Reason
Onya is not just an activist but also a political scientist from Orashi in
River State. In this interview with Port Harcourt Bureau Chief, Ofonime
Umanah, Onya, who is also the co-ordinator of Orashi Peoples Forum, regrets
that people are still attacking the former Rivers State governor, Dr Peter
Odili, after he had left office. Besides, he says peace is important for Rivers
State to develop. Excerpts:
As
coordinator of the Orashi Peoples Forum, what is your impression of the ongoing
public hearing at the Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
What
is going on, if it is well intended, will ensure that peace returns in the
state. It is a welcome development. It has been done all over the world. If it
has worked in a mobocratic system of government, then why won't it work
in a democratic system like ours? It is the desire of the people of the state
to see that peace returns to the state. If this task is to be done without bias
on the part of the panelists, then there are indications that there is light at
the end of the tunnel.
But
let's get this clear, if the commission was set up to indict some persons in
the politics of Rivers, then it will be a colossal disaster and the after
effect may even be worse than the Rivers people are experiencing now. The way
the presentations are going, to a sound mind, it is as if there is an
undertone. If not checked, it may just be the hand of Esau and the voice of
Jacob.
How
do you mean?
Rivers
State is not Okrika. I don't know if they are segmenting it for now; but there
are two major groups right now in Okrika. These two groups in Okrika from the
day Nigeria was created, the crisis and dichotomy in Okrika have always been
there. At any given time that the government is in favour of one of the groups,
there has always been mayhem. So, why should the blame now be on the former
governor, Dr Peter Odili? That is why we are saying we are seeing the hand of
Esau and the voice of Jacob in the commission.
Odili
was a governor, yes. Rivers was blessed under him. People have accused Odili of
not doing much in Port Harcourt; but we know that he did so much both in Port
Harcourt and in the rural areas. Take the Ubie community in Ahaoda, for
instance. That community was a landlocked area. As I speak to you now, you can
access that community at all times.
The
allegation against Odili has been that he was the one who armed the boys to win
a re-election.
I
challenge anybody, living or dead to come out and say that Odili was with him
or her and they discussed and he armed them to enable him win the 2003
election.
Odili
was so popular. A person that won the 1999 election that was even more serious
and more competitive, why did he need to arm people to remain in office? That
sounds crazy. It is only those who did not know Odili's tactics as at that time
that will say he armed people to win election in 2003. It is a blatant lie. It
did not happen. He is our son and we know him. He did not give or encourage
anybody to get arms so that he could win an election.
But
how come everybody is calling his name at the commission?
Let
me tell you, this is the problem of the peripheral nations. It is the problem
with the Nigerian state. When he was in power, they were singing his praises.
And the same thing will happen to whoever is there now. Even my brother Rotimi
Amaechi, I pity him. If he does not gird his loins, and I pray he does, the
same people may go after him when he is out of office. Today, they are praising
him. Can you tell me of any other governor who was more highly praised than
Odili? Why must the Ijaw people and all of them be attacking him now? Is it
today they are realising that it was Odili that promoted militancy in Rivers
State?
Maybe,
because the opportunity has only come now.
There
had always been platforms. We have three arms of government that are
inter-woven. Were these arms of government not in existence in Rivers State
when these guys were in power? There was a law on militancy in Rivers State.
How many suspects were prosecuted, how many were jailed? Who were the actors in
governance at the time and who are the people agitating that Odili has done
this and that? This is a democratic government.
There
was nothing he did that he did not consult widely. The most painful of all is
that they say he armed the boys to win election. It is painful to keep hearing
Odili's name as the cause of militancy in the state. I challenge any of these
people to substantiate these claims, even in that commission.
But
you will also agree that these allegations would not have been made in a
vacuum. They could not all be wrong.
They
are all wrong. Odili is our son and we know what he can do. Odili had one
problem. He was a threat to our brothers in other parts of the Niger Delta. All
the other political groups in the region were not comfortable with his
popularity as governor. You see, for you to rise; you have to destroy; that is
the brand of our politics. They said he was an Igbo man. They wanted to destroy
him at all costs because they knew he was far better than them. The Ijaws felt
how can somebody from Orashi come to be what he is? The other Nigerians said
how can somebody from Rivers State come out to be what he is? Odili was an
umpire; he was an institution. He was a household name. The North was worried.
Some Rivers people were worried about his popularity, that somebody could
emerge from the Odili family to become that famous. This is the problem. The
man did what he could but they did not want him.
What
is your minimum expectation from the commission?
I
am beginning to be jittery. Ab initio, I did not think this way. I agree
that Amaechi is a product of Odili. I also agree that he is now a man of his
own. Aristotle was a scholar of Plato and when he came up, he had a different
proposition, different from that of Plato. I was happy to hear that he has
decided to be a man of his own. That shows that he is independent. But even at
that, in his quiet moments, he knows that he does certain things the way Odili
used to do them. There is an Odilism in him. Amaechi is an Odilist.
He has said so in public and I hailed him when he said that. The issue is,
Amaechi must do the things he needs to do. He should know that the people who
were praising Odili are the people who are abusing him now. I am a core Odilist,
not because he is my kinsman but because of who he is.