Many prominent individuals and groups have tried to express what they think makes present governor of Rivers State, the Opobo-born accountant, Siminalaiyi Joseph Fubara, different.
Some say his coming into office has been defined by liberation of many individuals held hostage either in the courts or in demolition of their property or those held in physical captivity.
A former vice chancellor of the state’s university who was seen as a hero for cleaning up two institutions in the state and pushing them from the bottom to high ratings, yet, the man was starved of salaries for over eight years with a bogey court case immediately after the Chibuike Amaechi administration that appointed him.
Also, teachers in some schools were denied salaries with one excuse or the other. Pensions were overlooked, promotion files were thrown away; the state secretariat was apparently abandoned to look dingy without light or maintenance, etc. Now, most of those ‘imprisoned’ persons and institutions are said to have breathed some air of relief with their files remembered again.
Many others talk about communities and areas denied projects that would have improved their infrastructural base. Others based their judgments on how appointments were awarded and what made any person to be considered for appointments, other than merit.
This was the situation until time came this week for the Opobo people to honour their son. It was at the commissioning of a critical road project in Opobo. The choice fell on a onetime Senate Chief Whip, Adawari Michael Pepple, to capture the opinion of the people.
He seemed to make good of it. He began by saying that Gov Fubara has continued to deliver critical infrastructure across the State, especially in Opobo Kingdom, capable of attracting and encouraging business growth. He pointed out how difficult it had been to access Kala-Ibiama community, especially during the rainy season, a problem he said the reconstructed road has sufficiently addressed.
He said that in addition to the development that the road would bring, there will be enhanced business opportunities, and the value of land would appreciate. He however quickly added that the land will not be available for land grabbers. Many did not know whether he meant land buyers or grabbers. Those regarded as land grabbers are those who use their connections with hoodlums, the security agencies, etc, to grab land belonging to other persons and use their connections to suppress the real owners. When the real owners complain, they are crushed, some killed. While land buyers are said to be those who offer value to land owners and eventually strike a deal in a win-win method.
Those trying to understand him recalled that some prominent families from own massive lands and property in Port Hacourt while they are from Opobo. It can only mean that those families bought the lands in legitimate deals which can never be termed land grabbing. In this case, it is believed that over 90% of land in most Nigerian cities are in the hands of buyers, not the aboriginal owners.
Pepple however explained thus, “Let us pray that nobody will come to grab it (land) because we shall not allow land grabbing in Opobo.” Such must be good news because land grabbers (those that crush the original owners) have so far caused havoc and chaos in most cities especially in the outskirts of the Garden City.
Pepple now delved into the real significance of the Opobo event. “Your Excellency, on the 13th of December, God showed your enemies that He is God. They came all the way from Abuja to celebrate victory. They brought it to the gate of Government House, so that when the (Appeal Court) verdict comes, there will be gunshots, there will be popping of champagne, and there will be drinking of 40 years.
“But God didn’t let it be. To the contrary, they didn’t cut their cake. When the decision came, they were like them that dream dreams. They couldn’t believe it. And so, God will continue to elevate you. God will continue to conquer your enemies for you. And you are doing roads. You are doing a lot of infrastructural development in Rivers State. You have recorded the highest number of infrastructural development projects ever by any administration in 18 years.”
What Fubara has done – Pepple
Pepple, a highly respected Opobo titled man and onetime chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) for Rivers/Bayelsa Chapter, said: “You have commissioned 28 roads, totalling 291.36km. You have 26 ongoing road projects. Who has done that before? Have you ever heard it? And you are doing so without flag-off ceremonies! Before, we will see flag-offs; midway, you will see inspection with television, and then, commissioning becomes a session to abuse elders.
“Our Governor sitting there has been able to achieve 72 basic things under the education sector. Who has done that before? Nobody. And so, Your Excellency, your works will speak for you. If you go to the health sector, all the primary healthcare centres, not less than 38, have been renovated and brought back to life. 38 in the three Senatorial Districts. Who can beat your record?” he added.
Providing the project description, Rivers State Commissioner for Special Projects, Rowland Obed-Whyte, said the 3.05km long road has been built to last.
Gov Fubara speaks:
Gov Fubara spoke at last and declared that God never made any mistake ordaining him as Governor to drive a trajectory of transformation that is already advancing the State and empowering the people on an enduring scale, positively.
