Ehie:  Hero Of Rivers Politics

The name, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, Ph.D, has been resonating in the minds of some persons in the past few months as a key actor in the Rivers State political crisis. We have witnessed the relentless efforts of some individuals  to vilify and demonise Edison Ehie, including the recent accusations that he was behind the destruction of the Rivers State House of Assembly building. The truth and fact is that they are angry because Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie thwarted their demonic plans. He was the one that foiled the coup that they plotted and executed to unlawfully remove a duly elected governor of Rivers State.  But for the proactive actions of Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, who was the Majority Leader of the State House of Assembly alongside his four (4) other patriotic colleagues, Sir Siminalayi Joseph Fubara, would have been history, today. The original plan of some dishonourable members of the River State House of Assembly was to remove Governor Siminalayi Fubara by every means possible, whether legally or illegally, and the rest would have been left for the Judiciary to handle and interpret.
Fubara would have been fighting the illegality of the anti-progressive elements as a former governor. Ehie looked beyond pecuniary gains and benefits that he would have made and decided to put the collective interest of Rivers people above his personal gains by refusing to support the illegalities of his colleagues. Patriotic Ehie was not happy with the way and manner Governor Fubara was being  humiliated and undermined by his appointees who were super-imposed by his predecessor and political godfather. You can imagine where a local government chairman seized the phone of the incumbent governor that he was pressing his phone when Wike was talking.  It is the same local government chairman that openly called the Governor ‘MUMU’ (Fool). What an effontry! Since the inception of our contemporary democracy, the people of the upland ruled Rivers State from 1999 to 2023, meaning they ruled for 24 years. Governor Fubara is the first riverine person that is elected governor in 24 years.
It is sad that the people of the riverine, who make up the highest population of the state supported the successive administrations of the upland, but Wike and his cohorts do not want Governor Fubara, who is from the riverine, to govern peacefully. Let us be honest: The timely action of Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie saved the crisis from worsening. I say this because, God forbid, if Wike and his cohorts had succeeded in removing Governor Fubara, they would have plunged the state and the entire region into avoidable crisis. The truth is that Rivers State would have been boiling by now. All those who plotted the devilish act would have been gone by now or permanently in hiding outside the state. Ijaw people would have re-enacted the warrior-spirit and unrelenting resistance they have been known for, for centuries. The level of mobilisation of Ijaw fighters across the world to defend Rivers State from conquest by one man would have been unprecedented.
It is a known fact that well over 75 per cent of the crude oil and gas in Rivers State and other oil producing states in the geographic Niger Delta region are domiciled in Ijaw territories. Ijaw is also the fourth largest tribe in Nigeria. One thing I know is the fact that Ijaws will never sit back and watch or allow the removal of their son, Governor Siminalayi Joseph Fubara. They will not also accept to be treated as second class citizens in a state that they faught for its creation, and in the process, countless Ijaw lives and property were lost. No matter what happens, Ijaws will ensure that Fubara serves out his first four-year mandate. Also, no matter what the anti-progressive elements in Rivers State want people to believe about Ehie, they cannot take away the fact that he is the hero  of the contemporary Rivers politics. His immeasurable and invaluable sacrifices saved lives and property, and so much fortunes, tax payers’ money that would have been expended in solving avoidable security challenges that crisis would have triggered.
Even the Federal Government would have been distracted from governance and addressing the mountain of economic and security issues facing it across the nation. The revenue loss would have been huge. Indeed, it would have instead, been struggling to appease the Ijaws, in a bid to restore peace and security to the state, and of course, the entire Niger Delta. Finally, I wish to urge all worthy sons and daughters of Rivers State, friends, well-wishers and admirers to rally round Governor Siminalayi Joseph Fubara, who just appointed a trusted ally as his Chief of Staff (CoS). All hands must be on deck to support the Government of Rivers State to succeed. And we need peace for that to happen! I urge Wike and his loyalists to sheathe their sword and allow sustainable peace to reign in Rivers State.  Congratulations to Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, the  hero of Rivers State politics.

Wisdom  Ikuli

Ikuli writes from Abuja.