Ahead of the April 11, 2015 gubernatorial poll, the Chairman of Founding Fathers Foundation Rivers State, Chief A.K Horsfall has pleaded with the people of the state to be focused in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
He said now that the presidential election is over and Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan conceded defeat, there is need for Rivers people to wear their thinking cap and ponder carefully and correctly and come up with a well considered position.
Chief Horsfall, the Sekuro of Kalabari kingdom made this known in a letter he sent to the people of the state. The letter entitled, “A solemn message to the Rivers People”. Below is the full content of the letter:
My dear Rivers people Kings, Traditional Rulers, Chiefs, Men, Women, Boys and Girls:
I greet you in God’s name and from the bottom of my heart with sincere love especially in this Easter season. You have heard from me rather frequently since the second half of 2014 and I had continued to speak to you even lately on my personal behalf and on behalf of the Rivers Elders and Leadership Council (RELEC) as its Chairman today. I speak to you as one of your own who saw and participated along with other prominent sons of yours in the foundation of this state, our Rivers State. Many of the illustrious sons and daughters who participated in the struggle to have this state created in 1967 have gone to the great beyond. May their souls continue to rest in God almighty’s bosom; but there are still a few of us around. I don’t wish to write a long address so I will not try to list them.
But when I see the likes of Professor Otonti Nduka, Dr. M.T. Akobo, my mind leaps for joy and I salute them for their collective courage and those our ancestors over one hundred years ago for their long and dedicated struggles resulted in the realization of our collective dream for the creation of Rivers State in 1967. I take the liberty of addressing this message to you not only because l myself in those days, as a young officer participated in these struggles from the ‘belly of Government’ where I was a messenger from my vintage position, a participator, activist, etc. Furthermore I confirm again, my blood and close kinship and relationship with almost all parts of the state; mainland and riverine which accords me another privilege to speak out at times like this. With this brief introduction, I now speak:
a successful but partly rigged election for Governorship had been conducted in 1998, and a stable Administration had emerged after that election in I 999. The sailing was OK, and there was a peaceful and trouble-free conduct of affairs throughout 1999 and most of year 2000.
But from 2001 killer gangs were organized by top politicians in the State Government, first under a serving police officer to hunt down and kill imagined opponents. Later, during the same periods radical youths were armed and funded by the same politicians to kill, destroy public assets and terrorize the people of this state. Some of the radical youths who were involved in these escapades were genuinely protesting against injustices done to the Niger Delta Government for failing to develop the region where the bulk of the national revenue comes from, but a number of other criminal and self-seeking elements infiltrated the resultant anarchy and killed hundreds of innocent ordinary men and women to settle personal scores and to serve their purely criminal motives, Brothers and sisters, we all know that the evil seeds sown by these wicked political leaders is still lingering on and causing the political, economic and social problems of Rivers State, even till this day! During those days in 2002, I issued the now famous statement which I serialized in the media captioned — “STOP THIS MADNESS”.
Happily the Federal Government of Umaru Yar’Adua amnestied these militant groups who soon changed and settled down to normal life! Following Yar’adua’s amnesty, the situation remained reasonably settled with all concerned going about their normal life until the process of the recent general elections and the campaigns which flowed from it commenced. In order to pursue their campaign these militia leadership and their followership who had largely resumed normal life were, once again, being encouraged to resurrect and support respective political groups, by some of the same politicians who want to return to power through the back door. That is the struggle going on at present in the state. But you my dear Rivers People, with your votes you can stop the resumption of killing and treasury looting in our dear state. YOU MUST STOP THEM!
Indeed some of the leaders of these militias having resumed normal life are rumored to have contested the last elections and even won seats in the State Assembly. They appear prepared to resume and settle down to normal life and should be encouraged to do so.
Now the General Election: The presidential election has been contested and won! It’s over and gone! The president
has conceded defeat honourably and the whole world has hailed him! Now we must consider the following carefully. We must
wear our thinking cap and ponder carefully and correctly; frankly ours is a difficult choice but we must come up with a well considered position and articulate our choice correctly!
