The hazardous state faced by the protagonists and antagonists in the popular classical poem, The Casualties, authored by renowned poet, John Pepper Clark, was aptly recaptured in the unending political melodrama that has almost grounded governance in the oil-rich Rivers State in the last one year.
Clark, in that popular poem, argued that victims of war usually go beyond those directly affected by the violence, because even those who are indifferent or did not participate directly in the conflict might also be implicated.
He also alluded explicitly in the classical piece that casualties of conflicts are not only those who died or suffered psychological, political, and social displacement, because many others could equally be involved in the collateral damage.
And like the political imbroglio in Rivers State, the casualties of Rivers political crisis are multifaceted, with a good number, outside the scenes of ravage and wreck, still feeling the heat.
Clearly, beyond the drum sounds overwhelming the crossfire from the gladiators, and the observers, caught in the web of claims and counterclaims, Rivers State deputy governor, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, may stand out as one of the biggest casualties of the political predicament in the state.
Prof .Odu, the deputy governor, caught up in the web of loyalty, apparently fits into the type of description the Igbo derogatorily gave to a bat as a living organism that does not belong to either the family of the birds or the mammals.
As far as the Rivers’ impasse is concerned, the deputy governor, trapped in the middle of the action, has become synonymous with a bat whose fate is not only hanging dangerously in the balance but also stuck in uncertainty.
Prof. Odu has become a political office holder whose loyalty to the gladiators that brought her to her present high political limelight, has been tested. As the crisis rages, the deputy governor represents a typical example of one person clearly entangled in the web of confusion. If she shifts a little to her right or to her left, she will be engulfed in the flaming fire rekindling on both sides.
Deputy Governor Odu is one political official in Nigeria today whose loyalty is torn between her political godfather, Nyesom Wike, who, incidentally, nominated her for the current position, and her immediate boss, Governor Fubara.
So far, her continued pledge of allegiance to her principal, Governor Fubara, since the beginning of the crisis, has apparently strained her relationship with her erstwhile political godfather, Wike, who has maintained a tight grip on the state Assembly members.
And, on the flip side, she has also become one deputy governor whose loyalty to her boss, observers say, has left much to be desired due to the alleged maltreatment her principal melted on her despite religiously pitching tent with him.
But, to some pundits, there has been an endless debate on the inevitability of experiencing such a sharky relationship from political neophytes.
However, with her rich, intimidating academic professional résumé, and her position as a former Permanent Secretary in the state ministry of Health, and her relatively little political experience as a one-time Commissioner for Education under the Dr. Peter Odili-led government, the deputy governor, may have come to the party highly recommended and richly prepared.
Investigation by Daily Sun revealed that though the peace-loving deputy governor has not shown any trace of loyalty doubt to her principal, Governor Fubara, all through the political crisis, the governor’s detractor, however, noted that her allegiance seems to have brought more sorrow and pains than blessings to her so far.
In retrospect, because it has been the deputy governor who is usually the biggest beneficiary of the spoils of war in the states where such deadly bone-crushing fracas rage between the governor and the godfather-propelled State Assembly, which results in the impeachment of the governor, Prof. Odu, unfortunately, is nowhere near the opportunity and vantage position to be considered for such a tiebreaker.
The proponents of such historical perspective have referenced Anambra State, as a typical case study where former deputy governor, Mrs. Virginia Ngozi Etiaba, not only emerged as the substantive governor when her principal, Peter Obi, was impeached by the state legislature, but also served for three months as the first female governor in the country.
However, the situation in the Rivers political quagmire has never provided such a favourable opportunity to Prof. Odu as she has always stuck with her principal, Fubara,in almost all the attempts to impeach them.
For example, when the first impeachment attempts notice was served on them last year, it was a case of collective responsibility to her boss and herself.
However, according to multiple reliable sources close to her, if her problem was limited to only “swimming and sinking” with her principal, Fubara, she would not have bothered. They claimed that she seems to be dying painfully in silence, resolving to remain cautious in raising an alarm over the traumatic experiences she is going through in the hands of her boss.
They further claimed that the situation is more agonising in her abandonment by her womenfolk that have deliberately refused to join her in deescalating the fight for her political freedom.
Many pundits have not stopped wondering how Nigerian women who have been vociferously speaking against the inequitable, biased number of women holding appointive and elective positions in government across the country, could not mobilise a sizeable number of women to protest against the perceived injustice to their female folk and drum support for the deputy governor.
