoned projects nationwide.
The minister’s angry reaction to Ameachi’s wake-up call typifies the conduct of an imperial minister who brooks no criticism no matter how constructive. Instead of going back to the drawing board to retool his strategies for an effective supervision of the Niger Delta ministry, it is rather laughable that Orubebe has chosen to embark on a fishing expedition in the vain hope that this exercise in futility will wish away the several formidable development challenges confronting this ministry.
It is difficult if not impossible to see how Governor Ameachi’s patriotic call for the Federal Government to consider yielding the construction of the East-West road to state governments in the region amounts to disrespect of the president. Orubebe ranting thus far amounts to a cheap act of gimmickry, and an audacious attempt to divert attention from the weighty developmental challenges facing him and for which he appears to have been overwhelmed.
For the avoidance of doubt, the embattled minister is not the spokesman of the president. We believe that the president and his battery of media aides are more than capable of responding to issues as there relate to him and his office.
Governor Ameachi has remained one of the staunchest supporters of the president. Rivers state under his leadership delivered the highest votes for the president during the 2011 elections. The attempt by Orubebe to inject bad blood between Ameachi and the president is dead on arrival. Given the president,s intellectual sophistication, we believe that he has seen through this game plan and will not be sucked into a poorly crafted exercise in deception.
Rather, the gross incompetence in the Niger Delta ministry, the swirling allegations of monumental fraud and the minister’s lack of leadership should be scrutinized by the president as he seeks to re-position his government for greater performance. The tack of defending the president against real and imaginary enemies as a gambit to hide lack of vision and performance should not mitigate the crushing weight of this reality.
The president should be wary of some of his ministers who seek to instigate him against patriotic Nigerians. Our political leaders should be judged not by what they say but by what they do. Governor Rotimi Ameachi is a foremost patriot who has continued to redefine leadership through his giant strides in River State. His position on the East-West road is well intentioned and deserves consideration of the president. The completion of the road will add value and elevate the quality of lives of the people of Niger Delta.
In conclusion, the minister’s ranting over a well considered advice makes it even more imperative for the president to move quickly to weed out non performing ministers whose non performance continues to impact negatively on the image and reputation of his office. Orubebe and the ministry he leads are enmeshed in serial allegations of fraud and mismanagement. Rather than attack governor Amaechi, the minister should come clean of these damaging allegations of sleaze.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other anti corruption agencies should swing into action to unearth the truth about the untoward happenings in the Niger Delta Ministry. Given the enormity of the present challenges, the least thing the president requires is the excess baggage of an under performing minister.