The governor, however, observed the damaging media campaign orchestrated by some self-seeking political leaders of the State in the guise of fighting his administration, warning that such evil acts were rather demarketing the State.
Gov Fubara spoke at Kala-Ibiama Town, venue of the inauguration of the 3.05km long Kala-Ibiama section of the Kala-Ibiama-Epellema Road and Bridge in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area on Wednesday.
He advised such self-serving persons to discard such depraved mentality, and prioritise the advancement, economic prosperity and positive reputation of the State over their parochial interests.
The governor said: “I want to assure everyone, more especially our leaders, Rivers State belongs to all of us, the best we can do is to contribute our little quota to better the State. Rivers State, as at today, even in the face of wonderful things that we are doing that people are beginning to see, is faced with dangerous media war that is demarketing the State as we are seeing today.
“The previous administration had its own fair share of it, but it wasn’t as barbaric as what we are seeing today, where people will come out openly, and say yes, our mission is to demarket the State. Are you demarketing Rivers State for Fubara? Demarketing the State has nothing to do with Fubara. It has to do with all of us to suffer the effect.
“We had a session when the Joint Tax Board came to the State for its meeting. They were asking: is it the Rivers State that they painted in the media as if you could be shot in the streets, and we are not seeing any of those things said of it in the media. Rivers is peaceful, it is our State. What we owe this State is, wherever we find ourselves, wherever God has placed us, let us contribute to the betterment of the State, not to run it down.”
Gov Fubara noted that the obstinate ones have started suffering from the punishment of God, adding that he has no choice than to leave them to such misfortune that they have brought upon themselves.
Commenting on the project, Gov Fubara dedicated the Kala-Ibiama section of the road to three important personalities that he described as political associates who shared same political dreams of the kind of leadership to provide to the State.
Governor Fubara noted that sadly, those associates, who were former members representing Opobo/Nkoro State Constituency from 2015 to 2023, Adonye Kelly Diri; a former deputy chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Dagogo Eli Legg-Jack; a former PDP chairman in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, Senibo Daniel Legg- Jack; are not alive to see evidence of what has become of the course they once supported, convincingly.
He said, “It pleased the Almighty God to allow the things that happened in that time to happen. But we will continue to remember them because they started the journey with me. They followed us when a lot of people didn’t believe in our struggle of leadership. In fact, if I must borrow a quote: ‘Leaders are not by title, leaders are by their care.’ When you lead because of title, you mislead, but when you lead by care, you become a good and wonderful leader.”
Gov Fubara expressed delight that the Kala-Ibiama Road has been achieved for the people, and marks the beginning of many more things that will be done to impact the lives of Opobo/Nkoro people positively, explaining that the Kala-Ibiama community road project was conceived to connect those in Epellema community because there is no way to connect them through the mini-highway into Opobo Town.
He said, “I am happy today that those of you that are staying far away, that have not been to Kala-Ibiama for a while, you might miss your way if you are entering Kala-Ibiama now. So, we are here to inaugurate the section of the Kala-Ibiama Road. It’s about 3km, well built by MCC, which has shown itself as a committed company that is supporting us.
“The other section of the road is still ongoing and has a bridge that will connect Kala-Ibiama to Epellema. By the special grace of God, before the middle of next year, we will be inaugurating that section.”
Gov Fubara assured that what is happening in the Opobo axis will be replicated in the Nkoro axis because there would not be holistic development without integrating all the sections, saying: “This LGA is Opobo/Nkoro; it is not Opobo only. So, for my other local government neighbours, the Nkoro people, we are also coming to Nkoro Kingdom before the middle of next year to commission a project. So, don’t think that it is only Opobo we are handling. Nkoro, you have a special project that we are going to commission. The project will commence very soon, and I will be there in the next six months to commission it”.
In his welcome address, Executive Chairman of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, Enyiada Cookey-Gam, expressed appreciation of the people to Governor Fubara for reconstructing the road that has changed the landscape of the area, adding that with the road, a better route has been provided for commutation, improved security and enhanced socio-economic activities, and pledged the continued support of the people to the success of the administration.
Speaking for Monier Construction Company (MCC), the firm that handled the project, the General Manager, Omako Oko, said they are delighted to have been trusted to handle the job, which has been delivered to specifications.
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