Clash of the Home Groups
By
Rivers state was one of the states created by the Gowon military administration inn the late 1960's . Carved out of the former Eastern region,
the state previously criss-crossed the Niger Delta until the present day Bayelsa state was carved out of it by the Abacha administration. The status of Rivers
State in terms of its strategic importance and significance to the nation's economy earned it the name, Treasure Base of the Nation. The state has a population
of 3.9 million people from various ethnic groups namely, Abua, Andoni, Ekpeye, Engenni, Etche, Igbani, Ikwerre, Kalabari, Ndoni, Ogba, Ogoni, Okrika.
Politically, the battle in Rivers state is between the Upland and the Riverine area. In the old Rivers state the numerical and intellectual battle was tilted
largely in favour of the Riverine area. The creation of Bayelsa state however left a remnant of the Riverine people in present day Rivers state, tilting the
equation in favour of the Upland people. Both Upland and Riverine have produced governors of the state.
The Kalabari ethnic group which is from the Riverine zone occupy four out of the total twenty-three local governments in Rivers state today. The Upland
comprising largely of the Ikwerres, Okrika, and Ogoni have the remaining nineteen local government areas. Numerically none of the ethnic groups has what it
takes to singlehandedly take over the Rivers state Government House in an election. The Ikwerres however have the largest single ethnic entity in the state.
The Riverine Zone
The main political gladiators from these zone include former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and South-south Co-ordinator of the AIl Nigeria People
Party ( ANPP), Dr Marshall Harry, one time Minister for Aviation, Alabo Graham Douglass and Chief A.K Horsfall, former chairman of the Oil Minerals Producing
Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC).
While Alabo Graham-Douglass is regarded as an elder statesman in Rivers state and has carried out his campaign against what he perceives to be the ills of the
incumbent Dr Peter Odili's administration, his compatriot, Harry has been very outspoken in criticising Governor Odili's administration . Harry has continuously
churned out allegations of impropriety against the Rivers state government. He accused Governor Odili of being guilty of vices ranging from deceit to attempted
assassination. His style of opposition led to his brief detention in custody by a Port-Harcourt magistrate court.
Harry is the Co-ordinator of the Campaign For the Realisation of a South-south President (CRESSOP) in 2003. The CEO of Harrison Oil is a popular grassroots
mobilizer who as state chairman of the PDP helped Governor Odili to win the the PDP ticket in 1998. Unlike Harry, Graham-Douglass has remained in the PDP
inspite of being a member of the Marshall Harry led Rivers Democratic Movement (RDM) which is the most vociferous opposition platform to Governor Peter Odili.
Chief Ebenezer Isokariari from Buguma also in the Riverine area and the gubernatorial candidates in 1999 under the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party
(APP)in 1999 has since decamped to the PDP and declared his unalloyed support for Dr Peter Odili. During the last Democracy Day celebration in Port-Harcourt,
Isokariari to the suprise of political pundits openly declared his support for Odili when he said at the Liberation Stadium venue of the celebration that Odili
should continue till 2007 "Governor Odili performed creditably in the areas of Housing, Health, energy, peace and security and I say here and now that His
Excellency should continue till 2007". Isokariari has also put paid to speculations about his gubernatorial ambitions by saying that he would not take part in
the 2003 gubernatorial elections as a candidate.
Chief A.K Horsfall also a former head of the State Security Service (SSS). Horsfall who is a leading member of the Kalabari socio-political group, Kalabari
Ko'Biri is a member of Harry's RDM. Politically he has been associated with the newly registered Nigerian Democratic Party (NDP). The member of the Presidential
Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution is positioning himself as a the presidential candidate when it is zoned to the South-south. He is in the
forefront of the political upliftment of the Kalabari nation vis a vis the leadership of Rivers state.
Brick House contenders from this zone include Chief Bekinbo Soberenkon. The Kalabari born engineer turn politician has been the most vocal gubernatorial
aspirant from the Riverine area. His albatross vis a vis his governorship aspirations will however be the performance of his engineering firm in handling
contract jobs during the OMPADEC era. He has a powerful publicity machinery but his acceptability across the various ethnic divides is in doubt.
Moreso he intends to realize his gubernatorial ambitions on the platform of the PDP which is already in the firm grip of Governor Odili. He is a Harry protege.
Ambrose Owuru is the other Brick House contender from the Riverine area who has shown intentions to occupy the Governor's mansion in 2003. Within and outside
the Kalabari area Owuru is widely accepted as the man for the job but pundits say he has not shown enough hunger and aggression for the Brick House. Unlike
Soberenkon who has to contend the primaries with Odili, Owuru is likely to emerge as the ANPP gubernatorial candidate.
The Upland Area
The Upland area is home to the Ikwerres, the Okrika and the Ogoni people amongst others. The Ogoni under the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People
(MOSOP) have cried out against the scourge of environmental pollution on their land.
