OPINION | The Real “Necessary Evil” Is Silence: Tinubu’s Rivers State Takeover Is a Threat Wrapped in Political Theater
By IDNN Editorial Board
When Tony Okocha, caretaker chairman of the APC in Rivers State, stood before cameras and declared President Tinubu’s state of emergency in Rivers a “necessary evil,” one could almost hear the Constitution groan in disbelief.
Let’s be clear: no matter how well-scripted the justification, the suspension of a sitting governor, his deputy, and an entire state assembly without legislative backing is not governance—it’s a grab. A political power play draped in the deceptive cloth of order and stability.
When Illegality Becomes Strategy
Nigeria has seen its fair share of democratic backsliding, but this move sets a new precedent for executive impunity. For a president to remove elected officials and appoint an unelected administrator in a state that is not at war is a constitutional crime—plain and simple. But instead of defending due process, we get party loyalists like Okocha spinning fables about “saving Rivers from anarchy.”
Funny how “anarchy” only seems to appear when allies of the presidency are challenged. No one disputes that Rivers has been in political turmoil. But what’s dangerous is the solution offered: suspend democracy to save democracy? That’s not statesmanship; that’s autocracy in development.
The Wike Problem Everyone Pretends Doesn’t Exist
Okocha went out of his way to distance Nyesom Wike from the crisis—then immediately acknowledged that Wike “produced” the 32 lawmakers and the sitting governor. That contradiction isn’t just laughable—it’s insulting. If Wike built the structure, it follows that he benefits from its collapse or consolidation. You can’t praise the puppet master and pretend the strings don’t exist.
And let’s not forget: the same Tinubu who declared a state of emergency is widely seen as Wike’s political benefactor. Coincidence? Hardly. This was never about saving Rivers—it was about saving control.
Red Pens and Red Herrings
Okocha mocked Governor Fubara’s now-viral “red pen” speech, as if symbolism in politics is somehow a crime. But behind the mockery lies fear. Fear that an “ungrateful” protégé dared to grow a spine. Fear that power was slipping beyond the grasp of old political godfathers. Fear that the people might finally start asking questions no one wants to answer.
So instead of addressing legitimate constitutional concerns, we get petty insults and arrogant dismissals. That’s not leadership—it’s political bullying.
Where Is the Nigerian Bar Association? Where Are the Patriots?
The NBA and a few PDP governors have called this act what it is—an affront to democracy. But the silence from other quarters is deafening. Have we become so numb to authoritarianism that we now applaud it as “bold leadership”?
Okocha compares the situation to a hernia needing surgery. But Nigeria isn’t a patient under anesthesia—we are awake, watching our democratic organs being removed without consent.
This Is Bigger Than Rivers
Make no mistake: if this passes unchallenged, every state is vulnerable. What stops a future president from waking up tomorrow, suspending any governor who doesn’t play ball, and installing a loyal “administrator” in their place? Today it’s Rivers. Tomorrow it could be Oyo. Or Benue. Or Lagos.
We are playing with fire—and calling it light.
