By Blessing Wikina
National Politics would always be a beckoning graveyard for Rivers Political Leaders who are following the allure of being in Abuja after their tenure.
They have never passed the qualifying exam because they think stacks of cash, personal ambition, and grotesque intrigues can bestow national presence to them at the expense of Rivers people’s need.
National Politics has its allure, no doubt, and it’s momentary bragging rights, plus low hanging fruit temptation for the politicians.
At least, some nominees from their stable will be jerked up toboardd members, Ambassadorial postings, etc, even displacing better qualified persons. But do they remember that those perkings are mere cosmetic?
Rivers State would be better if their economy is improved, made sustainable, and stand on its footings rather than on droplets from the dinner table, which is what you have access to now. They assume that local profiling and their “tigritude” status in Port Harcourt can be photocopied to the center. No. Not at all.
The rest of Nigeria knows the indices and welcome our ego, pride, and money, as mere glittering fragments, and baits to hook our guys’ taste and lead them to self destruct. We do not have a population figure that can tilt a national election to victory, nor the benefit of Political Elders at the top, to push our cases, when such mighty men and “owners of Nigeria” meet behind closed doors. When the majority and power blocs in Nigeria are ready, they will always dash anyone, anybody, any lucky person, from here power, without an effort, without a fight, without a “godfather”. Cases in the far past and near past are signposts.
Ambition, aspiration, noise, had never given any politician from here his political need because it does not amount to an asset base. Over the years, in spite of their annual pilgrimage to Abuja, they hadn’t even deployed their huge earnings to any economic productive venture back home. To date, there are no farms, companies, outlets, or even chains of businesses linked to them at home. They had not provided employment or even pushed their vuvuzellas into influential positions at the national level.
Events had made me declare to Rivers Politicians, a welcome to your graveyard, located in national politics……if you fail to bring economic investments back home. Past question papers, alliances, permutations, scheming, and intrigues, plus cash, won’t give anyone from here a respectable dominant national profile. The best these can offer anyone can not be more than a mere errand boy political position.
If you are not dashed power, by them, their undertakers will gladly show you an open grave.
When you don’t bring things home to ignite economic activities for our people, you will be like a power outlet that is overloaded, over burdened, overused, and not effective.
Blessing Wikina, a retired Director of Information with the Rivers State Government, writes from Port Harcourt.
