Amaechi: The wailing canary– Femi Adeoti Column

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FEMI ADEOTI COLUMN

A canary has come home to roost. Reason it sings discordantly. Its
singsong is harsh and jarring. It’s everything but harmonious. Indeed,
this canary is wailing.
Seamlessly, without prompting, they’re confessing. They are vomiting
their dirty deeds. All the conspiracies perfected against us.
They converged dead in the night. In those unholy hours. And moved
violently against us. The wicked pacts they signed. They’re being
ripped open. Effortlessly too.
Those deadly deals. The awful bargains and covenants. All were done
against our common interest. Now they are coming to light. And to our
delight!
Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi perfectly fits this odd bill. He is the
immediate past Minister of Transportation. He also remains the
immediate past governor of Rivers State.
Time was when he was the toast of the town. He was in his best element
then. He was proudly the rave of that moment. Year 2019 was one of his
best times.
That was the hot build-up to the general election. He fought bloody.
He was made to taunt former President Goodluck Jonathan. He equally
hunted and haunted him. He did it to the best of his ability.
Pity! All that has changed for the worst. Amaechi is not finding it
comfortable. Nobody in his present shoes will. He’s not keeping quiet.
He won’t allow things lie low.
And he did shout. He did yell. He did sing. And he will continue to
cry, scream and even wail. That is the promise. He vowed to stick to
just that.
For all we know and care, a canary sings. And sings melodiously. This
distinct styling of canary is apt: “A mainly African seed-eating
songbird that typically has a stout bill and colourful plumage.”
Not so with Amaechi. His is a weird canary, a wailing type. Strange?
Yes, never seen anywhere else but Nigeria. That’s even stranger!
He was in deep distress. And he showcased it with uncommon anger.
Amaechi was disappointed. He was down and out. He told us of a queer
contest we never comprehended:
“What you are having in Rivers (State) is that APC (All Progressives
Congress) and other parties are contesting, not against PDP (Peoples
Democratic Party), but against INEC (Independent National Electoral
Commission), against police.” Curious than imagined!
More damning: “There is a total failure of governance in the country,
complete failure.” Amaechi was sure of his outburst. He laid bare his
“facts”:
“Police are helping PDP to arrest APC members and SDP (Social
Democratic Party) members. Gongs are being beaten about in communities
asking people who will not vote PDP not to come or they would be
beaten… nobody has spoken.”
Amaechi was restless in his approach. He went all out and ruthlessly
too: “INEC is a complete failure. There are those of us who opposed
the reappointment of Yakubu Mahmood (INEC chairman).
“The person who nominated him is a member of Tinubu’s camp. So, what
are you expecting?” He wondered aloud. We wonder with you too.
He promptly owned up. He stood by every word he uttered. He told
anybody whose ox was gored to go to blazes. He didn’t care a hoot.
They can as well drown in the marines. He held on firmly to his “hard
facts.” Ready to stoutly defend them.
As a matter of more facts, Amaechi threatened to vomit more. Some
never heard or known. He was reported: “Amaechi said he has served in
the current APC-led government and that he knows a lot of things more
than any other person. He said he is trying so hard not to let the
whole world know what has been going on in the APC-led government.”
He was shocked to the marrow. The crash of his APC in the governorship
election was monumental. He was amiss at the APC misfortunes in Rivers
State. The reason he sings in the awkward manner he sings.
Amaechi is weeping over spilt milk. But let’s overlook his wrong
timing. It’s better late than never. That is one beauty of democracy.
Let’s oblige the rare canary. We dare not abandon him. That won’t be
wise.
Honest. He needs all the encouragement he can possibly garner. Let’s
urge him on. The canary in him must not be quenched. He must not stop
singing. No matter how incongruous.
He should continue spilling the dirty beans unrestrained. We certainly
need more canaries like Amaechi. Notwithstanding belated. The more the
merrier. And the better for our collective survival.
He has more things up his sleeves. He must not be shut down. That will
be imprudent, ill-advised. Why? He has not talked yet. He has not even
started. He’s still booting.
Let’s oblige him more space. He needs it to perform optimally. Let us
hear him out. It is for us to listen. And listen attentively. Perhaps,
we’re getting somewhere, somehow.
He confessed he knew a lot. You can’t fault him. He has been deeply
involved. That we also know too well. He has seen it all these past
eight sordid years.
He has been a leading character in the tragic drama. Thanks heavens,
that’s heading to a speedy close. He can’t be denied that disgusting
privilege. He has a date with history.
That date is today, even now. Don’t stop the music. Wail on, Amaechi,
the wailing canary.

Where’s the bloody nose?
He blew hot. We thought he sincerely meant business. He threatened. He
vowed. He spit fire. We jumped for joy that we would get it right this
time around.
We goofed. At the end of the day, no nose was bloodied. Nobody was
bruised. It has been business at our usual bizarre way.
The thugs, the hoodlums still had a field day. Nothing changed. It was
the shame old story. From start to finish; from top to bottom.
It was a false hope. And we are dampened. We don’t find it palatable
at all. We can’t pretend about it any longer. Chief of Defence Staff
(CDS), General Lucky Irabor, really did us in. And we won’t forget him
in a hurry.
He raised our hopes to high heavens. We thought he meant serious
business. He told us the 2023 elections would be different. That it
would not take after any of its ugly predecessors.
He was emphatic on Monday, February 20, 2023. He spoke in Abuja: “By
and large, I would like to use this opportunity to assure Nigerians
that, on the security front, we are good to go on all fronts.”
He vowed not one single Nigerian would be disfranchised: “I do not
need to tell you how we would do it. All I am telling you is that we
will do it. Everyone will have the liberty to exercise their
franchise.”
We were excited. A new sheriff was in town. He even brightened our
hope the more: “And for those planning to scuttle the smooth electoral
process. They better have a rethink because they will have a bloody
nose.”
We jumped for joy. But when the dust settled. We got the exact
opposite of what Irabor promised. Chief Observer of European Union
Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Nigeria, Barry Andrews,
testified. He gave an incriminating verdict on Monday, March 20, 2023.
Very damaging in all departments: “On election day, multiple incidents
of thuggery and intimidation interrupted polling in various locations,
primarily across the South, but also in states in the central and
northern areas.
“There were reportedly some 21 fatalities (deaths). In polling units
in several states, violent incidents targeted voters, INEC personnel,
citizen observers and journalists.”
What other proof? Irabor failed us. And woefully too. SAD! Pray, these
highly contentious polls will not come our way again.
Pray, they won’t be a common decimal under President-elect Bola Ahmed
Tinubu. Pray, he won’t supervise a remote resemblance of these hugely
controversial elections.
If wishes were horses…