Okrika has produced two state executives in the persons of Senator Melford Okilo and Chief Rufus Ada George.
Chief Victor Odili a shipping magnate and founding member of the PDP in Rivers state has parted ways with Governor Peter Odili, his relation whom he accused of
sidelining those who helped him win the elections in 2003. Chief Odili is a member of the RDM. The politician/businessman has the resources to change the tide
of electoral fortunes of any politician in Rivers state. So far he has adopted a behind the scene approach pulling the strings from the background.
In 1992 Chief Rufus Ada George was elected governor of Rivers state in the aborted Third Republic. Recently he has been in the news accusing Governor Odili of
harrassing perceived opponents.
Chief Eric Aso the former presidential aspirant on the platform of the now defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) had until recently laid low politically. His
sudden re-emergence on the political landscape has been attributed to the resurgence in the call by the Ikwerres for a shot at the Rivers Government Mansion.
Aso is not likely to contest for any elective office. He has far played the role of an elder statesman in Rivers state..
Chief Sergeant Awuse is about the most influential Upland politician locally. Said to be the only politician who can match any political foe in Rivers state due
to his well oiled political machinery which cuts across the diverse ethnic divides in Rivers state. "Sarge" as the Chairman of the Board of Nigerian Aerospace
Management Authority (NAMA) is fondly referred lost the PDP ticket to Odili in 1998 due to Harry's instrumentality. Awuse is presently the strongest and most
viable candidate that the Ikwerre people can put forward. THISDAY investigations reveal that the pan Ikwerre socio-cultural group . the Ogbakor-Ikwerre has
already adopted him for the governorship slot come 2003.
At a recent press briefing in Port Harcourt, Chief Awuse who is a member of the Rivers Democratic Movement said that Odili style of governance has thrown the
state into political chaos, warning the governor to avoid a scenario in which his cohorts turn the state into a bloodbath field in 2003. "There is nothing wrong
for the people of Rivers State opposing the quality of government that is not favourable to the people of the state. Now if we come down to how Rivers State is
being governed, I don't need to tell you, the story is better known to you than I can tell you. The evidence is there to see. Let us put sentiments aside, all
that people are made to believe outside the state are mere propaganda. I'm happy people of the state are aware of the true position of things. Where is the
money being kept? Is it being used in paying salaries only" he queried.
Prince Uche Secondus is the state chairman of the Rivers PDP. Secondus is a shrewd politician whose credentials at mobilising support the opposition have
continuously discredited. The firm control Secondus had on the party in Rivers state is however a testimony to his ability to bring opposing factions together.
Secondus albatross in politics may turn to be that he is
up against a formidable opposition that has the likes of some former founding members of the PDP in Rivers state like Senator Francis Ellah, Harry and Graham
Douglass to run his political war machine against.
Governor Odili is also one of the political gladiators from the Upland area. Odili who emerged against all odds as the Governor was a deputy governor under
Chief Rufus Ada George in the ill-fated Third Republic.
The medical doctor/politician is a shrewd politician who has succeeded in turning the tables against his former political godfathers in the PDP. He made Harry
so politically irrelevant in the PDP that the former South-south chairman of the PDP was forced to leave the party for the ANPP. That he has been able to render
all opposition to his political ambitions useless in the PDP is a testimony to his political savvy.
The Rivers state chapter of the PDP is firmly in his grasp and various groups in the state have been falling over themselves to endorse him for the Brick House
come 2003.
Inspite of the distinct divide between the Riverine and Upland areas politics in Rivers state especially the question who occupies the Brick House will depend
on the ability of the various political interests to reach a consensus that will satisfy the different ethnic interests at play. THISDAY investigations reveal
that a faction of the Kalabari elders have reached an agreement to concede the race to the Ikwerres in the event that an Ikwerre man wins the primaries of any
of the political parties. This position THISDAY learnt is premised on the fact that the Ikwerre people have not occupied the Brick House since the creation of
Rivers state inspite of its being the largest single ethnic group in the state. Chief Awuse's recent vituperations against Governor Odili is seen as part of the
plan by the Ikwerre people to announce their intention to have their son as governor.
The Ogoni people who have shown no serious interest in the Brick House have become the beautiful bride as other interested groups now jostle for their support
in the forthcoming polls.
Odili is from the minority Ndoni ethnic group in the Ogba/Egbema /Ndoni local government area. Though the governor has hit the campaign trail for a second term,
a source said that the governor's campaign has been largely money induced " These people can collect your money and still turn their back on you when push
becomes shove". Odili's much touted fraternity with the powers that be in Abuja is said to be his staying power as the medical doctor governor is believed to
have future higher political aspirations than just being the governor of a state in the federation.
The other ethnic nationalities who have no representative in the fray for the Brick House have so far chosen to watch which way the tide swings before casting
Nov 2002