Today, the unstoppable APC train, which has made important stops in Kano, Jigawa and Adamawa, has arrived in Rivers State.
This is another important stop, because it allows us, the APC leaders, notย only to invite Chibuike Amaechi, the courageous Governorย of Rivers,ย to join the growing APC family, but to show our solidarity with a manย who has succeeded in battling anti-democratic forces to a standstill.
Let us be clear. Our party has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Gov. Amaechi since the beginning of his travails. We have been unrelenting in ourย support because our party stands for justice, fairness and unfetteredย freedom. We abhor dictatorship clad in fake democratic garments.
We believe that the system of government that we operate does not makeย provision for an imperial presidency, who can neither be criticized norย opposed. That is why we told those who said the APC is crying more thanย the bereaved on the Rivers State issue, that we are indeed the bereavedย anytime the rule of law is supplanted with the rule of the jungle; andย we are the bereaved anytime a democratically-elected President thumbsย his nose at the Nigerian Constitution. Or how else do we explain aย situation in which a duly elected Governor, who is known to theย Constitution as the Chief Security Officer of his state, is now beingย made to run his state side by side with the State Police Commissioner,ย who has been elevated to the de facto Governor by the presidency?
How do we explain a situation in which a State Governor is being preventedย from accessing his official residence by the police who should takeย orders from him? Where is it done that a State Governor cannot receiveย visitors, including fellow State Governors, without being tear-gassedย and humiliated by the police? Or how does one justify a situation inย which armed thugs backed by the police attack lawmakers in the hallowedย chambers of the State House of Assembly?
Gov. Amaechi has beenย enduring these and other indignities, without wilting under fire! Hisย plane has been grounded under flimsy, cooked-up excuses! They felt theyย have clipped his wings, but he is soaring even higher.
What isย his offence? Standing up for the defence of democracy and theย Constitution, leading his fellow Governors under the aegis of theย Nigerian Governors’ Forum to reject creeping dictatorship.
Butย because he provided good leadership, because he has the support of hisย colleagues in the NGF and because his cause is just, he has prevailedย over his adversaries, and he stands taller than his physique.
Because he stands as a bulwark against those who wanted to annihilate democracy and cripple governance, the plan to extend the anarchy in Rivers Stateย to other states of the Federation has failed.
That is why we called him an epitome of courage.
It was Maya Angelou, the African-American author and poet, who saidย courage is the most important of all the virtues, because withoutย courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.
Perhaps that was why another American poet, Robert Frost, said that freedom lies in being bold.
Thanks to Gov. Amaechi’s courage, Nigeria’s democracy is stronger, and our country is better.
We salute your courage under fire, your tenacity under an endless assaultย and your commitment to unfettered freedom for all citizens.
Since the leaking umbrella can no longer protect you from the vagaries ofย harsh weather, we ask you to jump on the APC train that will takeย Nigeria to the promised land!
Chief Bisi Akande
National Chairman
All Progressives Congress
Port Harcourt, November 5, 2013