- President Goodluck, our son has already conceded defeat at the presidential election and has been rightly hailed for his un-precedented gesture for which the whole country and the world has hailed him! Should we, as his kinsmen not follow his gesture?
- Do we need another all-powerful authoritative Governor who will drive this state as his personal estate, that we shall all have to look up to for existence and survival? Such as we have had in the past? Shall the Governor of this state not be held accountable to us the citizens? Shall we not urge our youths to drop the gun; provide them massive employment and continuous skills training to prepare them to take up skilled and unskilled jobs. We can and should achieve this necessary objective if the state Administration modifies some of its
prestige projects and places sufficient money in job creation.
- Has it or has it not been the tradition in this State that we do not allocate the principal offices of the State Authority, e.g. Governor, Federal Minister, Chief Judge to persons from the same ethnic community? That is what would likely happen if you vote in another lkwerre, as Governor of the State. Governor Rotimi Amaechi is very likely to bag a major job at the Federal Level, and we strongly appeal to the President Elect to give him a very important job at the center, such that would reward us and enable us share the benefit of the Federal Largesse which we richly deserve but has eluded us in the past six years.
- We must not goad or encourage our youths to project or be involved in more acts of lawlessness, violence or defiance by making them believe that what we have lost and could not do for ourselves in six years when we were in power and authority we could now achieve in a month or a year. What we need now is to make friends and negotiate from our position of strength with our natural wealth and talent to back our position to get the most out of the country, which we deserve, and work harder to ensure that one of our sons or daughters would in the near future aspire to the presidency, now that the north has shown that zoning should be thrown overboard! We, along with our other brothers of the Niger Delta should seriously bargain to receive the 21% derivation which eluded us at the National Conference.
- Consequently, whereas others have been improving in the act and practice of democracy, we are left behind and are now behaving as though, we who saw civilization before other parts of Nigeria are newcomers to civilization, justice and fairness.
- We must ignore any one or group who tries to instigate us to violence with the erroneous impression that what we could not do when we were in authority and power for six years we could do now if we remained in power another day or year!
- Is it not sad and disgraceful that since
1999 when civilian democracy returned to this country, this State has never had a proper democratic election where-as other states have all tried, successfully and started to do so? For us it has been the same practice of carry go’; stuffing of ballot boxes; intimidation and violence, and writing false results, after illegal thumb printing of ballot papers and so on and so forth
- We are pre-dominantly christians in this state and we must not allow religious politics or politicking to grow in the State. Christ and Christianity is our chosen and cherished belief; nothing must be done to subvert or undermine our own way of life. The rights, traditions and culture of our people must be respected and recognized.
Dear Rivers People, can we once, again remain in opposition to the Federal Government and see our people continuously deprived in a land where we have made so much contribution and sacrifice? That’s what we get when we vote a PDP candidate for Governor! So think again, my dear Rivers people! I Albert Korubo Horsfall do not and have not belonged to any political party since I turned sixty five (65) years of age in 2006.
And I publicly declared so in the media. I have therefore remained neutral. Only now that the interest of the state is concerned I am making these detailed explanations for the benefit of all concerned, before we sleep-walk into another avoidable catastrophe!
- Therefore while advocating his party’s progressive political doctrinaire DAKUKU PETERSIDE should declare himself as that Riverine candidate that RELEC had demanded from the major
political parties having announced
to us the elders as coming from the Ibani side of the lbani/Opobo ethnic nationality
of Rivers State.
- Therefore it is the considered directives and advice of the RELEC elders that all RIVER PEOPLE should vote DAKUKU PETERSIDE for GOVERNOR. And accordingly urge PETERSIDE and all other Riverine candidates to enter into immediate consultations to collaborate in order to avoid splitting the votes for single RIVERINE Candidates. ####
