Is It Time To “Stone” Rotimi Amaechi?

Editor’s note: In his op-ed for Sahara Reporters, Remi Oyeyemi talks about Rotimi Amaechi’s political “legacy” and the knot of accusations and counter-accusations the immediate past governor of Rivers state has found himself in.

Rotimi Amaechi

Who is to blame?

Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has created a reputation for himself as being against impunity and corruption. He has at one time encouraged Nigerians to stone those of them who parade themselves as leaders. He believed that the political leaders, himself inclusive, have been taking Nigerians for a ride. He believed and still probably believes that he and his fellow politicians have been stealing our commonwealth because we let them. He felt that until we begin to stone them, as thieves are supposed to be stoned, they would continue to steal, loot and cart away our commonwealth without let or hindrance. Essentially, he is echoing Frederick Douglass that their tyranny as thieves and professional kleptomaniacs would only end when Nigerians are fed up with them and begin to take reprisals against them.

“Fighter… insecure man, troubled mind”

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state is a fighter. He is outspoken, bold, and brash. He takes on all comers without concern for consequences. His loquacity is bewildering and beyond imagination. His fearlessness has become legendary and this has recommended him to many Nigerians who love to hate him or hate to love him. He has a large following as a result of this. Listening to him, you could get the vibe that he essentially wants good for his people but does not have the discipline to conquer his environment. As a result he is due for stoning as one of those who looted our commonwealth and mismanaged the rest they decided not to loot.

It is now a matter of psychoanalysis if his brashness and famed “fearlessness” is not a sign of some inner insecurity. An insecurity that stemmed from a nagging conscience because of the way and manner he has stolen the commonwealth of the Rivers state people. A sign of a mind troubled by the iniquities that he has engaged in secretly. His garrulity has been deemed to be a cry for help because he has betrayed himself and his people. He is a telltale of a mind that is not at peace and is having trouble living with itself for atrocious acts of corruption.

On Amaechi’s “priorities”

Governor Amaechi is a traitor to the people of Rivers state. He sold dummies to them, betrayed their trust and confidence. While his people are not able to receive salaries for their sweat, he was flying around in an $18 million jet and allegedly spending money on the campaign of Muhammadu Buhari so that he could be considered for the vice-presidential slot or, at worst, a ministerial appointment. Hardworking men, women, and vulnerable children were going hungry in Rivers state while Amaechi was gallivanting around Nigeria and the world in a private jet allegedly bought for the state.

If one may ask, is the purchase of a jet the most important priority where all the children are not in school? Is a jet a priority in a state where many children go to bed unfed? Is a jet a priority in a state where there are no modern health facilities available? His rail project that was abandoned has been a source of ugliness and a reminder of a dream unfulfilled. Yet billions of naira had been appropriated for this project that, at present, is of no use to the people of Port Harcourt in particular and the Rivers state people in general.

Amaechi vs Jonathan vs Tinubu

Amaechi was pissed off by President Jonathan and he fought him to a standstill. I have no problems with that because Goodluck Jonathan was an embarrassment as a president. Amaechi also has been pissed off by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and he is engaged in a cat and mouse battles against him. I have no problem with that either because he and Tinubu are birds of the same feather who robbed their people blind. Amaechi is very upset that for all the reasons that he has betrayed his people in Rivers state, Asiwaju Tinubu has not allowed the realization of his ambition to become the vice president of Nigeria under the Buhari presidency. Amaechi was one of those who championed the rejection of Tinubu as the vice president to Buhari. He was hoping that if Tinubu were played out he would have a better leverage. But unfortunately for him things did not turn out as he anticipated.

Some Nigerians hold the view that it was a good thing that Asiwaju Tinubu did not become the vice president to Buhari because of varied allegations of corruption against him and the threats posed by a Muslim/Muslim ticket to the religious stability of Nigeria. But if allegations of corruption should disqualify Tinubu from being the vice president, it should disqualify anyone in this dispensation from holding any position in Buhari’s government, including Rotimi Amaechi or any other governor that has looted his state. This is why the attitude of the presidency to the emergence of Bukola Saraki, an alleged certified bank robber, as the Senate president is still flabbergasting. All a presidency determined to fight corruption needed to do was just to make a public statement about its abhorrence of such a situation.

The text, The ‘Stoning’ Of Rotimi Amaechi, appears in its entirety on Sahara Reporters.

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