By Sylvester Udemezue
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MEMORY VERSE:
“The best weapon is to sit down and talk….” (– Nelson Mandela) “…unless both sides win, no agreement can be permanent” (– Jimmy Carter)
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I’ve just stumbled upon an encouraging piece of news item published on 19 December 2023, under the title, “RIVERS CRISIS: FUBARA BREAKS SILENCE AFTER ABUJA MEETING, SAYS NO PRICE IS TOO MUCH FOR PEACE TO REIGN”.
While I would make out time to think aloud, on paper (legal opinion to try to contribute to guiding the future), on all legal aspects of the just ended Rivers crisis, between the immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Nigeria, now the “Governor” of the FCT, Abuja, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike (yes, he’s the proxy-Governor of the FCT by the combined effect of Sections 299(a) and 302 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999), and his godson who happens to be the incumbent Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Sim Fubara, I beg all to graciously permit me to respectfully offer a suggestion to the effect that I agree totally with the above-cited end-of-war declaration, made by His Excellency, Governor Sim Fubara.
The safety, welfare and progress of the people of Rivers State should be uppermost in the minds of their leaders. Thus, if removing Fubara’s Sim from Nyesome’s Wike’s political phone (i.e., political alliance/family) would stultify peace, endanger order and threaten progress in Rivers State, then it’s better that personal sacrifices and compromises be made in the best interest of the good people of Rivers State.
Experience through history has proven that there can be no progress made, and no achievement recorded, without sacrifice. [See: James Allen (2013). “As a Man Thinketh: The Book of Thoughts, Health and Body, Character, Purpose, Achievement, Visions and Ideals (New Thought Edition – Secret Library)”, p.24, Lulu Press, Inc]. And if you read the work, The Essential Martin Luther King Jr, you’d see that even “freedom is rarely gained without sacrifice and self-denial”. Futher, the suggestion could also been advanced, that without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing.
James M. Barrie’s belief that “You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it” doesn’t suggest one should not sacrifice anything at all; indeed, more often than not, making sacrifices leads to sacredness and progress. Some people (I’m one among the lot) would describe what has just happened between Wike and his Sim, as facilitated by President Tinubu’s mediatory role, in terms of Stoop to Conquer while some others would agree with those who hold the view that a more fruitful peace usually comes after war. In the wise, please, cast your mind back to this declaration made by the 4th-century writer of the Roman Empire, Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus: _”Si vis pacem, para bellum” (translated, if you want peace, prepare for war) or “Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum” (May he who desires peace prepare for war).
However, for Wike and his Fubara’s Sim, the question may be asked (borrowing from the Christian Holy Bible’s Roman 6:1-2) that, having begun and continued with war, in search of an enduring peace, if that is what war is all about (not the peace of the graveyard), ” What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin [THE WAR], that grace may abound? God forbid… “
In other words, If the increase of sin has only led to a larger measure of forgiveness, should it be thought well to continue in the sin (in this instance, the sin of war), as a way of enhancing the measure and glory of forgiving grace? I answer no! To the Christian (both Wike and his Sim are Christians, coincidentally), such thought is abominable because both Wike and his Fubara’s Sim, should, at least in theory and principle, be dead to sin (the sin of war).
A further question (scripture-inspired)! How can we who as Christians are as good as dead to sin, still continue to live in it longer? Accordingly, in line with the Bible, the law, reason, conscience and all, God forbid that Wike and his Fubara’s Sim would still indulge, continue in the sin of war (yes, war is sinful, in my opinion); it’s time for peace, time to listen to Abraham Lincoln’s plea to all: “Discourage litigation[, and war]. Persuade your neighbors to compromise [and embrace peace] whenever [they] can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser…”.
Yes, it’s time for peace — in the interest of the electorate (the good people) of Rivers State who (truth be told, according to law) are supposed to be the real owners of the power Wike and his Fubara’s Sim are now wielding and needlessly showcasing in war, instead towards the good of Rivers. I emphasize that this power belongs to the people of Rivers, from whom, according to Section 14(2)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, government [i.e., leaders, including Wike and his Fubara’s Sim) through this Constitution derive…all [their] powers andauthority”. So, if the people of Rivers State want peace and calm, as opposed to the sin of war, what’s wrong if the warring parties struck a deal to let Rivers State have the peace and calm.
