A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Prince Tonye Princewill says the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has silenced citizens of the state like sheep and reduce them to children who have a voice.
The former gubernatorial candidate said it was unfortunate that the once pride of a nation is now a shadow of its former self with nobody willing to talk while waiting for men to come and speak for them.
Princewill who was reacting to a recent statement credited to the governor, that nothing would happen if he builds ten flyovers in Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor, said those criticising the governor for his comment should check themselves.
“Recently, the Rivers Governor was overheard at an occasion saying that if he had his way, he would build 10 flyovers in Ikwerre land and nothing would happen.
“He went on to say that nobody else would do it for him and went on to release quite a few “Ntoors” as an early Christmas gift to Rivers people.
“The recording which has now gone viral has elicited many ferocious reactions on social media and is once again the subject of a number of beer parlour discussions in and around Port Harcourt.
“While some have laughed him off, many have condemned his utterances as unbecoming of a Governor. Not me.
“I want to put it on record that I agree with him. First of all, he is right, not a single thing will happen.
“Rivers men and women have been silenced like sheep and reduced to children who have no voice. The once pride of a nation is now a shadow of its former self and nobody is talking. They are waiting for men to come and speak for them.
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“The other part he is right is nobody else will do it for him. When his tenure expires, a riverine Governor will take over from him and he will not build 10 flyovers in Ikwerre land. He will do the Trans Kalabari Road and move others forward too before handing over to an Ogoni Governor. Power must rotate. And so too must development. I am glad he knows it.
On the recent statement by Hon Igo Aguma, where he said that party is structurally dead in the state, Princewill said: “I want to say first and foremost that I feel his pain.
“While the first temptation is to rise to the Minister’s defence, I will resist it. Granted not all of what he said will go down well with many of us, but he spoke some hard truths and the minds of many silent others.
“As leaders, we must learn to listen. Roy T Bennet once said that just as you should not let compliments get to your head, don’t let criticism get to your heart.
“Thankfully we have more time on our side to begin to address issues raised and issues yet to be raised. I don’t want another disagreement to lead to a crisis.
“So on my part, I will work for unity and a new style of conflict resolution. We are where we are today, as a party and as a state because of choices that we made yesterday.
“We can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting different results. If anybody is to be called to order, it is ourselves.”
