A former Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Osita Chidoka, has likened the lingering Rivers State crisis to that which happened in Western Nigeria in 1962.

He noted that the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara’s unending rift with his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike shares a lot of similarities with the Action Group crisis.

Raising the alarm on Tuesday via his X handle, #osita_chidoka, the former minister insisted that lessons must be learnt from history to avoid unhealthy recurrence.

His tweet read, “Rivers State altercation: the parallel between Rivers State and Western Nigeria’s 1962 crisis is getting uncanny, almost spooky.

“I wrote months back about the similarity between the Action Group crisis and the unfolding Rivers altercation.

“In 1962, Dr Majekodunmi, sole administrator of the Western Region, set up the Coker Panel of Inquiry into the Affairs of certain parastatals.

“The panel found Awolowo guilty and exonerated Akintola. Rivers State panel of inquiry of the past eight years would indict someone and exonerate civil servants obeying lawful orders,” he said.

Fubara, on Monday, disclosed plans to set up a judicial panel of inquiry to investigate how the affairs of governance were conducted in the state before he assumed office.

Meanwhile, Chidoka, a former Minister of Aviation, said, “The Federal Government’s interference in the Rivers State crisis is needless, unnecessary, and can cause grave harm to constitutional government.”

Fubara, about two weeks ago, explained that the intervention of President Bola Tinubu in the crisis between him and his estranged political godfather, Wike, was political and not constitutional.

Drawing reference from a post he earlier made on December 20, 2023, on ‘Medium’ titled, “Rivers State Crisis: Lesson from 1962 Western Nigeria Crisis”, Chidoka gave a timeline of the AG crisis.

Backing his claims in the timeline, he wrote, “The sequence of events account was drawn from two opposing sources, one by Chief (Obafemi)Awolowo in his book, The Travails of Democracy and the other from Ayo Rosiji Man with Vision by Nina Mba.”

Summarily, the piece noted that in 1962, a political crisis erupted in Nigeria’s Western Region. Chief SL Akintola was removed as Premier, sparking chaos.

The Federal Government intervened, declaring a state of emergency.

This event marked the start of the First Republic’s downfall.

Chidoka criticises the unnecessary interference, urging adherence to due process to avoid future crises.

The former FRSC boss stated that history is available to help avert needless crises.

It was reported on December 19, 2023, that the political crisis in the state may have ceased as parties reached a truce.

This followed about three hours of talks at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, between Tinubu, Fubara; his Deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu; a former governor of the State, Peter Odili and Wike, and other stakeholders.

However, recent events have shown that this is far from reality.

Excerpts from Chidoka’s piece read,

“20 May 1962: Sixty-eight members of the Western Regional Assembly signed a No Confidence resolution on Chief SL Akintola as the Premier of the Western Region. They forwarded the resolution to the Governor of Western Region, Sir Adesoji Aderemi.

“21 May 1962: The Governor, Sir Aderemi, the Ooni of Ife, wrote to Chief SL Akintola and informed him of his removal from office as Premier of the Western Region. Chief Akintola called a press conference and announced his rejection of the removal. He also filed an action in court for injunction against his removal.

“The Action Group, in the exercise of their right as the majority party, elected Alhaji DS Adegbenro as the new Premier of the Western Region. He was sworn in and duly recognised by the Governor.

“23 May 1962: Chief SL Akintola broke into the Premier’s office, which was locked, and insisted he was still the Premier.

“The High Court at Ibadan heard Chief Akintola’s case and adjourned to 5 June 1962. The injunction was not granted.

“24 May 1962: In a rare act of interference and for different reasons, the Premiers of the Eastern and Northern Regions took public sides against Alhaji Adegbenro, thereby supporting Chief Akintola.

“25 May 1962: The Western Regional House convened for a confidence motion on Alhaji Adegbenro. A member of the Parliament stood up shouting there “is fire on the mountain” while another member took the mace and broke it. Pandemonium ensued.

“The House reconvened later in the day, and for some inexplicable reason, police fired teargas into the room and caused commotion. Prime Minister made a broadcast and announced a meeting of the Federal House on 29 May 1962.

“29 May 1962: The Federal House met, and the Prime Minister moved a motion to declare a State of Emergency in the Western Region, citing the absence of a duly constituted government as the reason. The Minister of Finance seconded. Chief Awolowo sought an amendment to the motion opposing the state of emergency. He was defeated.

“The Prime Minister’s motion passed with 209 in support and 36 against. The federal government declared a State of Emergency in the Western Region. Dr MA Majekodunmi was appointed Administrator of the region.

“The 29 May 1962 incident indeed marked the beginning of the end of the First Republic. Due to a lack of attention and record keeping, we made 29 May Democracy Day without considering that day’s event in 1962. That event gathered speed that led to the coup of January 1966, the counter-coup of July 1966, and the civil war.

“The Federal interference in the Western Regional House of Assembly crisis was needless, politically motivated, and unnecessary. Subsequent court judgment by the Privy Council in Adengbero and Akintola found that the Governor of Western Region’s removal of Chief Akintola was constitutional.

“Some patience and regard for due process would have allowed the issue to be resolved legally. That would have deepened our democracy and avoided the ugly consequences that followed,” he added. (The PUNCH)

Update news