As Nigerians and indeed the good people of Rivers prepare to bid the year farewell, it is expected that all the political luggages of emotions and realities in respect of the Rivers crisis and the controversial 8- point Resolution be left for 2023 and the parties enter 2024 with a renewed peace and harmony. The Rivers State political conflagration has temporarily come and gone with both parties as either a victor or the vanquished.

The 8-point resolution has been a subject of legal, political and social interpretations with each camp imputing a finality on their resolve to either make it work or mar it. For example, the resurrected ethnic bent the political crisis has assumed, has further polarised the Ikwerre-Ijaw dichotomy which seems to have been rested and redressed with the election of Governor Siminaliyi Fugbara an Ijaw son. Former Governor Wike quarrelled and lost some of his political allies when he insisted that power must rotate to the Ijaws for fairness and equity. Rt. Hon. Austin Opara, a former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives between 2003-2007 and many others had vigorously supported Wike while warming up to takeover from him in 2023. But the tough talking Wike made it clear to all and sundry that nobody should declare his Governorship ambition until he gives approval. This led to a crack in the political family of PDP in Rivers State but Wike insisted and threw up Governor Siminaliyi and went on to deliver him at the polls. So what went wrong between a “father and son” so soon in the day that they could not nip in the bud ?

Let me not bore you with the claims, counter-claims and opinions expressed by all the interest groups which I believe has been exhaustively dealt with in parts 1, 2 and 3 of the RIVERS OF KARMA. This EPILOGUE will therefore deal with the inherent and fundamental dangers and consequences of a failed implementation of the resolutions. As a professional in politics and chartered politician, I crave your indulgence to reason and reflect on my thoughts and overview contained herein.

The many interest groups from both divide are bent on maintaining their strong convictions for either implementation or non-implementation of the resolutions. The G-27 defected lawmakers who insist that the resolutions must be implemented had last week gone ahead with its own implementation by withdrawing the impeachment proceedings against the Governor before adjourning for plenary. The Governor has equally directed a committee to work out the modalities for the implementation of, or some of the resolutions.

As we await the final decisions from both camps before the new year, it is my prayer that reason, empathy and sacrifices should prevail. Both camps must look beyond that 8-point resolution which was not really a consensus and in the words of street men a “follow come” resolution, and think RIVERS. Both parties should sit down again without third parties and cross the T’s and dot the I’s of that resolution and come up with a clean and mutually acceptable agreement if not, both camps, the State and the good people of Rivers State SHALL suffer irreparable losses and damages going forward.

Firstly, the Wike camp will be completely ostracised from government participation for the next 40 months if the Supreme Court affirms the judgement of the Court of Appeal making way for Governor Siminaliyi to govern Rivers State with his camp completely incharge. This will further polarise the politics of Rivers State and retard her rapid and robust contributory development of a united and happy family. The said “structure”would have been totally weakened, vulnerable and gullible in the end.

On the other hand, if by providence or any peradventure the Supreme Court decides otherwise it will be a total loss to the Governor’s camp with a brand new government in place under another party. The APC governorship candidate in the last election Tonye Patrick Cole as Wike’s fellow ‘party’ man NOW will be favoured by the dynamics.

Delicately, not shelving the avoidable ego and greed inherent in the 8-point Resolution will be a catch 2/2 risk for both camps. I therefore, sue for PEACE AND SACRIFICES from both camps in the spirit of Christmas.

So Legally speaking, the solution of this political conflict will not lie on my postulations in my RIVERS OF KARMA and or the law suit instituted by the Rivers Elders, the resolution backing the Governor by the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers led by their Chairman HRM Sergeant Awutse, the recent combined protests by NLC, the Civil Society groups, Civil Servants, Ijaw youths at government house and even the numerous social media commentaries by public opinion analysts such as Dele Mamoudu and by the very vocal and 96-year old Chief Edwin Clerk after the former Governor spoke at a church service in Port-Harcourt.

I make bold to submit that the final solution which will either politically kill any of the camps is the impending banana peels of the Supreme Court judgement expected any moment from now. We should bear in mind that the Supreme Court judges are also members of the society and are all witnesses to the developing stories in this matter, and apart from evidences before them, they also consider overriding public interest while arriving at their verdict. The system’s influence has been, and will remain a major but dangerous dimensional factor in the final resolution of this matter and only the legends know.

Therefore, the Supreme Court option to resolve this matter by any of the camps is most frightening and should not be taken for granted by both camps particularly the Governor’s camp because like Kano, Rivers is a cash cow. A Stich in time saves nine.

Willie Amadi, a lawyer and environmentalist writes from Owerri.