By Simeon Nwakaudu
I got acquainted with the phrase, “Power is nothing without control” through the television commercials of the tyre –Pirelli. I was so in love with the phrase that I had to buy that brand of tyre at the time.
This phrase “power is nothing without control ” is instructive. It is powerful and a reminder that power in whatever form must be used for the good of society. It must be used with restraint.
Once power is misused by its holder, the society suffers. Several things give way. However, the holder of power ultimately falls victim of his misuse of power.
A pilot is very powerful. He can easily terminate lives if he decides to misuse his power. But, as he terminates the lives of others while misusing his power, he destroys himself as well.
Nigerians are living witnesses of the ungodly conspiracy between the Police High Command, other security agencies, INEC and a section of the online media in their bid to destroy the very essence of good governance and political stability in Rivers State.
Since the conduct of the December 10, 2016 rerun elections, these agencies and a notorious online medium have gone beserk, feasting on mischief and falsehood in relation to Rivers State.
They plot evil on a daily basis with baffling lunacy, forgeting their primary responsibility to the nation. In their blind desperation, they have allowed the security of the country to degenerate.
Between December 10, 2016 and now, Nigeria has lost close to 2000 helpless Nigerians because the security architecture is fixated on Rivers State.
The Inspector General of Police and his newly promoted Public Relations Officer talk only about Rivers State. For pecuniary and selfish reasons, they have allowed themselves to lose control of their power. Remember, power is nothing without control.
The Inspector General of Police arranged in his own estimation 28000 policemen, 20 gunboats, horses, dogs and about 300 patrol vans and Armoured Personnel Carriers for the Rivers Rerun. Just to use his power to steal the people’s mandate.
However, when the murderous herdsmen adjudged to be foreigners invaded Southern Kaduna, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris deployed only 500 policemen as widely reported by pro-APC media.
The failure to positively use his power has led to the total decimation of Southern Kaduna. Imagine what would have happened if the Inspector General of Police had used his power to deploy just 14000 policemen, 100 patrol vans and Armoured Personnel Carriers to Southern Kaduna. Where the policemen were needed, he failed to send them. Instead he chose to unleash mayhem on Rivers people, just because his paymasters told him so.
A few days ago, the Nigerian Police Special Joint Investigation Panel on Rivers Rerun visited Government House, Port Harcourt. As I looked at the team, I saw without any effort an Inspector General of Police out to do mischief. The composition of that team exposed the inability of Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to control the power placed in his care.
Aside the figure head chairman, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Damian Okoro, 80 percent of the membership of this kangaroo panel is dominated by northerners.
The membership of that panel is as follows: Haliru Usman Allahnanan (Assistant Director Internal Security, DSS, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Habu Sani, Zayana Yusuf, Assistant Director, Counter Terrorism of DSS, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, Chief Superintendent of Police, Dankaro Yakubu, Chief Superintendent of Police, Yusuf Abdulrazak, Chief Superintendent of Police Aliyu Abubakar, Superintendent of Police, Chuks, ASP Mshelia Jonathan, ASP Ibrahim A and ASP Benjamin Babatunde. Do you need a soothsayer to tell you that Damian Okoro’s duty in that panel is just to read already prepared statements like Don Awunah has been doing?
Just like Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike told the kangaroo panel; they were in Rivers State to act the script of the Inspector-General of Police. Shortly after they left the Government House, they detailed rogue SARS Commander, Mr Akin Fakorede to arrest INEC ad-hoc staff in constituencies where PDP won . The kangaroo panel and their master, can no longer control their power.
As the Inspector-General of Police pointed his finger on Rivers State over his political failure during the rerun legislative elections, his failings have been exposed by the National Assembly. His deliberate refusal to put his power in check has become public knowledge, especially as far as appropriated funds are concerned. On January 13; 2017, Punch Newspaper reported that the House of Representatives indicted the Inspector General of Police for allegedly diverting N1.2bn. The National Assembly also voted a separate N6bn in the 2016 budget for the rehabilitation of 102 police stations nationwide.
The House, at its plenary on Thursday, said Idris “diverted” the money “for other uses.” He couldn’t control his power.
This misuse of power has been responsible for the untold insecurity across the country. The internal security architecture of the country has collapsed because the Inspector General of Police cannot control his power.
So much for the Inspector General of Police. There is also the powerful notorious online publisher on the payroll of APC and a co-conspirator to the Inspector-General of Police. The powerful notorious online publisher has been indicted for blackmail, extortion and threat to life. Like the Inspector General of Police, this notorious online publisher has lost control of his power. His misuse of his media power is now haunting him.
The security crisis that has engulfed other parts of the country exposes the failure of the traditional media to use her powers rightly . Today, the Southern Kaduna killings are largely under-reported. Most Nigerians get information from the social media.
When Rivers State had security challenges in the recent past , the traditional media lost control of its power. All manner of politically motivated headlines were contrived to de-market the state. Today, editors are falling on themselves to offer explanations on the near collapse of human safety in Southern Kaduna.
In Rivers State, the people are getting the benefits of good governance daily. It appears to be the only state in the country where the governor spreads projects to all communities. Very quality projects. It is one of the states where civil servants and pensioners have their welfare on the priority list. The security situation in the state has improved tremendously.
Governor Wike’s pro-people governance style is the reason why Rivers people have remained committed to his leadership. Therefore, the conspiracies against Rivers State will continue to fail. The persistent misuse of power by officials of security agencies and their ill-informed media partners will only strengthen the resolve of Rivers people to defend their democratically elected governor.
Those who fail to control the power they hold in trust for the nation will eventually fall victim of their own criminal misuse of power. The embattled Inpector General of Police and his New York based online publisher are beginning to understand this fact.
Photo caption: Police I-G, Idris
*Nwakaudu is Governor Wike’s media aide
