Three years after the unfortunate outcome of the 2015 governorship election in Rivers State, the scramble for who flies the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag in the 2019 governorship elections has intensified. The lobbyists and political puppeteers are at it again, hustling and jostling, backstabbing and backbiting, slandering and pulling strings hoping to manipulate the leader of Rivers State APC, Rt. Honourable. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, like a puppeteer controls the marionette.
While the advocates and drivers of the third force, a clique of seeming fair-weather friends of our leader and General of Commonsense revolution are busy churning out narratives and propaganda intended to upstage the governorship candidate of the APC IN the 2015 governorship election in Rivers State, Dakuku Adol Peterside, PhD, they seem to forget that he still enjoys majority support and that Amaechi supported him in 2015 and has not said he does not want him in 2019. In fact, he openly said on December 31, 2017 that "Dakuku is the last man standing out of many who started with him almost three decades ago" He even went further to state hitherto, that Dakuku is the only one who complied with his directive to intending aspirants not to engage in open campaigns but to focus on building the Party, which is more important. Without doubt, it is Dakuku's obedience to this singular directive that has made some who cannot stand the test of loyalty brand him as weak and unforceful even though they know the aluta spirit runs in his veins.
Ploys and counter ploys continue to brew in the hearts of conspirators who seem threatened not by Governor Nyesom Wike but by the possible emergence of Dakuku. Sadly, sly moves to undermine Dakuku have taken centre stage and the overriding interest of the machinators is "Stop Dakuku Now!"
Contrarily, those who vainly profess "Amaechi leads, we follow" are the same people spearheading premature campaigns for their preferred candidates against Amaechi's directives. For them, the leader leads but not when it comes to who should fly the Party's governorship flag in 2019. And then, one begins to wonder the difference between them and supporters of Senator Magnus Abe? But wait a minute, why should one wonder, when its clear that the emerging third force is a coalition of two sets of people, viz: Those who want Abe over Dakuku but are uncomfortable with Abe's straight up confrontation with his principal benefactor (not because they love Amaechi, but because they know Abe cannot win without the Amaechi factor) and Those who feel that since Abe may not get it, Dakuku should also not get it. In fact, to make it clearer, consider this analogy: it is believed that majority of 'Keke' drivers today in Port Harcourt, were previously 'Okada' riders who switched to Keke after Okada was banned in 2009. Little wonder Keke drivers act like Okada riders. One is forced to ask, whose interest does this NEW third force serve?
Sadly for them, Rivers State is one State that has a recurrent dramatic turn of political events. Amaechi himself went through this baptism of fire, fuelled by unprovoked hate and gang-up prior to his nomination to fly his Party's flag in 2007. In fact, pressure was so much on Sir Dr. Peter Odili to abandon Amaechi for their fair-weather friend the Rt. Hon. Austin Opara but in the end, despite the pressure, backstabbings, vilifications and spirited attempts to run Amaechi down before Odili and present their friend as the most capable person to succeed him, God's will eventually prevailed over the will of men.
Almost twelve years after, the circle is back with high-powered alliances and coalition against the one they perceive is most favoured to clinch the gubernatorial ticket. Like in 2007, the political merchants are here gathered again, only this time, different people and faces but same intent to pull down. They seem to be saying in their hearts "Amaechi, you must listen to us, we are your friends and advisors (self-appointed), you can give this ticket to anyone, even if it's Ayodele Fayose but certainly not Dakuku." And I ask to what end? What is Dakuku's crime? Why the seeming hate for Dakuku?
What is the interest of the third force? Your guess is as good as mine; they want to eat their cakes and have it, they prefer someone they can easily blackmail and manipulate at the expense of the younger ones and future of the Amaechi political family. Ironically, these champions of the third force are chiefly perons who consider themselves friends and contemporaries of Amaechi and believe they ordinarily ought to share equal stake with him.
I am tempted to ask, what these few persons, most of them above fifty years who have formed a ring around the Leader of APC in South-South region see wrong in Dakuku that our energetic and intelligent young men who are battle ready and hungry for power do not see? Funny enough, most of those leading the "Stop Dakuku Now" onslaught were nowhere around Amaechi from the beginning even up to 2011. The Dakuku scenario quickly reminds me of an adage in local parlance that says "If you bend down well, you go see Aba" the more closely one examines the proponents of the third force, the easier it is to see that majority of them are persons who are either politically unstable or were never around Amaechi in his political struggles until after his re- election as governor in 2011.
Continuity is a natural law; everything is designed to reproduce and sustain itself and politics is not an exception. Majority of the Youths who represent the lifeline and future of the Amaechi political dynasty are rooting for Dakuku, they feel his emergence provides political security for them and will sustain the Amaechi political lineage more than anyone else. He has been tested with power and can be trusted. Dakuku knows the terrain and is a team player. If the youths are the leaders of tomorrow and majority of them are rooting for Dakuku to emerge, then it is clear that Dakuku can be trusted to consolidate and sustain the Amaechi legacies.
Rivers of Possibilities is still possible.
Amaechi Leads We Follow
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