By Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja.
Your Excellency, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria,
I write in my capacity as the lawyer for Mrs. Briggs, Ms. Toby and other women of Rivers State who are Conveners of the: “RED REVOLUTION OF RIVERS STATE (#BRING BACK GOVERNOR FUBARA).
As a prelude, let me put it on record that the said women have embarked upon these series of public protests and marches out of their own voluntary free will, without any financial inducement!!!
Let me provide a brief summary of the financial status of some of these Rivers State women conveners as follows:
One of them is the daughter of a former Deputy Governor of Rivers State, she previously served as a Commissioner and acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Therefore, both by virtue of her parental legacy and her own personal wealth, she is not the type that can be induced by financial means to undertake protests on the streets of Port Harcourt.
Another one of the conveners was the immediate past Chairperson of FIDA Rivers State chapter and has just returned from attendance of a gathering of international women lawyers that was held in an European country.
The other convener is the wife of an European citizen, she has the option of residing in her husband’s European country, but she has chosen to come home and join the “Red Revolution” of Rivers State women who are clamouring for the reinstatement of Governor Fubara.
Now to address the main issues.
The compelling reasons for you to reinstate Governor Fubara are as follows:
(1) FORGIVE HIM AS YOU FORGAVE DR. BOSUN TIJANI
Your Excellency, we urge you to give Governor Fubara a second chance just as you gave Dr. Bosun Tijani. Whatever “sins” that you allege that Governor Fubara has committed, please kindly forgive him.
You recently made a public statement to the effect that you personally intervened and asked the Senate to confirm the appointment of Dr. Bosun Tijani as Minister of Communications and Digital Economy because you wanted to give him a second chance and opportunity to serve his country. This is because the Senate was on the verge of rejecting his appointment on the grounds of his previous writings and criticisms of both the Senate and your good self.
(2) AS GOD FORGAVE YOU AND GAVE YOU A SECOND CHANCE AFTER AGBAKOBA AND FALANA DEFENDED YOU IN 1999.
You are a beneficiary of a second chance and you ought to pay it forward to Governor Fubara.
Without the intervention of Femi Falana SAN and Olisa Agbakoba SAN your tenure as Governor of Lagos State would have been cut short.
Recall that in the year October 1999, the duo of Femi Falana, SAN and Olisa Agbakoba SAN fought tooth and nail against the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN to ensure that you were not removed as Governor of Lagos State. There were all kinds of petitions and lawsuits against your good self bothering on perjury and forgery of Chicago State University certificate which you allegedly submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC);
(3) “IS THIS WHAT YOU LEFT ME FOR”? A DEMON (DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE) THAT YOU KNOW IS STILL FAR BETTER THAN THE DEVIL (NEW, & SOLE ADMINISTRATOR) THAT YOU CANNOT TRUST.
Using the metaphor of a devil and a demon, the demon that you know is better than the Devil that you do not know and cannot predict!!!
As you can attest by concrete verifiable empirical evidence, the previous democratic governance of Governor Fubara (which can be classified as a “demon”) has proved to be by far better than the governance by the Sole Administrator (and by extension Wike).
Since you are an accountant by profession, I urge you to understand a Cost-Benefit Analysis by yourself.
The Sole Administrator whom you appointed has completely failed in his PRIMARY assignment of restoring peace and security in Rivers State. In fact, his period of governance has witnessed two oil pipelines explosions which never occurred during the period of governance of Governor Fubara.
Also, the cost of governance has more than increased during the period of this Sole Administrator of Rivers State by his appointment of several new people as officials instead of his using the civil servants of Rivers State to administer.
More importantly, by virtue of Section 3 of the legislation (State of Emergency (Rivers State) Proclamation, 2025, that appointed the Sole Administrator, he has violated the said legislation by the numerous appointments that he has made without any express Regulations from your good self as expressly stated in the said legislation.
The previous political goodwill (and social capital) that you enjoyed in Rivers State is now completely depleted ever since you proclaimed a State of Emergency in Rivers State on 18th March 2025.
