ABUJA—Former Federal Commissioner for Information and South South Leader Chief Edwin Clark has asked that Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), remains concentrated on his duties in the nation’s capital and forget Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the people of the state alone. He said, Wike has a lot of work ahead of him and the people of Rivers should be the least of his worries.
Chief Clark who is an elder statesman made this claim while being interviewed by the African Independent Television (AIT) on Tuesday, he also charged Rotimi Amaechi, who is a former governor of Rivers State, and his successor with being the architects of what he referred to as the state’s “mad politics.”
The head of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, or PANDEF, said that he has never been to Fubara and is unable to determine his skin tone. He claimed that his only objective is to fight injustice and oppression and that idea of godfatherism must be put to a halt in the nation’s politics and political practices.
the AIT interviewed Clark for a documentary on his life and accomplishments as he recently marked his 79th birthday.
The Leader of the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum, SMBLF, was questioned about why actions were not put in place to reach a settlement between Wike and Fubara had not been initiated. Clark stated that the issue being played out is egocentricism, or the idea that one should worship the other because they helped each other to be in the governorship position of the state and the other refusing to such, with the principle that God should only be worshiped instead of man, even though both men agreed that the previous governor, Amaechi, made them the governor.
Clark stated that, ” Who made you Governor of Rivers States, today you don’t want to see the man? He wrote about Peter Odili but later now he said that if he does anything against Odili, God should kill him. Then, Amaechi made him Chief of Staff. When he quarreled with him, Ameachi now recommended him to be appointed Minister, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo agreed.
“But what happened? One day, we had the approval of the presidency to tell the security people as he got five members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, I have their names here, to impeach the speaker, one Otelemaba Amachreee. Then to later impeach, the governor, Rotimi Ameachi. There was a free-for-all fight. The mace was broken. One of the members called Chidi, not somebody with a part of the mace. That man had to be flown abroad for treatment. Amaechi then closed the House of Assembly for one year. So that’s Wike’s work.
“Politics of madness in Rivers State was started by Wike and Ameachi. They don’t care about other people. So, there is no way, Wike should stay, remain in Abuja to do his job. Let the young man rule his place.
“What are you going to settle them for? Where they quarreling. What are you settling them for? People said Wike made Fubara governor, yes, that is true. The man has acknowledged it. But he says, I can’t worship a human being that I will worship God to show appreciation. But Wike said that worship God through me. The man said no. That is the problem they have.”
When asked of his opinion on the members of PDP who left the party to join the APC He said, “So, in my opinion, it will go away. This is connected to what you mentioned regarding INEC. INEC is not carrying out its duties. The constitution is unambiguous. The INEC Secretariat has a legal advisor.
“When such vacancies are created like this, they have to take action to conduct election within 90 days to fill those vacant places, which they have not done. These are some of their failings.”
In response to the question of what he wants his legacy to be, the statesman stated that he wished to be remembered as a leading Nigerian who supported equity in Nigeria and felt that no one in the country should be seen as superior or inferior to another. Clark also asked for forgiveness from those he had wronged during his previous visit.
He said “It must come from a home to be a Nigerian. So, as far as I remember, number one, I am one of the oldest states men in Nigeria. I was very happy when His Majesty, the Ooni of Ife, during my book launch, Brutally Frank asked everybody to stand up, with General Yakubu Gowon, former President Goodluck Jonathan, among others were all there. He said, everybody should stand up. The Ooni said that Chief Clark is our Baba, he is our nationalist, a national figure. So, what honour do would be more than that ? So, I want to be remembered for the role I played in Nigeria, and an appeal to those that during these 70 something years of my service to my country, those that I do not know that I have offended, to forgive me.
“But I want to be remembered to be a foremost Nigerian who believed in Nigeria, who believed in equality in this country, who believed that no one in Nigeria should be regarded as a superior person against the other. Everybody should be equal.
“That is the Nigerian I want to be remembered for that. I contributed to that, which I did, because during the civil war, all the teachers and other workers from the South West or South East, South-South, left the North. There were no teachers, there were nobody. I was then the Commissioner for Education, i was appointed by Bridgadier General Samuel Ogbemudia, we supplied Kano State, 250 teachers, free of charge, they don’t pay out. Audu Bako was the governor; . They got integrated in Kano.
“We gave North West, Sokoto the headquarters, 200 teachers; when Alhaji Shehu Shagari was Commissioner for Education in Sokoto, North Western State. They didn’t treat them well, then the people returned home.
“We gave science teachers to the rest of the states. We had exchange of students, with North East, in Maiduguri.
“And the other day, during the COVID-19, I got a call that the Minister of Education Adamu Adamu was coming to visit me. So he came. And he sat down somewhere, because of the COVID. Then he was saying, have you forgotten your pension? He said exchange of students? I said, yes, yes, I remember. One of my daughters said, he was one of those who finished up in Government College in Maiduguri.
“He said, yes, myself, I was sent to Edo College, where I did my HSC. And he used to come and talk to us. I said, come and sit by me. That’s all I wanted.
“When the war was over, Gen. Yakubu Gowon said, I don’t need any congratulations, that there was no victor, no vanquished because it was a family war. Go and help them to reintegrate, to reconcile and we have a station, which we did. My eldest daughter, Rebecca, was in Class 2 in St. Theresa School Ughelli. I removed her from Ughelli and took her to Enugu to go and study with them and see and suffer with them, supplied them desk. Government supplied Queen’s School, Enugu, Okanagan Grammar School, Enugu, with furnished teacher’s quarters in Nsukka, 10.
“So what am I saying? I’ve been in Nigeria. And I challenge anybody who says, Chief Clark was such and such, no way.
“I kicked against corruption because I know it’s one of those things eating Nigeria. I will be remembered for my role in education. When I was 85, I asked myself, what do I do?I must leave a legacy behind.
Shouting on top of my voice is not enough. I said I want to establish a private University where children from all over the country will come to my village, live together, study together, and grow up together to be good citizens of their country and already, that is happening.”
