I really feel for Rivers State right now. As I watch the very well-respected Atedo Peterside speak on the crisis in the State, I feel very deep down a sense of pity for the average astute person from that beleaguered State
I challenge him to tell the Nation what process he took in appointing the Sole Administrators for the Local governments…
That was Atedo to Charles on the Arise TV interview in a pained voice
Its so sad, that Rivers State is the only state that is today under the yoke of a pseudo Military style Government in Nigeria
Not that the other states are faring better; Delta on one one hand just displayed a new round of political madness with the mass movement to APC by its leaders…
My four grandparents are Rivers, so you cannot be any more Rivers than that-Atedo adds as he speaks out in obvious pain and almost in tears at the seeming capture of the State by brigands
Tonye is my brother and I watched him being bullied during the race and after, by these same people who have turned the sword on each other
They robbed the state of a different kind of leadership. They handed the state back to themselves and immediately went into an incestuous fight that has led to this humiliating turn for a proud people who have really suffered.
Leadership has been a curse for this rich land, leaving its creek in the hands of petulant Bucanneers who take advantage of the spillage to form an oasis of wealth and almost self-governance headed by maverick warlords.
The people are enmeshed in poverty, stricken by disease, with no real basic education even though their land provides over 80% of the country’s wealth.
How would Tonye feel right now was the question, I woke up to this morning as I watched Atedo
What was left was for Atedo to break down and cry in that very touching interview
Tonye wanted to make a change. Tonye must have foreseen all of these, and that is why he risked it all, sold down his shares in expansive Sahara, and took himself back to school in preparation, only to be bullied, harassed, robbed and humiliated while Rivers people took a ringside.
He once told me of how a woman came out of the crowd to hold down his shirt during one of the tribunal appearances while trying to salvage his mandate.
He said he wasn’t afraid but felt pity for his people
How would Tonye be feeling right now when even Atedo is almost down in tears as to the continuous rape of their homeland.
He at least tried. But what of the others like him who have turned their backs on the state and would rather eke their living in Lagos or Abuja or some far-flung places while a croaked-voiced muteneer runs savage over the state
Men of conviction are quiet now and apart from Atedo and Tonye who are but a tiny minority, there are no more men of conviction in the state and indeed in the Nation
Men of conviction have subscribed to Bola Ige’s political school of – Siddon look allowing bastards to run riot all over the country
Self-serving idiots now parade themselves all over the state houses and all institutions of democracy turning the country into a Hobbesian state and with Rivers emerging as a full manifestation of the madness
Others are still pretending to have democracy – from Lagos through to Akwa Ibom, to the states of the East all through the north and the federal; democracy has failed, and Nigerians are the worst for it.
How is Tonye, my brother, feeling right now? Is he feeling vindicated or is he close to tears like his older brother Atedo?
When next I see him, I’ll ask him and tell you, guys
How is Tonye feeling?
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: April 26, 2025
