As Wike, Amaechi Bury Hatchet…

It is heart-warming that
Governor Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike and his predecessor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi have agreed to sheathe their swords and follow the path of peace.The current acting Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and his counterpart at the Department of State Security, Lawal Daura, are the initiators of this seemingly successful move to have these two “brothers” signed a peace deal.
Wike and Amaechi have no doubt bestrode the political landscape of the oil rich Rivers State as colossus to whom the citizenry of the State not only pay alluring loyalty but also have  differing levels of attachment.
No one can deny the negative impact the State has suffered since 2012 when the two “brothers” parted ways. Initially, political pundits and other well meaning citizens of the State gave their parting of ways different levels of importance. Some even called it a political gimmick to shortchange the riverine part of the State, but the misunderstanding has escalated to such a point that we all saw it was more than a “game” and that allowing it to remain will do the state no good at all.
It is also a fact that since this imbroglio became a public issue, several efforts have been made to see that  Governor Wike and Amaechi who is now the Minister of Transportation, have the disputes settled amicably,  to no avail. But as the Bible records in Eccl. 3:1, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”. Now, the time has come for Gov. Wike  and Rt. Hon. Amaechi to have truce if our dear State must regain its rightful place in the nation.
We need not belabour to recount all that the State has lost, and stands to lose if this impasse continues. What should be paramount in the mind of all well-meaning Rivers people, and indeed Nigerians, is that with the recent peace agreement between Wike and Amaechi, real peace, development and progress should return to the State.
For about one year now, most parts of the State have no representatives in the law making organs both at the State and the federal levels due to inconclusive elections which have been majorly attributed to the spate of insecurity in the State.
Now that the peace pact has been signed, and the inconclusive elections are yet to be held, it will be proper to advise Governor Wike and Rt. Hon. Amaechi to heed King Solomon’s advice in Eccl. 4:6 tha, “Better a handful with quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.”
These two leaders have always said that their actions and steps are geared towards giving better life to the people of Rivers State. If truly they meant these words and desire better living standard for Rivers man, this is the time to show it.
These great sons of Rivers State are professed Christians in their own individual and personal rights. It is only advisable that they see themselves as Esau and Jacob, where one needs to humble himself as Jacob, as recorded in Genesis 32 and 33, and catch in on this opening of mediation to see that they really and truly reconcile themselves for the good,  posterity and future of Rivers State, far beyond their personal egos and ethos.
Wike and Amaechi are, in every sense, political leaders of Rivers State at this point of history of the State. It will therefore, not be a good record to see the State disintegrated in their own time. Therefore, they need to talk to their followers and political associates, all over the State and beyond to embrace peace and to forgive and forget all that had happened in the past. They need to heed the call of Maj. General J.T.U. Aguiyi Ironsi, who, in a nationwide broadcast of January, 28, 1966, said, “We cannot continue to witness sterile political strife and mutual recriminations.”
It is commendable that Governor Wike has openly restated his willingness and readiness to play by the terms of the peace agreement reached with his seemingly arch-rival, Rt. Hon. Amaechi, for the good of the State. It is also expedient to remind Amaechi  too of his words while he was serving as the state governor that, “We must extend our hands of fellowship to those who disagreed with us. Our differences revolved around our different perception of what would be best for our people. We must accept that just as we love Rivers State and believe that our ideals would be best for moving our State forward, those who disagree with us also love Rivers”.
Irrespective of our political inclinations, we need to sheathe our swords and raise up the olive branch of peace, whether we are for or against these two political giants bestriding our polity, for the good of the State.
However, there is the need to commend the efforts of the Inspector-General of Police and the Director General of the Department of State Security for this intervention. They may not understand the significance and relevance of their action, but time will prove to them how magnificent Rivers people appreciate their efforts.
Oruigoni is Information Officer, Rivers State Ministry of Justice, Port Harcourt.

Idanye Oruigoni