If any FREE AND FAIR presidential election is held in Rivers State as of today, and you are presented as one of the candidates, it is obvious that majority of indigenes of Rivers State would not be voting for your good self.
This is one of the unintended consequences that has arisen.
It is true that democratic governance under Governor Fubara was not 100% perfect, however based on the current experience, the alternative that you chose, which is governance by a Sole Administrator is by far worse than the governance under Governor Fubara.
The conveners, of the Rivers State Women calling for reinstatement of Governor Fubara (Red Revolution) have asked that I use an historical illustration to drive home the foregoing.
The conveners of the Rivers State Women calling for the reinstatement of Governor Fubara are collectively asking the question often asked by a jilted spouse or lover: ” *is this what you left me for”*
It is painful enough that you have suspended Governor Fubara and democratic governance, it is like adding salt to the injury that as an alternative you have selected a replacement that is not anywhere, not even 50% as effective and efficient as Governor Fubara who was able to increase the internally generated revenue (IGR) of Rivers State to over ₦200,000,000,000 (two hundred billion naira as at the time of his suspension.
At this juncture, permit me to make reference to the historical origins of the question: ” *is this what you left me for* “.
It was uttered during the fight between two historical characters named Paris, the Prince of Troy and Menelaus the King of Marcenia.
Both men were fighting a duel over Helen, the wife of Menelaus, who had recently eloped with the younger and more handsome, Paris, the Prince of Troy.
In the ensuing duel, Menelaus who had the upper hand, had beaten Paris into a pulp and while Paris was on the ground, Menelaus looked into the direction of Helen, his wife and asked the question: “is this what you left me for?”. You can watch the video clip from the 2004 movie, TROY, using this link: https://www.google.com/search?q=is+this+what+you+left+me+for+troy&oq=is+this+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqDggAEEUYJxg7GIAEGIoFMg4IABBFGCcYOxiABBiKBTIOCAEQRRgnGDsYgAQYigUyBggCEEUYOTIHCAMQLhiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIGCAYQRRg8MgYIBxBFGDwyBwgIEAAYgAQyBwgJEC4YgAQyBwgKEAAYgAQyBwgLEAAYgAQyBwgMEAAYgAQyBwgNEC4YgAQyBwgOEAAYgATSAQgxNTMxajBqNKgCAbACAQ&client=ms-android-transsion&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#vhid=zephyr:0&vssid=atritem-
Paris was a weakling, who had a reputation as a womaniser, seducing other people’s wives!!
“In the year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age, two emerging nations begin to clash. Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus, and sail with him back to Troy. After Menelaus finds out that his wife was taken by the Trojans, he asks his brother Agamemnom to help him get her back. Agamemnon sees this as an opportunity for power. So they set off with 1,000 ships holding 50,000 Greeks to Troy. With the help of Achilles, the Greeks are able to fight the never before defeated Trojans.”
(4) REMEMBERING THE ABA WOMENS RIOTS OF 1929.
Finally, Your Excellency, as you are a good student of history, we respectfully invite you to read between the lines that any revolution championed predominantly by women is worth paying attention to. This is because it is often said that “the voice of a woman is often the voice of God”!!!
Almighty God has endowed women with a higher dose of intuition than men. Using that intuition they are able to perceive many dangers even before a man is alert to it.
We urge you to read the history of the Aba womens riots of 1929. It was this series of public protests by Nigerian women based in Aba, and modern day Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State that finally caused the British Colonial Government to abolish both the taxation of market women and the warrant officers system.
Please kindly listen to the voices of the Rivers State women who are clamouring for the reinstatement of Governor Fubara.
Yours faithfully,
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja.
18th April 2025.
A story of courage, wonder, and the transformative power of self-belief; perfect for readers aged 10+ who love adventure. To place order: +234 806 130 3237 | +234 803 582 0870 OR Tap the link to grab a copy:https://www.zeekapublish.com/product/the-magical-life-of-anna
