Rivers 2027: Seeing The End From The Beginning

As a writer, I hear voices and see things that the ordinary person cannot hear or see.  

This is what I see for 2027. 

I see hope. But it is not the "renewed hope" of President Bola Tinubu. The hope I see is that after the 2027 elections, the 'winners' will stage a huge victory rally inside a stadium. They will mobilise hundreds of thousands of people from all over Rivers State and beyond. Women, men and youths. Market women and artisans. Okada and Keke riders. Musicians and dancers. Dignitaries, Pastors and Imams. The stadium will be filled beyond capacity. 

At the peak of the rally, when the 'victorious' politicians are singing, dancing and making big speeches on the podium, the crowd will suddenly go berserk, utterly violent. They will pounce on the politicians and beat them up mercilessly. They will force a hundred rally t-shirts down the neck of the leader of the politicians and make him dance his usual dance. Yes! The crowd will batter the politicians who brought them to the stadium. 

They will be very angry that despite the sufferings of Rivers people since 2023, the same politicians who made the state ungovernable have all schemed their way back to power.

The crowd will be enraged that these same politicians with their leader created so much political crisis and caused so much misery in the last four years.

The mammoth crowd will be extremely incensed that among the politicians in the stadium, are lawmakers who ignored the feelings of their constituents in the protracted impeachment blackmail against Governor Fubara. 

They will be extremely vexed that among the politicians, are local government chairmen and the so-called stakeholders, who share hundreds of millions of council monthly allocations into their private pockets. 

The crowd will be livid that President Tinubu handed over Rivers State to the same politicians who have converted the state into their private estate since 2015. The people will be mad that Tinubu prioritised the interest of one man over millions of Rivers people and deployed federal might to ensure it. 

They will be pained that President Tinubu cunningly disarmed Governor Fubara with his presidential interventions and gave him false hope of a second term in the APC. This deceived the governor and distracted him from seeking an alternative platform, early enough for the 2027 election. 

They will be furious with Governor Fubara. They will be angry that he could not take his destiny into his own hands, that he was not man enough. That he betrayed the organic support of the people by seeking a soft landing for himself alone. They will be very infuriated that Governor Fubara chickened out and abandoned the people midstream. 

The people will be frustrated and very angry that as usual, the warlords and militants supported these politicians to terrorise, intimidate and steal votes during the election. Soon, these warlords will be rewarded with big titles and riches, leaving the people in poverty while they dance and sing on social media. 

The crowd will be extremely disappointed that the civil society groups in Rivers State did not mobilise Rivers people behind an alternate candidate. They did not mobilise the people to come out massively to vote and protect their votes. Soon, they will be on every TV and radio station prescribing medicine after death. 

The anger will be so overwhelming. The crowd will trace the politicians to churches during the usual thanksgiving after a "successful" election and give them the beating of their lives, those who escaped from the stadium. The crowd will be angry at the pastors and declare them complicit. 

Yes, the hope I see in 2027 is that Rivers people, having been deprived, deceived, betrayed and denied the right to have the governor of their choice, will confront their oppressors head-on. 

I see hope in 2027, but it is not the "renewed hope" of Bola Tinubu. I see Rivers people rising up and taking their destiny into their own hands. I see them saying an emphatic NO to any attempt to repeat the agonies of the last four years. 

You can call it an uprising or whatever you like. 

As a writer, I do not canvass anarchy, I foresee it. But like any prophecy, this can also be averted if only we do what is right. 

Written by Sotonye Ijuye-Dagogo from Port Harcourt 

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