Rotimi Amaechi: The Triumph Of Reward And Justice

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Moses Akinola Makinde, a Professor of Philosophy and Director-General/CEO, Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance, Osogbo, Osun State, in this piece extols the virtues of former Rivers State Governor and Minister-designate Rotimi Amaechi

I congratulate the distinguished members of the Nigerian Senate, especially the APC senators, on the screening as a prelude to confirmation of Hon. Rotimi Amaechi as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Judging from the intrigues, evil machinations, hatred and gigantic stumbling blocks put on his way by his detractors whom he had fought to a standstill since he defected from the PDP to APC, we cannot expect the PDP to support his screening and confirmation under any disguise.

The vociferous hues and cries and hate campaigns by Governor Wike and his PDP collaborators in Rivers State might just as well have been a fall out of his running battle with Goodluck and Patience Jonathan on their running battle with them over the years. That Rotimi Amaechi withstood all the battles from several fronts- Jonathan, Patience, Wike and Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbuh- is something that goes beyond human comprehension and says something about the character of the man as a dogged fighter and a man of destiny.

If the Senate had rejected Amaechi’s nomination by Buhari and later refused to screen him because of spurious and orchestrated charges of unproven corruption against him, it would have been a monstrous injustice. On the purported corruption charge against him by his antagonist’s (Wike’s) panel of inquiry upon which the PDP in the senate hinged their hope of thwarting his screening, Amaechi said, “i came here with a copy of the so-called panel report. There was nowhere that the judicial panel report indicted me”. Yet, out of mischief, the Wike white paper report fraudulently smuggled in an indictment into the original report, not minding the fact that the indictment was not a terminating judgement in a competent court of law which is the only thing that could be used against him. The APC was aware of the intrigues of the Rivers state Government to unjustly thwart Amaechi’s screening, in spite of his intimidating pedigree, in order to satisfy the desperate wish of Governor Wike and his likes in the conspicuous game of vendetta and not in the interest of the people of Rivers state and the nation.

Of all the nominees for screening, Rotimi Amaechi stood out by virtue of his impressive and impeccable pedigree. From tradition, the Senate had always favoured nominees who had been Governors, Senators, members of the House of Representatives and State Assemblies. Many of the nominees who fell into this category were accorded this privilege. This is where the Senate President did very well when he reminded the minority leader, Senator Akpabio, of this long and existing tradition. Rotimi Amaechi had been a two term Speaker in the Rivers State House of Assembly, two term Speaker, Secretary conference of speakers, two term Governor of the same state, two term Chairman of the Governor’s Forum and Director-General of the APC campaign organisation. This was not lost to Senators in both parties. When he was asked to speak, he introduced himself and then addressed the Senators, confidently and brilliantly answered all questions put to him. With these answers, he seemed to have silenced all oppositions, regardless of the PDP’s refusal to ask him questions. Everybody was dazed and spellbound by his clarification and answers. Consequently, he was asked by the senate President to bow and go without the much expected opposition from the floor of the Senate. And so the waiting game was over for a nominee who had attracted more publicity and anxiety than all others put together. In fact, the unnecessary controversy surrounding Amaechi’s nomination and the interest it generated in Nigeria and the outside world had made him the star and hero of the Buhari’s ministerial nominees, being the most talked about everywhere you go.

While I congratulate Amaechi for weathering the storm created for him by his traducers, especially the Governor of Rivers State who had hurriedly put up a judicial panel of inquiry aimed at stalling his impending screening and confirmation by the Senate, I think bigger congratulations go to APC members of the Senate who stood firmly behind their own. In this respect it is important to note what the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, said: “PDP can’t stop Amaechi”, because “the Senate belongs to APC, not PDP” Vanguard October 22, 2015 (front page) and The Nation, “PDP can’t stop Amaechi’s screening”, page 4.

Surely, it would have been a tragedy of monumental proportion if APC which has majority members in the Senate (58:48) should bow in defeat to the minority PDP over the screening and confirmation of Amaechi under the circumstances stated above. Such could not happen under the PDP controlled Senate, and I have no record of that happening anywhere in the world where a minority would have their way against that of a majority. Apart from this, APC Senators have demonstrated their respect for President Buhari who nominated Amaechi, and the President would not have expected his Senators to disgrace him on the floor of the Senate on this crucial matter. The situation might just as well have been a battle between President Buhari and the former President through the PDP senators. So, if Amaechi had lost out, Jonathan and his associates would have won and celebrated the feat, and President Buhari utterly disgraced. This is why the APC Senators have to be congratulated.

I think they will learn from this exercise and close ranks to always speak with one voice especially as they are in total control of the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Presidency. As for Amaechi, the man of the moment, I congratulate him for his patience, amazing resilience, doggedness, consistency as a fighter, and his outstanding qualities and performance at the screening exercise which is a sure preclude to his confirmation as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The APC’s gain from this exercise is the sudden realization that it is the party in government this time around. They should not mess themselves up lest the PDP take advantage of their disunity. They should realise that when they were in power, the PDP was so united that APC could not penetrate their ranks, which was why they ruled, albeit ingloriously, for 16 years!

The APC has the majority in the Senate and House of Representatives like the PDP before them. If the APC are united, they can use their majority of ten to their advantage from now till the kingdom come. But the PDP, in spite of being in the minority, has threatened “to oppose Amaechi’s confirmation when the time comes”, which seems to me a tall order. Would the APC allow this to happen? I hear somebody say, “not in this universe”.