Many political watchers have equally wondered why it has become challenging for Odu to access the First Lady of the Federal Republic, Senator Oluremi Tinubu or the Women Affairs Minister to secure their supports in fighting the sentimental battle to rescue her from the clutching political enslavement in the state.
In the perception of many pundits, it is even more baffling that in a country where the clamour for a certain percentage affirmation for the womenfolk has gained serious traction, the same female gender could allow one of their own to fight the intricate battle of political freedom and relevance all alone.
Many sources close to her confided in Daily Sun that she has been dying in silence over her principal’s maltreatment, mostly in denying her almost all the comforts attached to her office. The sources claimed she has not been anything near a spare tyre despite being absolutely very submissive to her principal.
To justify the claim of her utmost neglect, one of the sources: “Deputy Governor, Ngozi Odu, has been worse than a spare tyre since she assumed office in 2023. She has been completely sidelined in major and critical affairs of the state.
“She is not invited to many critical meetings. She is not supervising any ministry in line with the established statutory traditional responsibility of her office in Rivers State, where deputy governors usually supervise the Ministry of Health.
“She is not even in the know of government activities in her Local Government Area (LGA) despite being the highest ranking political leader from Obite community in Onelga. She has no official car attached to her. She is using the old car she inherited from the last administration. Meanwhile, the governor purchased several new cars for himself.
“More discouraging to her is that the governor allegedly encourages government appointees to insult her,” our source claimed.
The source further disclosed that: “There is speculation in many quarters that Governor Fubara is planning to replace her with Odili’s daughter, who is the current Commissioner for Health, despite her display of absolute loyalty to him.
“It is even more hurtful that the state Assembly is dragging her along with the governor, a confirmation that she remains absolutely loyal to the governor because, despite all the ill treatment, she has refused to join Wike’s camp,” our source insisted.
To reconfirm her loyalty when speculations spread widely that she has resigned, she dismissed it with a wave of her hands, stressing that she remained fully committed to her role alongside Governor Fubara.
While promising to swim and sink with her principal in a statement by Owupele Benibo, the Head of Press in her office, she described the report as entirely false, noting that “these stories are misleading and without any truth. She remained fully committed to her responsibilities as the Deputy Governor of Rivers State. Prof. Odu remains dedicated to working alongside her principal to fulfil the administration’s promises to the people of the state.
“As an experienced public servant and scholar, Prof. Odu has continued to play a vital role in ensuring that the government’s agenda of good governance and development is achieved. She has not resigned, nor is she considering such action. The public is advised to ignore these baseless claims,” the statement read.
As if the refutal was not enough message of assurances to further pledge her loyalty shortly after the suspension of the State of Emergency in the state, the deputy governor said: “I want to thank my governor, my boss, the peoples’ governor, the icon of peace, a man of grace, a man of distinction, a man who talks less and acts more, a man whose yes is his yes, a man who says what he does and does what he says.
“I want to inform you people that before my nomination, our governor did not know much about me, apart from my television appearances. But he has had an encounter with my husband as a much younger person. They became father and son, and established a doctor and patient relationship.
“He admired my husband so much that when my name was called and asked if he knew me, he gladly said that he knew my husband but didn’t know her, adding that he believes that since her husband is a good man, he believes that I will be a good lady, and he will work with me.
“With that nodding from my principal, I promised that I would be a subordinate deputy, very respectful and reverence him, stand by him regardless of what happens to him. Many of you can attest to the fact that I have stood by him through thick and thin.
“I want to thank you for the confidence you have in me. I thank you for the respect you accord me at all times. I will not take it for granted. I want to also thank you for carrying all of us along.
“Yes, I was pained in my heart when my people mocked me for the failure of the government I am serving to bring any development to my people. I was pained in my heart, but I never mentioned it to you because, apart from the fact that I don’t like nagging, I am very patient, and I know that you are aware that I am a very patient person. Some people think that I don’t have grassroots capacity, but I know very well that I have. People love me across the entire Rivers State, but I don’t make noise about it,” she blew her trumpet.
Asked the most amicable solution to the brewing cold war between the two office holders, the source suggested that “For the fact that she has proved over and over that she has no iota of regrets remaining very loyal to him, courtesy demands that Governor Fubara should treat her with the respect she deserves.
“Her demands are very simple and genuine. He should try to meet up with some of her statutory demands, like assigning a ministry to her to supervise, changing her official vehicles, and backing her all the way to have a voice over what is happening in her LGA.
“Whichever way we want to look at it, with the reputation the deputy governor has built over the years, the governor should understand that she is a very big asset he can use to rebrand his government and stabilise his political battle with his godfather, Wike,” our source suggested.
Credit: The Sun