Another big row broke out yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State
capital, between the government and the police, which smashed a ceremony
for new teachers.
All was fine at the Liberation Stadium, where 13,000 teachers were set to collect their letters of engagement.
Suddenly, the police stormed the scene, teargassing and beating up the would-be teachers.
To Governor Rotimi Amaechi, the incident is a sign that the Niger
Delta State is under police siege, with policemen on the orders of the
Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, attempting to make the state
ungovernable.
Some of the teachers, who spoke with The Nation at the stadium, but
pleaded not to be named for “security reasons”, said they were flogged
by the policemen, who fired teargas canisters at them.
Many were injured in the stampede that followed.
The shocked teachers described their forcible dispersal as very unfortunate and least expected in a democracy.
The Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry of Education,
Richard Ofuru, asked the teargassed teachers to return home, assuring
them that the government would find an alternative way of giving them
their posting letters this week. They are to resume duties on Monday.
To the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Felix
Obuah, the gathering was a ploy by the Amaechi-led government to use the
“frustrated” youths as protesters on the streets of Port Harcourt
against President Goodluck Jonathan.
The five anti-Amaechi lawmakers of the House of Assembly, in a joint
statement, wondered why 13,000 persons would gather without police
permit. They alleged that the teachers were mobilised by Amaechi to
protest against President Jonathan.
The five anti-Amaechi legislators — Michael Okechukwu Chinda
(Obio/Akpor 11), Evans Bipi (Ogu/Bolo), Kelechi Nwogu (Omuma), Martins
Amaewhule (Obio/Akpor I) and Victor Ihunwo (Port Harcourt III) —are
supporters of the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike,
who is the grand patron of the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI).
Wike is interested in succeeding Amaechi, who insists that another
ethnic group should be given a chance. Amaechi and Wike are from
Ikwerre.
The Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim
Semenitari, described the police’s action as “impunity” and the action
of retrogressive forces against development.
There had been announcements on radio and television stations by the
Ministry of Education, inviting the teachers to the Liberation Stadium
for a briefing and collection of their letters from 9 am. They started
gathering inside the stadium as early as 7:30 am.
Policemen, in over 20 Toyota Hilux patrol vans, stormed the stadium around 8:30 am and chased out the teachers.
With the teachers out of the stadium, the main gate was locked. The
policemen positioned their patrol vans in front of the gate and
adjourning roads in Elekahia to prevent the teachers from regrouping.
The teachers, at 11:30 am, still gathered on the other side of the
dualised road, directly opposite the stadium, discussing in groups.
Amaechi, who spoke through the Chief of Staff, Government House,
Chief Tony Okocha, said Mbu and his men wanted to hold Rivers people to
ransom.
The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) chairman wondered how 13,000
newly-recruited teachers, who wanted to collect their posting letters,
would be tagged potential protesters against President Jonathan. He
described the police action as a “crude display of federal might,
senseless, barbaric, shameful and the height of desperation”.
The governor said: “It is crass display of naked power. It is amazing
that the government and the good people of Rivers State live under the
siege of the police.
“The preponderance of that population is women. Imagine women falling
over one another, because of the hot chase and canisters of teargas
freely deployed by the police. This is barbaric. The CP (Mbu) ought to
apply some tact, even in his mission to destroy Rivers State.”
Semenitari said: “Virtually, this is the impunity we have been
talking about in Rivers State. It is clear to Rivers people that this is
the action of retrogressive forces that are totally against
development, because this is the first time that any government, whether
state or federal, is employing 13,000 teachers at once.
“They are afraid and worried that the people will actually see that
work is going on. Otherwise, why do they want to cut short people’s
smile? These are people who have been unemployed.
“Nigeria is crying about unemployment, education system is in a mess
and a government employs 13,00 teachers, trains them, wants to feed them
into the system and somebody chooses to treat this with levity and to
tear-gas the teachers and gives a very stupid excuse, saying that the
teachers were there to protest against President Jonathan.
“What is the correlation between getting their employment letters and
President Jonathan? Why do people continually want to drag President
Jonathan’s name into everything? Is there something they are telling
Rivers people that we do not know?”
Obuah said: “Wednesday’s gathering of teaching applicants at the
Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt for the purported collection of
employment letters was a ploy by the Amaechi-led government to use the
frustrated youths as protesters on the streets of Port Harcourt against
President Goodluck Jonathan.
“Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is cashing in on the misfortune of
hundreds of thousands of unemployed youths in the state to play
politics.
“The applicants have long been interviewed, screened and employment
letters given for the long-vaulted 13,000 teaching jobs by Governor
Amaechi. We wonder why the helpless applicants were asked to again
gather at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt, if not for a sinister
motive.
“Drawing from intelligence reports available, the only reason for the
unnecessary gathering of the job hopefuls was to use them as tools to
whip up sentiments against President Goodluck Jonathan, in sympathy with
Governor Amaechi, in the feud between them and/or political crisis he
is persistently and unrepentantly fueling and which is threatening the
prevailing fragile peace in the state.
“While providing employment to our numerous qualified, but unemployed
youths, whether for teaching in schools or elsewhere, is a welcome
development, in the light of huge resources accruing to the state, but
we believe that the recruitment could be done without subjecting these
applicants to further suffering and danger by mobilising them from all
across the state to gather at the Liberation Stadium unattended to.
“The best method to reach or communicate with the prospective
employees by the relevant authorities is online transmission through the
ICT, which is easier, cheaper and hitch-free for both parties. Anything
less is suspect and poses danger and challenge to the law enforcement
agents.”
The Rivers PDP chairman then lauded the police for their action.
Just on September 20, Mbu’s policemen harassed over 500 youths, aged
between 14 and 21, who were on tour of projects in Port Harcourt with
Amaechi, an initiative of Rotary International, District 9140, for young
future leaders.
Three police vans with armed policemen were also detailed to follow the young persons everywhere they went with the governor.
The new police spokesman, Ahmad Kidaya Muhammad, said the government “failed” to inform the command about the gathering.
Muhammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), also a former
police spokesman of Taraba and Gombe commands, said: “The Rivers State
Government failed to inform the Rivers State Police Command of the
event. It was deemed an illegal gathering. Police got intelligence
report that there was going to be a breakdown of law and order.”
The Permanent Secretary of the Rivers Ministry of Education, Richard
Ofuru, said announcements for the collection of letters had been on
radio and television stations for some days. He wondered what
information the police needed again.
It was gathered yesterday evening that the teachers had been directed
to be checking their postings online, with some of them complaining of
network challenge by the service providers.
Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) Dakuku
Peterside, who represent Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro Federal Constituency
described the police action as the height of impunity and lawlessness.
He said: “It is now clear to everyone that Mbu by his actions and
words is endangering our hard earned democracy and his command has also
taken lawlessness to new heights.”
“I am very sure that Mbu is determined to make Rivers State
ungovernable to impress his masters but I know that after all said and
done, he will not succeed and he will surely occupy an infamous place in
Nigeria’s history.
“What is most disturbing and disappointing is federal government’s
silence on this police action in Rivers State despite its potential
national security implications. And I really do not know for how long
Rivers people will leave with this nightmare. Again, our people, almost
on a daily basis these days, are reminded of how low we have sunk under
Commissioner Mbu who is not even sparing our teachers”.
A video believed to have been released by the wanted leader of the
Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram,
Abubakar Shekau, surfaced in Maiduguri on Wednesday.
