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Itode Akari
PORT HARCOURT – Former President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, has declared that the protracted political feud between former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and his successor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, was never an Ijaw struggle, but an internal political battle that should not have been ethnicised.
Eradiri, who spoke on Sunday on the political implications of the resolution of the crisis, said efforts by politicians to portray the dispute as an Ijaw-versus-other-ethnic-groups confrontation deepened divisions in Rivers State and damaged relationships that would take considerable effort to rebuild.
He said recent developments had vindicated his position during the crisis, when he insisted that the disagreement was strictly a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) affair and had nothing to do with the Ijaw ethnic nationality.
According to him, his position attracted attacks from some Ijaw leaders who, he alleged, saw the crisis as an opportunity to advance their political interests.
“I appreciate Governor Fubara for going back to his political family. We warned, but they did not listen, and a lot of things happened that will be difficult to reverse.
“Some people wanted to score political points by trying to ethnicise the political crisis. The Rivers State crisis was a PDP crisis. It had nothing to do with ethnicity,” he said.
Eradiri further argued that Fubara’s emergence as governor could not reasonably be described as the product of a collective decision by the Ijaw people, stressing that Wike never consulted the ethnic nationality before choosing his successor.
“When Wike wanted to choose Sir Siminalayi Fubara as the governor, he did not call Ijaw people for a meeting. If he had called a meeting of the Ijaw ethnic nationality and announced his decision to make an Ijaw governor, I am sure Fubara would not have been the Ijaw choice.
“Ijaw people would have gathered to make a collective choice. Nobody knew Fubara in the political arena,” he said.
The former IYC president also linked the crisis to what he described as insufficient political preparation, arguing that Fubara entered the governorship without the political experience required to navigate the complexities of the office.
“Once you are not schooled politically and suddenly they give you a political office, it is usually difficult because you will use your first office to start learning how to play politics. If you allow ego to enter, you won’t learn, but you will create more problems. That is what has happened in Rivers State,” he said.
Eradiri, however, said the blame for the crisis should not be placed entirely on Wike, insisting that Fubara also contributed to the escalation of the disagreement.
“Fubara should be faulted because Wike picked him from the NYSC level till where he is today. So, nobody should know Wike more than Fubara. For him to have started striking within one year of assuming office, it means he was playing with fire,” he said.
He also rejected the growing narrative that Wike had become an enemy of the Ijaw, recalling the former governor’s support for the ethnic group following the exit of former President Goodluck Jonathan from office.
“When President Goodluck Jonathan left power and there was heat, Wike was the one who stood solidly behind and supported the Ijaw people. And all of a sudden the same man was tagged an enemy of Ijaw people. I said no,” he said.
“When you look at some of the benefits the Ijaw has had in this administration, all the appointees in Abuja came through Wike and all of a sudden Wike has become an enemy of the Ijaw. How?”
Eradiri said the Ijaw should also reflect on the political consequences of the crisis, particularly the fate of those who incurred political hostility because of their support for Fubara.
He questioned how many Ijaw people who stood by the governor during the crisis ultimately benefited from his political administration.
“As at the time the governor was going back to his political family, he forgot the entire Ijaw people that were creating enemies because of him. How many Ijaw people in the struggle did Fubara appoint?” he queried.
The former IYC leader warned that the resolution of the Wike-Fubara feud had not automatically healed the political and ethnic fractures created during the crisis.
Rather, he said, the Ijaw must urgently rebuild its relationships with other ethnic groups if it hopes to pursue the governorship of Rivers State.
“We have not settled the divide between the Ijaw and the power brokers in Rivers. We have created more divide. We have created hate and animosity.
“Let us not forget that the Ijaw people in Rivers State have not led Rivers. Ijaw people still have an opportunity to present their candidate,” he said.
Eradiri challenged Ijaw leaders who claim the ethnic group has the numerical and political strength to produce a governor to prove it by sponsoring and mobilising support for a candidate.
He maintained that the governorship of Rivers could not be won through ethnic strength alone, stressing that broad-based political alliances remained indispensable.
“Where are those Ijaw leaders that abused me? Why don’t they gather and sponsor a candidate in one of the political parties in Rivers since they think we have all the powers to make governor in Rivers?
“To make a governor in Rivers, you need all the ethnic nationalities to support you. We cannot stand alone and produce a governor in Rivers State. We need to build back those alliances,” he said.
He further urged Ijaw leaders to abandon the perception that the ethnic group could force its way into political leadership and instead pursue reconciliation and strategic engagement with other groups.
“We must resolve the tension between us and other ethnic nationalities. They should stop looking at Ijaw as intimidators. They think we feel we can intimidate our way into leadership. But it is not correct. Only a few persons created that idea,” he said.
On the 2027 political realignment, Eradiri urged the Ijaw to either work with the Rainbow Coalition or consolidate their structures behind an Ijaw governorship candidate in another political party.
He welcomed the emergence of Major Jack as the coalition’s Ijaw running mate, describing it as an opportunity for the ethnic group to regain political relevance and rebuild bridges across Rivers State.
“I was told that an Ijaw man, Major Jack, has been chosen as a running mate for the coalition governorship candidate and what we need to do is to rally round Major Jack to lead the front.
“We need an Ijaw political leader in Rivers now. And if Major Jack becomes the deputy governor in Rivers, he should become the rallying point for the people. He should start reaching out to douse the tension,” he said.
Eradiri, however, challenged Ijaw leaders who insist that the ethnic group can independently produce a governor to back a candidate and test their claim at the polls.
“But if Ijaw leaders believe that we have the capacity, we have other parties and there is a consistent Lulu-Briggs who has been contesting. They should rally round him and back him so that we can have a contest,” he said.