A RECENT visit to Port Harcourt, Rivers state, was an eye opener. A vibrant bubbling city, massive road net work, all dead ends opened up and linked with the city. You can’t help but notice governance in action.

Projects going on everywhere; schools, hospitals, monorail and many more. All of these were achieved within the first four years tenure.

The people were happy and Amaechi’s profile had began to rise. In fact, Amaechi was a good poster boy amongst performing governors   like; Fashola, Akpabio, Oshiomhole and others.

One may want to ask therefore; if Amaechi has done so well, what then is the problem? Amaechi allowed his achievements and popularity to affect his ego, his political calculations and permutations became warped, he began to wear shoes that were far bigger than his size can fit. He became an arrow head for the northern/muslim opposition and he became distracted in the pursuit of his programmes.

This distraction is seriously affecting the fortunes of the state in his second coming. If he had remained in the PDP  like Alhajis  Sule Lamido and Babangida Aliyu of Jigawa and Niger states respectively did, he would have been assured of a vital role in the post 2015 affairs of the PDP wins the presidential election, but, as it is now, Amaechi appears to have lost it.

My big brother barrister Ballantyrne Ugege of Faith chambers, Warri likened it to the story of Moses  in the Bible; in spite of his good deeds in the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt, he could not get to the promised land because of one simple but fatal mistake.

Is Amaechi’s decision to collaborate with the people, planning to remove the presidency from his own South-south brother a wise one? Who stands to benefit from the whole brohaha? Is the interest of the Rivers state citizens factored in it? After all of his good works, what becomes of Amaechi? Will it be good for Amaechi to subsume the interest of the Rivers people, for his own political goals?

Will he succeed in taking the Rivers people, that are traditionally central, to the opposition? Will he be able to withstand the federal might? Is the country’s politics ready for his kind of revolution? Can he bear the title “traitor” to the South-south cause? Is the face-off with the federal government not affecting the smooth development programmes he is initiating in Rivers state? Are there no other ways he could fight his cause, without appearing to betray the South-south cause?

Some of Amaechi’s admirers have argued that, he is on the right path, someone must be able to stand up for principles, even at the risk of death. But, then I ask? Who is the principled one amongst the lot of our politicians? Where are the angels in the group that he has joined? Nuhu Ribadu, the hope of the people in the fight against corruption, has joined the PDP.

Jimmy Agbaje, a frontline progressive politician in Lagos has also, joined the PDP. People in the PDP are also switching camps- Adeleke, Oyinlola- to APC. So, where is the principle?

The principled one is the one who remains with his ideological bed fellows, expressing his position, whether those in authority likes it or not, like Lamido did. And, if you look at all of the governors of today, Lamido’s action has earned him a lot of respect and saved him from unnecessary embarrassment, like what has  happened to the likes of Murtala Nyako.

With Amaechi’s intelligence and political skills, one had assumed that he will be able to meander his way to a favourable position, as Dr.EmmanuelUduaghan of Delta state and Mr. Godswill Akpabio of Awka Ibom state  have done. In the beginning, through his link with Ibori, Uduaghan was not in the good books of Jonathan, but, through some deft political manoeuvring, he has been able to place himself at the fore front of PDP politics, nay the nation. It is only a bad politician that will deliberately work to fail. Some say, it is because of a woman. I will come to that later.

There is no way a state government can achieve  optimum performance without the support and co-operation of the Federal government in our Nigeria of today, unless, you want to subject the people to unnecessary sufferings. With all of the resources and might at the disposal of the Lagos state government, they were frustrated out of the independent power stuff under the Bola Tinubu administration. You can only make a lot of noise through propaganda and win but, you cannot win the war. Amaechi’s action has caused a lot of tension in Rivers state and so many have been sent to the grave needlessly.

Also, it is said that; when you cannot contain the battle at home, you will not be able to fight the larger, outside battle. The biggest opposition to Amaechi are from his own kith and kin Ikwerre and upland Rivers people; Nyesom Wike. Austin Opara, Chibudum Nwuche, Sekibo, Odili and many others in the camp of the Federal PDP. When you add the riverine people, who are Ijaw brothers to Jonathan, the forces arrayed against him is be very formidable.

The politics of Rivers state is that of betrayal and brothers killing brothers. Dr. Obi Wali and many Ikwerre top shots like Nsirim were killed by their own Ikwerre brothers. During the reign of Odili, Ada George who was Odili’s principal as  governor, was reduced to insignificance, his  voice was not heard throughout Odili’s tenure.

Enter Amaechi as governor, at a time Odili was afraid to step on Port Harcourt soil, that was how bad the strain was, in their relationship. Now, Wike, who was Amaechi’s Chief of staff, is the arrow head of those trying to contain Amaechi. So, in Rivers state politics, betrayal is normal, the people are used to it.

If Amaechi had remained alone, or, joined a party that is not as reactionary as the APC, the burden would have been lighter but he had dared to hold the tiger by the tail and whatever consequences arising from it will be his to take.

The argument that the President’s wife over stepped her bounds, therefore; Amaechi must fight on, is not water tight. In the interest of peace, harmony and progress for the Rivers people, Amaechi should have taken it easy. Who is that man who does not have the over bearing influence of a woman behind him? How many of those goading Amaechi, especially amongst his brother governors  will take the bull by the horn the way he  has done? How many ex -ACN governors, now in APC will dare to contradict Tinubu’s instructions? None. Which Nigerian first lady have, ever been taken for granted? Was it Victoria Gowon or Miriam Babangida, or Miriam Abacha or Turai Yar adua or even Stella Obasanjo, whose husband told the whole world that, he will not recognize the office of first lady, only to be mute when his wife took charge.

Why should people expect less from Patience Jonathan, when you consider the fact that she is not as lettered and exposed as the other ones. Destiny has placed power in the hands of her husband. Woe unto him who steps on the wrong side of a King’s wife. The saying “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” is true. Using it as an excuse to fight the President was a big mistake.

Will Amaechi win this battle come 2015? We wait and see .

Sunny Ikhioya, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.