Besides, if a clash between Fubara’s Sim and Nyeson’s Wike would jeopardize the security and welfare of the people of Rivers State, then what is wrong with that they ended the war, especially considering that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, has commanded in Section 14(2)(b), that “the security and welfare of the people [not this needless egoistic war] shall be the primary purpose of government”? I see nothing wrong, and I accordingly commend Governor Sim Fubara for his professed sacrifices, aimed to bring about peace, and stay in partnership-for-progress with his political godfather, whom some people have even described (but, is it not true?) as the foundation of the emergence of Fubara’s Sim in Rivers Phone.
Well, I sincerely hope this peace wouldn’t turn out a peace of the graveyard. In his work, Finding Peace, Jean Vanier wrote, and I agree: “True peace can rarely be imposed from the outside; it must be born within and between communities through meetings and dialogue and then carried outward”. I hope also this is not the kind of peace that could or would mortgage, subjugate or otherwise threaten the destiny of the good people of Rivers State, depriving them of the good quality governance to which they are legally and morally entitled. For this purpose, please permit me to, by way of concluding remarks, quickly reproduce verbatim, my earlier, published, words, which I believe would serve as a piece of counsel (although unsolicited) to all stakeholders in the Rivers project:
‘The reality is that all what we need now is reconciliation with one another, not blaming each other, reparation of damaged relations and society, not bullying of a section of it, reconstruction of devasted hopes, not persecution of those who dared to raise their voices; repentance and reengineering, not exacerbation and heightening of tension. Sometimes, God doesn’t send you into a battle to win it; he sends you to end it. All kinds of fights end at forgiveness. We must evolve…a conflict resolution method which rejects revenge, aggression, oppressions, victimization and bullying…. Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.
Jimmy Carter said, unless both sides win, no agreement can be permanent. And according to John F. Kennedy, “peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.” As Nelson Mandela once suggested, “the best weapon is to sit down and talk….” Finally…. Franklin D. Roosevelt had written that, “more than just an end to war, we want an end to the beginnings of all wars”.’ (See: “A Catholic Cogitation On The Freeze Order Against Bank Accounts Of Alleged #EndSARS Protest Promoters” By Sylvester Udemezue; NOVEMBER 8, 2020; BarristerNG).
In the meantime, worthy of commendation is the sagastic manner Mr President Tinubu has recently helped to restore peace and hope to troubled Ondo and Rivers States. Those criticising the contents of the current peace-deal, executed on 18 December 2023 in re Rivers State, between Wike and Fubara’s Sim, had rather pause to consider whether what matters the most is not that the parties have voluntarily executed the agreement, and thereafter (on the same night) proceeded to demonstrate this by dancing their way through an all-night party in celebration of victory for all, and especially the peace, order, and progress of Rivers State. This is illustrative of a true ADR (alternative dispute resolution) process characterised by initial war, then horsetrading succeeded by compromise, sacrifice on both sides, towards achieving peace on a WIN-WIN balance, which usually culminates in an Agreement executed or a deal struck.
What matters is that calm has been restored to Rivers for governance and peace to take the center stage, because these (good governance and peace) are the principal reasons why the good people of Rivers State (through the ballot) have placed Wike’s Fubara’s Sim into Rivers phone; the original idea being for them to work as a team towards progress. You know of Henry Ford’s “Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success” counsel? Think about it and tell me whether it’s not apt here.
All hail Mr President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the present (as opposed to the past) condition of affairs in Ondo and Rivers States. Speaking generally, it appears Mr. President’s fatherly approach to resolving crises in these two states stands out, unprecedented, although I stand to be corrected, in case I am wrong. All in all, thank you, Mr President Tinubu, sir; thank you, that Rivers could now, like Ondo, concentrate to enjoy governance. Thank you for saving us from a near-bloodshed-scenario in Rivers.
We all are aware of Goodluck Jonathan’s “no ambition of any politician is worth the blood of any citizen”. Hitherto looming anarchy has just been averted in Rivers State by Mr President Tinubu’s fatherly mediation role. I thank also Nyesom’s Wike and his Fubara’s Sim, for helping Tinubu to achieve the peace that Rivers needed badly, and have now got. Writing in the New York Times on 16 Novemberc1967, A. J. Muste said, “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way”.
Let Wike, Fubara, all indigenes of Rivers State, and indeed all Nigerians, know this now: peace is the only way!! God bless Rivers State, bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and bless all its citizens.
Respectfully,
Sylvester Udemezue (udems)
Proctor,
Reality Ministry of Justice (RMJ)
08109024556.
[email protected].
(19 December 2023)
