Tuesday, the 2nd of April has been marked by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the resumption of collation of results for the suspended gubernatorial, state house and national assembly elections.
While the orgy of violence that characterised the initial elections and the face-off that led to the election being suspended were unnecessary, this wait should provide valuable lessons.
First of which is that the people should not die to elect those who will lead them. That is why the deaths that occured at Abonnema, the killing of INEC ad-hoc staff at Bakana and the subsequent killing of Dr Ferry Gberegbe at Khana should not happen again.
The residents should resist any attempt to set Rivers State on fire. Rivers State is bigger than PDP, APC, AAC and any other party that will seek to lead it.
The Abonnema 35, Ibiasiki Amachree and Ferry Gberegbe should not die for nothing. Let their deaths bring new tidings and a new way of doing things. There is no state that will make progress through the systematic staging of violence and killing of her people. Enough of the deaths. We are one people under God.
The agent provocateurs in this should also have a rethink, as to where history will place them in future. If they end up killing everyone, they will surely have no one to lead.
On this note, theportcitynews calls for peace for the remainder of the process. The people must understand that the development of the state is not in the hands of the politicians alone, and so, must resist every attempt to destroy it.