So I read on The Guardian online that the lion, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, has returned—yes, returned like a political messiah descending upon a state he once governed with the whip of Pharaoh and the smile of Pontius Pilate. But this time, he didn’t come back with APC sandals. He has swapped them for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), arriving with the confidence of a man who just found a map to the promised land…
As he touched down at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Amaechi declared—like a prophet clutching thunder—that “writing results in Rivers State must stop!” I nearly spilled my palm wine.
Wait—this is the same Amaechi? The one who in 2019 arrived in Rivers State with a convoy of soldiers, sealed off the INEC office like he was protecting the Ark of the Covenant? Is this not the same Amaechi who supervised, nay superintended, the storming of INEC during the collation of governorship election results? Back then, was he just making sure the “real results” were not tampered with, or was he merely rehearsing for a future sermon against electoral malpractice?
Ah, Rivers politics—a circus where the clowns forget their past performances and return with new face paint!
Now Amaechi says he has found the formula to “effortlessly” win Rivers State in 2027. Forgive me, sir, but what has changed between 2015, when you were governor and lost, and 2019, when you were a “super minister” and still got politically baptized in the Jordan of Wike’s popularity? What is the new ingredient? A new Bible verse? A better set of soldiers? Or maybe just a different party logo?
Amaechi says Nigeria is heading for doom if Tinubu gets a second term. Well, this is coming from a man who galloped on Buhari’s back for eight years as Minister of Transportation—yes, eight whole years of ‘next-level’ governance that took Nigeria’s economy straight into the valley of shadow and subsidy. What was better under Buhari that Tinubu is now ruining? Is this not a case of one pot calling the other kettle broken?
It is easy to forget, isn’t it, when one falls out of power. The rain feels colder when you’re no longer under the umbrella of the presidency. Suddenly, electoral malpractice becomes evil, and Nigeria’s path becomes dangerous.
But we remember, Amaechi. We remember how you called the shots, literally and politically. How you stood on national television, chest out, daring anyone to defy your federal might. We remember the “wars” in Rivers. The bullets. The barricades. The police as political mascots.
But now you say 2027 will be different. Maybe it will. Maybe this new coalition will light up Rivers State like a Christmas carnival in July. Maybe ADC is the ark and you, the Noah of our political salvation.
Or maybe—not.
We are watching, sir. Watching to see what new magic Amaechi has picked up since he last held power. Watching to see the “effortless” strategies that will undo defeats from 2015 and 2019. Maybe there’s a magic wand. Or maybe just recycled speeches from a man who still knows how to stir a crowd, even if he forgot where the storm began.
In Rivers politics, nothing is new under the sun—only the dust of yesterday’s ambition kicked up again in today’s campaign.
(c) Nwafor Oji Awala
— Writing from Eleme, Rivers State
