Under normal circumstances, a state of emergency declared in an area would mean that the response of the authority in charge at that particular time to issues of governance would be prompt and devoid of any bureaucratic bottlenecks.
In Rivers State, a state of emergency was declared because of a presumed slack in the security of the oil asset. No community was invaded, no communal clashes were anticipated. The machinery of government was gliding smoothly as projects were being flagged off and completed ones being commissioned. The politicians were only making their usual noise and taunting one another.
People were going about their businesses without let or hindrance from any quarter. Not even a fly was reported killed in riotous circumstances or by blood thirsty gangs. Port Harcourt was calm.
We are heading into the third month of the emergency rule declared on March 18, 2025. How is Port Harcourt today? For a government that even needed not to hold mandatory State Executive Council meetings or embark on an energy sapping lobby for the House of Assembly to grant approval before certain actions can be taken, what milestones have been achieved particularly on the very premise upon which the emergency was declared – security/insecurity?
For most of last week, a particular area of Port Harcourt, Diobu to be precise was literally on fire ignited by dare-devil hoodlums masquerading as cultists code named Deygbam and Deywell as they engaged in internecine clashes.
The clashes reportedly claimed lives on both sides, but not without some collateral damages as well. Some innocent lives also went into it while some peoples means of livelihood were ruined as the hoodlums looted and dispossessed people of their belongings in broad daylight.
The disturbances were not just a one off scenario. It happened over again in broad daylight. The police nor any other security organization gave no explanation or statement in reaction to the security breaches.
From the scene of the clashes to the Government House or even the headquarters of the State Police Command is almost a shouting distance. But no arrest has been confirmed to have been made by the police regarding the actors in the crime.
Some weeks ago, about 19 travelers from Bille, Kalabari axis of the state including students going for their West African Examination Council (WAEC) exams were abducted mid-sea by suspected pirates and taken hostage.
Not even a whimper was heard from the government nor the security agencies regarding the incident. Yet we were told there is security beef up from Abuja in line with the demands of emergency rule.
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The women from Bille and mothers of the abducted children cried to the Government House looking for succour to no avail.The agencies saddled with the responsibility to rescue the victims had no answers to the emergency in an emergency regime.
Instead, it was the Amama soldiers of the Royal Fouche security operated by ex Niger Delta warlord, Alhaji Mujaheed Asari Dokubo who was prevailed upon by the government trained and funded security organization to rescue the victims and it did with commendable precision, no lives lost among the victims.
One would have expected that the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibokete Ekwe Ibas,(rtd) would use the Bille incident to shine and demonstrate his expertise in marine security having attained almost the zenith of a career in the navy.
Interestingly, before the unfortunate hiatus in the state administration, Governor Fubara had almost provided the basic tools for the various security agencies in the state – fleets of vehicles and gun boats for the police, aircraft for the airforce and other facilities for other security formations.
The Governor was well aware of the prime position of Rivers State in the economic sustenance of the country and he was not leaving anything to chance in lending super support to the security agencies to be at their best in their line of duty.
The security agencies therefore owe the society explanations for the observed lapses. The resurgence of gang wars in the city is an anathema and a sad reminder of days during the Odili administration when residents of Port Harcourt and environs were made to be walking hands up on the orders of stern looking soldiers drafted to quell the cross-fire raging among rival militia groups in the state.
As Rivers people continue to look forward to June 12, the famed Democracy Day for possible restoration of democratic institutions in the state, it may be very instructive for everyone in the state to do some introspection over what has been achieved since March 18 under emergency rule and what could have been achieved within the same period under a government run by people elected by the people.
