OPINION

Amaechi ‘shun’ PDP Governors’ Forum?

By Odimegwu Onwumere

It is sad that in politics, when a politician shows uprightness to favour those he or she is with, many of them will show him or her outright unfaithfulness to favour somebody else. This behaviour has portrayed politicians, but most especially, those in our climes like lovers in January, who feign love, just for Valentine in February. The Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum (PDPGF) is just like this ‘January Lovers’ doing everything, but anyhow, just for attention.

From the forum’s propaganda mill, they have used the word “shun” instead of “absent” to chractersise Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s whispered noticeable missing in a meeting of Monday 11^th March that the forum held. Because Amaechi is the besieged Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) that the PDPGF has been fighting hard to pummel, propagandists added that Amaechi conspired with six other PDP governors not to attend the meeting of the PDPGF, chaired by the matchmaker-Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio.

On the other hand, Amaechi did not relent to reply those selling the unsalable story against him. He described them as mischief makers; although many Nigerians knew that that was an understatement to describe who the traducers are.

Giving his reasons why he could not make it to attend the meeting, Amaechi spoke through the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Ibim Semenitari thus:  “Governor Chibuike Amaechi arrived Abuja this morning after speaking at the Commonwealth Observance Day, held at the Westminster Abbey in London. He was in the United Kingdom to make Nigeria proud at the historic event. “Since 1973, Commonwealth Day has been marked on the second Monday in March by a unique multi-faith observance, where globally recognised persons, who are embodiments of the year’s theme spirit, are invited to deliver evidence-based testimonials.”

It can be deduced that the makers and checkers in the hackneyed PDPGF are doing everything unreasonably possible to divert attention from the real issue of mis-governance in the country by bringing Amaechi’s name in their blurred agenda. They did not want to know if Amaechi had other schedules before the narrow-minded meeting. But whether Nigerians will ignore this clichéd Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum or not which was formed to insult Amaechi, is up to them.

The in-thing is that the PDPGF is not good for Nigerians’ discussion because it was created to divert attention from the many issues at hand begging for answers. Okay. Must Amaechi be in every meeting assuming he was not outside the country as at the time of the tired PDPGF’s meeting? To be honest, what Amaechi went for is to further clean-up the battered image of the country of which the PDPGF is also a contributor.

It is only a forum like PDPGF that was formed in a hurry to betray Ameachi that would not want Amaechi to travel so that Nigeria will not have a way forward. Anybody saying that if truly that Amaechi was in London for the Commonwealth program, he should have sent his deputy to represent him, should also know that the name is Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum and not, Peoples Democratic Party Deputy Governors Forum.

Have Nigerians become so depressed and feeble human beings who are out of touch with reality because of politics? As if Mahatma Gandhi had Nigerians at heart, and he said: “Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”

In spite of this, Amaechi should be advised not to go wrong when anybody or group was going wrong. Amaechi should not apologize to anybody either. What Nigerians are waiting from the dismal Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum is Christian and Muslim Governors forums. Then again, Amaechi should take a clue from one Steve Maraboli this way: “People tend to be generous when sharing their nonsense, fear, and ignorance. And while they seem quite eager to feed you their negativity, please remember that sometimes the diet we need to be on is a spiritual and emotional one. Be cautious with what you feed your mind and soul. Fuel yourself with positivity and let that fuel propel you into positive action.”

And if anybody doubts his loyalty to the PDP, Amaechi should remind that person of what T.H. White wrote in the work, "Ghostly, Grim and Gruesome" thus: “Life is such unutterable hell, solely because it is sometimes beautiful. If we could only be miserable all the time, if there could be no such things as love or beauty or faith or hope, if I could be absolutely certain that my love would never be returned, how much more simple life would be. One could plod through the Siberian salt mines of existence without being bothered about happiness. Unfortunately happiness is there. There is always the chance (about eight hundred and fifty to one) that another heart will come to mine. I can't help hoping and keeping faith and loving beauty. Quite frequently I am not so miserable as it would be wise to be.”

Odimegwu Onwumere, Poet/Author, is the Coordinator, Concerned Non-Indigenes In Rivers State (CONIRIV).