Rivers crisis: a litmus test for LG autonomy

Nigeria’s fitful attempts to clean up its politics continue to suffer seismic setbacks in Rivers State where bitter politics of succession is combined with the desperation of politicians to pollute the environment.

The flames that licked up some local government secretariats in Rivers State only flared up on  October 7, 2024. Still, their provenance lay in the past, in the bitter rivalry between Nyesom Wike, former governor of the state and current minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and Siminalayi Fubara, his successor and the incumbent governor of the state.

The recent judgment of the Supreme Court on autonomy for local government areas has turned local governments in the state into charged battlegrounds for the former governor and their successor, with their supporters at each other’s throats.

What is clear is that the fiery chaos in Rivers State is the handiwork of politicians who place personal interests above principles of state policy, and the public, defying and denying what may burn in the process. This translates invariably to Nigeria’s fragile commitment to the rule of law. They must be forced to leash their rabid dogs. It is as simple as that. The Nigerian state cannot be forced to wait on them or for them to do the needful, as no state can afford to perform its statutory duties in fear and chaos.
Therefore, those responsible for the arson must be prosecuted and incarcerated. There should be no stone unturned to bring them to book. As for those young people who continue to allow themselves to be used as tools by desperate politicians, the time for common sense is now. Why burn public buildings when it will only let thieving politicians dip even deeper into the public till? Why the descent into violence when the parties at loggerheads don’t care about them? Folly has been bolstered by indifference in the country for many years, it is now proving fatal.

Politicians in the country must do more to clean up their politics and de-escalate the tension across the country No one’s grievance should become projectiles raining down on public buildings, or flames burning them down.
Unfortunately, the question arises.  What is the governor doing conducting elections in defiance of valid court orders? As the chief law officer of the state, he should be seen complying with the law embodied in court decisions at all times rather than pulling out a bag of tricks and manoeuvres to undermine the rule of law. Shockingly, he also subverts his responsibility to uphold the same law.
At inauguration, every governor in Nigeria pledges allegiance to the constitution which is the same law that establishes courts. But like most Nigerian presidents, these governors then go on to devise crafty ways to circumvent the constitution and all those who enforce it. As expected, this does incalculable harm to the rule of law in Nigeria.

Crucially, Nigeria must look for new ways to entrench the rule of law and embolden its presence across the landscape.  This can only be achieved when it is enforced beyond what is on paper and the lips of extremely unreliable politicians.

The unfortunate situation in Rivers State ominously foreshadows what is to come in many states across the country. For many years, local governments in Nigeria operated only at the whims of state governors with no form of autonomy, financial or otherwise. The state of many rural areas across the country exposes the neglect in those areas despite being in the jurisdiction of the closest tier of government.  The LGAs have failed to function properly for decades. Indeed, the Supreme Court judgment can change this unpalatable situation. However, it can only suffice if the forces holding Nigeria to ransom allow or are forced to relinquish their hold.

While Nigerians wait for the holy grail of political reforms, those in the rural areas must recognise the historic opportunity offered by the Supreme Court decision on financial autonomy for local governments. They must now play their part if the LGAs are to wriggle free from the suffocating grasp of state governors.