Every day in human life, history is made. And, this is more in politics than any other human endeavour, mostly because whatever is done in the name of politics almost instantaneously impacts on the populace, either positively or negatively.
The implication is that just as these histories remain embedded in the psyche of the people, those who play any part in them, particularly the protagonists, are at various levels singled out for commendation or condemnation, as the case may be.
In the advanced climes or, more appropriately, climes in which there are deliberate selfless efforts to better the lot of the society, commendations attract and beget higher responsibilities and or rewards. On the other hand, condemnations reduce the key actors to nothingness, only remembered in the same manner as Lucifer.
The question, therefore, is, for what do we want to be remembered  as individuals, groups, a people, organisations, political parties, etc in the hereafter, as Shakespeare would put it.
No matter what could be regarded as the excesses of Jerry Rawlings, for instance, many who appreciate what good governance means would know that it was he who turned the fortunes of the old Gold Coast to what it is today.
It was Rawlings who turned Ghana from the doldrums of poverty in its entirety to its current status as the haven of Education, Business and Tourism, amongst others.
As it has turned out, people from many countries, most of which are African, especially Nigeria, would do a lot to have their children and wards acquire tertiary education in Ghana, or do business there.
Of course, this change in fortune did not come on a platter of gold. On assumption of office as military Head of State, Rawlings had to step on toes, including that of his biological father (a Scot).
But each toe upon which he stepped had directly or indirectly contributed to the life of quagmire experienced by Ghanaians back then. It did not matter who you were, as long as you had underdeveloped the country by your actions or inactions, he ensured that you paid for it, and most of them paid with their lives.
Now, while this is not intended to advocate for the kind of killings that followed Rawlings’ ascendance to the leadership of Ghana and quest to revamp his country (which he did), the message here is the intention behind the action, which was carried out ultimately to turn Ghana to what it is today, a country whose inhabitants can live a comfortable life, and are respected by what their country has become.
Interestingly, the results of Rawlings’ actions did not have to wait for as much as four years before its positive impact started being felt by the common man. As the seconds became minutes, minutes grew to hours, hours turned into days, days to weeks, and weeks to months, then years, the economy developed alongside the people. Everyone who had vowed to serve the people was clearly, without any other form of prejudice, made to serve, not lording it over the people.
This meant that all forms of jolly rides in governance, which usually dig deep holes in the coffers of the country and hence detrimental to the survival of the country in any way, was curbed. At the end of the day, only those who were not selfless in service had the worst of rough times, not the populace as it usually is in Nigeria, where the common man is expected to make all the sacrifices for any proposed development.
Today, Africans, mostly Nigerians, throng Ghana to acquire standard education at all levels, engage in genuine lucrative businesses, and other things for a better livelihood, in preference to their countries of origin.
This is the same Ghana whose people fled in search of greener pastures to such countries as Nigeria, where they sought for menial jobs just to barely survive. This story is not strange to those who know the history of “Ghana must go” bags in Nigeria.
Like other countries, Nigeria has recorded numerous histories since its pre and post Independence era, all of which are notable in their own rights. Naturally, people were involved in all of it.
It is in this wise that such names as Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Obafemi Awolowo, Harold Dappa-Biriye, and Ernest Ikoli crop up each time the history of Nigeria, or part of it, is mentioned. Ultimately, there are those whose names must be mentioned for positive reasons in the development of Nigeria.
In the present Rivers State, several versions of history have been written, albeit mostly in the people’s consciousness. What perhaps could count as one of the tops among them is the fact that gun-running in elections and political assassinations became a common daring phenomenon from the period ahead of the 2003 General Election in Nigeria, and that key players from then on have merely developed from the status quo till date.
Currently, the leadership of the country, rather than come up with means of curbing gun-running in the system, has introduced the military into the fold, and with an obvious instruction to kill as many identified non-conformists as possible, going by the threat to do so, and the subsequent execution of same, as exemplified in the killings at Abonnema during the 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
It is this version of history that stalemated the results of the Rivers State Governorship and House of Assembly elections of March 9, 2019.
As events unfold, it is becoming clear that Rivers people, nay Nigerians, may be silent due mainly to what can be dismissed as system-induced incapacitation, but it may soon turn out to be a grave mistake to take the silence for cowardice, because everything with a beginning has an end, and nobody can say when the end will come. One certainty, however, is that if things continue like this, the end, when it comes, will not be pleasant.

Soibi Max-Alalibo