[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t would be recalled that sometime last year, while speaking on a live radio interview session that was broadcast on Rhythm 93.7 FM, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, the Governor of Rivers State in responding to callers said, and most profoundly, that “we are elected to proffer solutions. We were not elected to give excuses.” A statement that, about a year later, has turned out to be beyond the lucrative convenience of political rhetoric.
Governance in Rivers State in spite of the distracting and negative engagement of the All Progressives Congress, APC, which has experimented every conceivable antidemocratic measure to derail it, has remained on course with very positive local, national and international acceptance ratings from keen observers and Rivers people themselves. Right from the very start, the Wike-led government has remained astutely committed to the business of governance. Almost every sector of governance is receiving attention in spite of the obvious paucity of funds that the State, just like others in the country, are bedevilled with. Something no one can deny is that Governor Wike has not given a single excuse not to perform his sworn duties.
This, it must be said, is not for want of cogent and verifiable reasons to relapse to the national malady of palpitating excuses constantly being dished out by not just cabinet members or the federal government but by the president himself, who has not stopped blaming the incoming Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for his inability to deliver on his campaign promises. The truth is, there’s no money in the system. And it is not necessarily the result of PDP’s contestable ‘misgovernance’, but of the inability of the APC to administer governance even at the most basic level and its penchant for demarketing Nigeria. How Rivers State manages to thrive remains not only a mystery but a good reason to be consulted by the APC for counsel.
During his Sallah day message to Nigerians, while President Muhammadu Buhari, with due respect, was still whining about his personal misgivings about whatever and everything that is known as PDP, Governor Wike was calling for national cohesion and peace among Nigerians in order to wade through the current economic storms. Governor Wike would have been right to blame the APC for the current calamities. But he didn’t. He was even quoted to have said bad economies do not recognise political affiliations. That is leadership! Something that is currently in short supply in today’s Nigeria at the national governmental level.
Consider also the fact that without even any fanfare, Rivers State, through the first lady, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, was the first to begin a campaign, and a serious effort, on advocating behavioural change through her weekend character-building programme, RivEthics; a programme that is impacting lives and making a noiseless difference in the State and country. Today we hear of supposed national rebirth campaign christened ‘Change Begins With Me’ whose drivers do not have either the capacity or credential to succeed with its mandate, given the litany of deceptions and failures that have become material inhibitions to their success. Not only is trust for government by the populace lacking, it has shown itself to be unworthy of public trust given the apartheid, parochialism, fundamentalism and even victimisation that have badly tainted whatever is left of its value.
Nigeria is at a watershed moment in its history. Things have become so rapidly precarious that the palpable fear of impending cataclysm is a momentous reality. Change has happened. Bad, devilish change. Yet, the APC-led government is occupied with giving daily and repeated excuses. In the same country that Rivers State is a shining example? Is it any wonder insecurity is framed and farmed within her borders to derail her progress? Is it any wonder desperate efforts remain on course to derail her government? Is it any wonder?
Rivers State under Governor Wike had made progress, in spite of the monumental plundering it suffered in the hands of the very drivers of the APC, who have not stopped wailing about the PDP. Yet, no one hears of a single excuse for non-performance. There are too many lessons to learn from Rivers State. But most importantly, its governmental success exposes the All Progressives Congress as classically incompetent and even a liability to Nigerians unborn.
Governor Wike said, “We are elected to proffer solutions. We were not elected to give excuses.” What could be more profound?
Oraye St. Franklyn is a barrister-at-law. He is senior special assistant to Governor Nyesom Wike on Social Media. He is a strategic communicator and good governance advocate, writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He tweets from @RealOraye. He is also on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
