The risky situation of Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the All Progressives Congress, APC governorship candidate in Rivers State was brought to attention last Tuesday on national television when gunmen attacked his campaign rally in Okirika, Rivers State. As the crowd scampered for safety amid unrelenting gunshots, Dr. Peterside stood almost alone on the podium, his flesh and bones seemingly mocking the bestial instincts of the hoodlums.
Dr. Peterside is determined to sustain the legacies of Governor Chibuike Amaechi, the man that has steered Rivers State in the last seven years through landmark infrastructural developments, but who has lately instigated a redirection of the political bearing of the state.
Dr. Peterside, presently chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Downstream Petroleum was in Lagos last weekend for an interactive session with the media. He spoke on the challenges of the campaign, the emerging culture of violence and his determination to sustain some of the policies and programmes of the present administration. He showed himself to be a man of character, content and capacity. Excerpts:
By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor
You have claimed that Nyesom Wike is your friend. Are you thus surprised by the allegations of violence attributed to him and his party in your state?
Yes, but there are many friends you have you cannot predict what they can do!
How are you sure you will get the security agencies to implement the plans you have outlined to protect the citizens of Rivers State?
Everything you deal with in life depends on season and context. For those of us who are Christians, the book of Ecclesiastes says that there is time for everything. I know that if I get there, the contexts will be different, the factors at play will be different and I am optimistic that I will get all the cooperation I need to implement my security programme. Rivers State will be peaceful again, safe and secure again.
Are you optimistic that the votes will count?
I am optimistic the votes will count. Rivers people are optimistic to install the government that they deserve. They won’t be intimidated by anybody, they won’t be harassed by anybody, they won’t submit to all that threat and intimidation. It is a matter of time and we will rise to the occasion. We will cast our votes, we will defend our votes and we will ensure that our votes count. I am very optimistic and I am very convinced.
Security agencies
Chief Dakuku Peterside, APC governorship candidate for Rivers State.
Chief Dakuku Peterside, APC governorship candidate for Rivers State.
I am also optimistic that we will get the cooperation of security agencies and will continue to spotlight what is going on in Rivers State and will attract the attention of the nation and the international community. It is not optional, because if votes don’t count in Rivers State, there is no guarantee that it will count elsewhere in the country.
Today, we might isolate what is going on in Rivers State and say this is Rivers. If this trend of violence in Rivers continue, people in other areas may be emboldened and the whole country will turn into crisis if we don’t tackle what is going on in Rivers.
So, we must all work concertedly to ensure that we stem the tide of political violence in Rivers, it is in our collective interest and I am sure that Nigerians are listening.
What is your fallback option?
I have no fallback option than to work with other stakeholders to ensure that the elections in Rivers State are free and fair. Till now, nobody has found a better form of government than democracy. Democracy is our only option and we need to make sacrifices to make it work and I know that Nigerians yearn for democracy.
Will you follow the pattern of Ekiti in petitioning the National Human Rights Commission over the spate of violence?
The situation in Ekiti is not as bad as it is in Rivers. Ours is worse than Ekiti and it is degenerating daily. We have done a few petitions to the National Human Rights Commission and we will continue to petition, hoping that somebody, sometime will give attention to our cry in Rivers.
Arresting the situation
So, it is not about following the Ekiti example and we will continue to act within the ambits of the law; we will not go outside the law to arrest the situation.
The alternative is to have a lawless state and that is anarchy; that is not the option in any civilised society. We are civilised men and women and will not resort to self help.
You have repeatedly stated you would continue with the policies of the present administration. To what extent?
Governor Amaechi has laid very good foundations for the state and we will continue with the things he has started, but that does not mean that we will adopt all his policies and programmes.
No two governments can be the same just as no two individuals can be the same even if they are Siamese twins. We will progress based on contexts and challenges that we confront, but if we are going to continue with most of his programmes, the answer is yes.
Would you continue with Amaechi’s policy of giving the model schools to Indians to manage?
The teachers are being retrained as you are aware and the retraining is for a maximum of one year, some in Oxford University and other UK based universities and some in Nigerian universities under a phased programme and after some time you wont have Indians run the system again because we would have improved the capacity of our people so that we can get world class education.
We shouldn’t compromise our standards because we are scared of what people will say, a leader shows the people the way and not the people showing the leader the way.
How are you sure that you will win the election on April 11?
I am not a man who will waste my time on things that are not viable. I can feel the pulse of Rivers people, I know what the issues are and I
