By Gideon Njoku
“How does anybody justify what is happening in Rivers, Osun and Lagos States?” – George*
In a letter to President Bola Tinubu, Chief Bode George, a retired Naval Commodore, and a Peoples Democratic Party’s chieftain, warned that darkness looms in Nigeria.
Chief George, you would recall had sworn in the months running to the 2023 Presidential Election that he would embark on self-exile, if Tinubu, then candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, wins the election.
Tinubu won, and was sworn in since May 29, 2023, but George is still in Nigeria. When asked why, he said the President sent a delegation to appeal to him.
However, the elder statesman has been keeping himself busy by keeping the Government on its toes. He is acting as a class monitor in both the PDP and Tinubu’s administration. He raises alarm often and alerts on what he thinks could be the consequences.
In his latest outing, Chief George, in a letter to President Tinubu, pointed out dangerous areas including the political crisis in Rivers, Lagos, and what he sees as a deliberate stoking of fire in Osun State over a Local Council Election in which he noted the State Government was right.
His summation: There is fire on the mountain; darkness looms; Nigeria is becoming an embarrassment; President Tinubu cannot be an Emperor Nero. He needs to sit up and apply the brakes before it is too late.
In the open letter titled: “From Osun to Lagos and Rivers: Darkness Looms”, George lamented “that Nigeria is becoming an embarrassment in the comity of nations due to some actions which defy logic.” Using the crisis over the LG Election in Osun State, the Lagos House of Assembly power show, and the political scandal going on in Rivers State as pointers to how disgracefully Nigeria has descended, he lamented:
“We now have a situation in which some people interpret the law to suit their selfish interests. What happened in Osun is a straightforward case, but government officials at the federal level complicated the situation with unnecessary interpretation of the law.
“In Nigeria, the law is being turned upside down, and this is dangerous to our democracy.Why are people so desperate? What exactly is the issue? Can’t we do something with decorum?
“Some of us are worried because we lived through what happened in the First Republic, which started in 1962, and what happened in the Second Republic which started in 1983. Tinubu should not allow a reenactment of the collapse of these Republics.
“Look at what is happening in the Lagos State House of Assembly. It is absolute lunacy. Thirty six out of 40 members impeached Mudashiru Obasa and since then, we have witnessed this embarrassing show of shame.
“To say the return of Obasa as Speaker on Monday is shocking is an understatement. It is an international embarrassment and the joke is on the presidency.
“Obasa was impeached on January 13 and since then, agents of darkness turned the Assembly to a theatre of war. What sort of democracy is this? Lawmakers have the powers to choose their leaders but since they took that decision, it has been one crisis after the other, fuelled by extraneous forces. Why should Nigeria and Nigerians be embarrassed like this globally? What is our offence?
“Why should this embarrassing and disgraceful behaviour be allowed by the powers that be in Abuja? Why should the Centre of Excellence be turned to Centre of Confusion?
“Look at Rivers, the economic lifewire of this country. The whole thing is a total mess. What sort of judgement will subject people to misery, extreme pain, wretchedness, distress and unhappiness of no federal allocation, no salary, no infrastructure, no food and other essentials of life?
“I am not a lawyer but I see the verdict as disheartening. This can cause problems for the country.
“That judgemènt is not fair to the people of Rivers State.
“I just pray thàt some elèments will not start bursting oil pipelines which may eventuàlly affect the country’s revenue.
‘’The people are hungry and angry. Tinubu and other APC chiefs desperate to capture all states should have a rethink.
“In the country today, we have deficits in areas of democracy and rule of law. That is why everything is upside down. Also, electoral irregularities such as intimidation and vote buying continue to be widespread. These became glaring during the Edo and Ondo governorship elections in September and November, 2024 when vote buying was done in the open.The security situation has also deteriorated.Youth Corps members, serving their fatherland, are now being abducted by terrorists. Terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and communal clashes have become the order of the day.
“Instead of the President to tackle these vices, APC members are busy sowing seeds of crises all over the country.
“This is the time to say enough is enough.
“Lagos is the largest electoral state in Nigeria, followed by Kano and Rivers. If we deliberately make two of the three states to be unstable, what does that portend for Nigeria?
“I want to remind all Nigerians, especially those in government, that GOODNESS is an investment that will never fail. Whatever good you do will also have a reward. Where there is love, there is no need for perfection. I wish Nigeria and Nigerians the very best everytime”.
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