The Rivers State We Need – By Okachikwu Dibia
I am really surprised the way Rivers State people appear to be talking concerning the 2019 gubernatorial. Some groups are ready to die if PDP did not win the election. The other group wants to die if APC did not win the election. None appears really interested to ask: how well has the state fared since 1999? Such highly needed interrogation may reveal that the current crop of politicians may not be able to lead the state better than those who led the state since 1967.
I am a Rivers man from Rumuakunde Emohua. I do not belong to any political party in Nigeria because I am a public servant. However, concerning who should win or lead Rivers State come 2019, my position is that whoever wins should give Rivers State good governance which we have been praying for since 1999. We need a Rivers State where our boys are out of the bush and back in offices and factories working for their daily bread without shooting and killing others; we need an industrialised Rivers State where our God-given raw materials, fruits and vegetables will be processed into numerous commodities; we need a Rivers State with at least 10 industrial estates like Trans-Amadi; we need a Rivers State where soothes and carbon flares do not endanger our lives; we need a Rivers State where all children of school age are mandatorily in school under a robust scholarship system; we need a Rivers State where water will be processed into commodities and exported to other countries of the world where water remains a scarce commodity; we need a Rivers State where hospitals are excellently equipped and functional; we do not need a Rivers State where all we know and talk about is building of infrastructure since 1967 when it was created; we need a Rivers State with good governance not bad governance etc.
Good governance in Rivers State is not about upland and riverine Rivers State, it is not about the ethnic groups that make up the state, it is not about gender or gerontocracy. It is not about the leader been rich and the led been poor materially and psychologically. It is all about Good Governance, not Bad Governance.
Okachikwu Dibia
Abuja
