I have just picked up my phone after breaking my fast to find multiple missed calls and countless messages about an alarming development: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reportedly declared a state of emergency in Rivers State.
If this is true, then I must ask: Who advised the President to take this course of action? Whoever it is, they are certainly not a friend of his administration, nor do they have the best interests of Nigeria at heart.
How could the President willingly walk into a raging inferno with his eyes wide open? No, no, no… this must be the work of fifth columnists. The Tinubu I once knew would not have made such a reckless and unnecessary decision.
To what end? This is a simple political dispute that requires a simple solution. Call the two gladiators, sit them down, and read them the riot act. One of them, after all, is your own appointee. What will it benefit you, Mr. President, to keep Wike and lose the Nigerian economy?
The Dangerous Economic Implications of This Decision
Does the President realize that the Niger Delta crisis twice pushed Nigeria into recession under President Muhammadu Buhari.
Has he been informed that at one point, Nigeria’s oil production collapsed to below 400,000 barrels per day, down from 2.5 million barrels per day? That catastrophic drop in production was a direct result of political mismanagement and conflict in the region.
It took years of painstaking effort and immense risks to stabilize the region, stop the sabotage of oil infrastructure, and restore some level of production. I should know—I was part of that difficult and excruciating process.
This decision threatens to undo all that progress.
If the situation escalates, we risk another shutdown of vital oil production facilities. We risk renewed pipeline sabotage, illegal oil bunkering, and militant activities. We risk another economic nosedive—at a time when Nigeria can least afford it.
The global oil market is unforgiving. Investors do not wait for internal political conflicts to be resolved. They simply take their capital elsewhere.
Mr. President, this is not just about Rivers State. It is about Nigeria’s economic survival.
And What About the Soldiers Fighting to Keep Nigeria Safe?
While we waste energy escalating political battles in Rivers State, thousands of Nigerian soldiers are still fighting for their lives—and for the nation’s survival—against insurgents, bandits, and kidnappers in the North East, North West, and North Central.
These are the real emergencies. These are the crises that demand decisive leadership.
The men and women of our armed forces are stretched thin, battling terrorists and criminal networks daily. They do not need yet another crisis to divert resources and attention.
Nigeria cannot afford to be fighting on multiple fronts—politically, economically, and militarily. Mr. President, do not open a new war front in Rivers State while real wars are still raging elsewhere.
This Is Not the Way to Manage This Crisis, Mr. President
This portends disaster—for your administration, for the economy, and for the nation.
A state of emergency is not a strategy—it is an admission of failure. There are far more effective, far less destructive ways to handle this situation.
I urge you, Mr. President, to rethink this decision before irreparable damage is done.
Sen. Babafemi Ojudu, CON