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Bayelsa: Hysteria Not the Solution By Maxwell James
The administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the Executive Governor of Bayelsa State has been under severe criticism by some Bayelsans in Diaspora. As I read the publication by Movement for Good Governance headed by Dr. George Allen Fente and its twin sister, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) Bayelsa Chapter, I developed a sense of curiosity for the group of Bayelsans that these groups represent. My sense of curiosity is derived in part from this weighty postulates that man has the innate desire to walk for self-interest which according to Jawaharlal Nehru, not only blinds one to justice and fair play, but also, to the simplest application of logic and reason.
As a concerned Nigerian , let me state clearly and ab initio too that I have not benefited from contract award from this administration neither am I Government Jobber, but I am worried about the way our multi-faceted problems are colliding against one another at a pace that is dizzying and frighteningly disturbing. These Abuja-based groups of radical and dissenting intellectuals that bask in unabashed opulence have decided to pay blind eyes and deaf ears to the developmental strides in Bayelsa. Rather, they have elected a brutish, crude and callous path of addressing issues. Ask a neighbour or colleague what the hysteria in Bayelsa is all about and all you get are bland comments. The truth is that they cannot make any sense out of it, neither can so many well-meaning Bayelsans and Nigerians
Selfish considerations, conflicting sentiments and mad quest for 2007 have blurred the real issues. Very few persons are talking about what went wrong, where the Government went wrong, how the Government can sensibly addressed the error (if any) and resolved them in way acceptable to all. It is no longer about Bayelsa, about peace and harmony, about development, but about unleashing uncouth vituperations and compound absurdities that may send the hard-earned fragile peace down the abyss of oblivion. Just like Marxists that they are, they seek to deny Bayelsans their essential humanity, rather they prescribe grandiose ideas and live a lifetime of illusion and improbable utopia. Even though they claim to be students of history, they draw wrong conclusions from correct historical premises and subsequently commit the greatest historical fallacies. I therefore have the legitimate reason to stand against these writers that are hell-bent on standing truth on its head as well as brazen misrepresentation of facts. For the avoidance of doubt, one may agree with the amiable Dr. George Allen Fente who when he says the reason for his uncouth open letter to the Governor is ostensibly to address “issues that are germane to the general interest of millions of Bayelsans who are equal stakeholders in the socio-economic and political evolution of the state”.
However I suspect that Dr. Fente is guilty of an error of understanding when he says he intends to do that without bias or political inclinations. The simple fact is that he has taken the ignoble path of bias and his paymaster’s bid when he associated the incumbent Governor with the years of locust of DSP Alamieseigha, largely the controversy that led to his ouster. It is worthy of note that the Governor has always been considered docile and inactive by the virtue of his then office (Deputy Governor) as provided for in the 1999 constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria. Little wonder, he won an award as the best Deputy Governor in Nigeria because he has always been seen as a Peacemaker.
Without mincing words, Fente declared that “for 9 months now, that you (His Excellency) have been at the helm of affairs in the state, it has been months of despondency, disappointment, sadness, pain, sorrow and anguish”. How on earth can a man that has chosen to be objective can be so misleading? Except he is really a Bayelsan in Diaspora indeed! The reply which came in thematic reach, analytical acuity, lucidity, pungency and robustness of expression, Mr. Plato Owei, under the auspices of Mass Movement for Good Governance highlighted the numerous achievements of His Excellency which I don’t intend to quote verbatim, but one thing is sure, under the space of 9 months, the Government of Goodluck Jonathan has succeeded in re-branding the state as a peaceful hub for socio-economic activities. It is also true that within this period under review, Bayelsa has hosted major programmes that opened the vistas of the state from its former state of neglect. For instance, where was Dr. Fente and his paymasters when the HIV/AIDS Road Walk was hosted with great African minds like Kenneth Kaunda in attendance? Certainly, wherever Dr. Fente and his CNPP counterparts were, they must have witnessed or watched on television as the Senate President and his fellow Senators, great Nigerian stars like Kanu Nwankwo and Taribo West, artists of international repute like Mariam Makeba, British High Commissioner Richard Gozny, and other well meaning citizens of the world came and gave the Government a pass mark. Is that what Fente considers a “drain pipe in the resources of the state and a socio-economic jamboree of some sorts”?
It is mournful that Bayelsa is replete with pompous nonentities that blinded their eyes to common sense and logic just to achieve their selfish ends. The footprints of the Government in the sands of time stand like giant. It is only the likes of Dr. Fente that have “thrown integrity, respect, credibility, caution and candour overboard in their struggle for crumbs and spoils of office”. There was no time in the history of Bayelsa state where the Elite class, Traditional Rulers, Elders, Youths, Civil and Public Servants, and even the political class had it this good. All hands are now on deck to move the state forward. I enjoin Dr. Fente to come home for once to see for himself instead of working with sycophants and gossips around him.
All well-meaning Bayelsans are reaping from the goings-on in the state, directly or indirectly because the landmark achievements will definitely stand the test of time. There is no doubt that His Excellency is working to correct a politically, economically and socially errant state like Beyelsa where everybody depends on Government for survival. Therefore, the contest for ideological viewpoint in Bayelsa should not be driven by contrasting imperatives of money and sycophancy which by implication is devoid of any sustainable unifying theme of ideology. The universal consensus that democracy is the best form of Government does not mean Politicians should adopt the rhetoric of battlefield scenario thereby causing great anxiety in the state.
For emphasis, the catalogue of Governor Jonathan’s achievement is endless, from road construction to housing estates. You can mention schools, hospitals, health institutions, procurement of 100 taxi cabs as few out of the myriad of his achievements.
If at the long run, we join hands to move our state forward, we will all stand to benefit from the gains. Like any other state in Nigeria, the struggle is all about maintaining the status quo or destroying it at whatever costs. It is about who benefits if the status quo persists and who stands to lose. From the crossfire so far, one gets the impression that the state is again at the crossroad. The impression such action passes across is that Bayelsa is just a mere project for which no serious and unifying passion exists. The progress in Bayelsa is so evident that these groups of few are afraid of the imminent and sure re-election of His Excellency come 2007.
In the final analysis, I call on all and sundry to join hand with other well-meaning Bayelsans to move the state forward as the Governor is ever-ready to reach out in order to restore and sustain the glory of all lands.
Maxwell James No 40, Lobito Crescent Wuse II – Abuja
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