Abraham Ogbodo
There are a few idiomatic expressions around the Catholic Church and the Pope. And that is because the Catholic institutions have endured long enough to be part of global folklores. For instance, when cause and reaction are disproportional, there is a description for it that touches on Catholicism and the Pontiff. This is when the man or woman involved is advised not to be more Catholic than the Pope. Listeners will understand at once that the fellow is seeking to be more concerned than he that is actually concerned in the matter under review.
The Pope is also called His Holiness (H.H.). This is more the case in Catholic protocols. Acting holier than the Pope is when you get involved more than it is necessary. That is, when you crave more than a supporting role in a plot where you are not the main character. In Queen’s English, now King’s English, it will be said that you are crying more than the bereaved. In the street, you will be advised to stop swallowing Panadol (a brand of paracetamol) on another man’s headache. You are the type that lawyers call busy body, interloper, even if you have a pure intention to be your brother’s keeper.
All of these descriptions had applied to one man for merely talking where the main men were conspiratorially silent. He is Henry Seriake Dickson, the immediate past governor of Bayelsa State who now represents Bayelsa West in the Senate. He pointed out, when nobody told him to do so, the missing part in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 57-paragraph flowering Presidential Speech on Democracy Day; June 12. That could pass for count one on the charge sheet. Count two was that Dickson burst the existing lines of political delineations and representations to do the business of Rivers State in the 10th National Assembly. Nobody employed him to do. He is in the Senate to do the business of Bayelsa West, or Bayelsa State and legislative business of the Nigerian state and he should be so guided. Count three was that he said what was not meant to be said on that special day of celebrating democracy in Nigeria. If counts two and three are taken together, it produces a summary count of a busybody saying the wrong thing at the wrong moment and to the wrong people.
Let’s go straight to the point. Dickson was saying that on a Democracy Day, PBAT spoke as if Rivers State was not part of the ongoing democracy. He was particularly pained that the executive arm chose that same day of all days to present an expenditure template of the Rivers State government for Senate approval. And that was because BAT who is the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has also been the Governor of Rivers State, albeit by proxy, since March 18 this year. That was the day that Tinubu forgot that he was a democratically elected president and became Emperor Tinubu. He pulled down democracy in Rivers State and named the power-stripped state a vassal of Aso Rock Villa, Abuja. The Governor, Similaye Fubara and members of the State House of Assembly were given a stood off for six months in the first instance. Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ekwe Ibas (retd) from Cross River State has been managing the outpost on behalf of the Presidency since then.
The thinking which Dickson keyed into was that PBAT would use the occasion of the June 12 memorial to also remember that he is a democrat after all and he needed to do something remarkable to underscore the claim. Just any statement to reappraise the situation in Rivers State was low-hanging fruit. Nothing happened. Hopes were hopelessly dashed. Outside Bayelsa State, the rest of the South-South geo-political zone is an APC colony. None of the many foot soldiers had the presence of mind to whisper in the ears of the President that it was a democracy day and a line or two to address the embarrassment in Rivers State would not hurt. Their loyalty to the APC brand was too rigid to compel a counter-narrative.
Dickson only entered, when none in the entire region, including persons that are more concerned, had the balls to call the roaring Goliath to order. They were all part of the cheering crowd of President Tinubu who had a field day grandstanding and explaining why intimidation is part of good politics. He said it pleases him to see the opposition in disarray. The meaning of that statement would be retained if it is rephrased to read: It pleases President Tinubu to cause disarray in the opposition. As of today, the main business of opposition parties is working to resolve the unending divisions in their ranks. The problem is very complex. Some elements in the opposition are more interested in the political wellbeing of than even persons in the ruling APC.
As it were, Dickson was home alone with the Devil. I guess also that he didn’t have lofty ideas about the outcomes of the showdown BAT. Maybe, he only meant to say something contrary so that it would not look like a unanimous legislative approval of Tinubu’s Democracy Day outing. In fact, there is a clear provision for this kind of subtle rebellion in civil and human rights movements. It is called righteous indignation. It means the right to be angry, to be deviant, even in the face of existential threats. This may not translate to real relief or a change of the contentious conditions but it offers a psychological catharsis that improves the mental health of the victim. This is what Dickson tries to do each time he assumes the floor to speak in the Red Chamber. He insists that the right of the majority to have its way should not in any way, vitiate the right of the minority to have its say. He wants the eagle and the kite to perch anyhow. But he struggles so hard to make this simple point any time he comes on air. This is because the ground on which he stands is no longer holy. His voice does not get to the god of national politics. His platform for proclamation has been weakened and nobody hears him loud and clear when he talks from there.
I am talking of the PDP which is close to being completely obliterated as the APC onslaught against it continues unabated. The PDP has been pushed below the status of an underdog in the game. It is unwillingly going underneath to clear the ring for an undisputed champion and the path to totalitarianism. The APC has strengthened into a cult to which non members are only good to be sacrificed for the well-being of the confraternity. As always, the road to damnation is straightforward and attractive. The ugly side will take all the time to manifest at the destination. This is the attraction that caused the Rivers State caucus in the National Assembly to speak in condemnation of Senator Dickson. Speaking on behalf of the caucus, House of Reps Member, Kingsley Ogundu Chinda, told Senator Dickson in very clear tone to stay off affairs of Rivers State. He sounded as if Dickson, an Ijaw from Bayelsa, is as distant as a Senator from Bornu or Sokoto States.
Chinda represents Obio Akpor Federal Constituency in Rivers State. He is from the same constituency and local government council with former governor of the state now FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. There is more between them. He was the legal adviser (whatever that means) of Obio Akpor local government council when Wike was the Chairman. He was the Rivers State Commissioner for Environment between 2007 and 2010 and has been in the House since 2011. More or less, he has not substantially lived outside government once. Losing that privilege is a frightening prospect even as it offers the context for a proper interpretation of his lines in the matter at hand. Hon Chinda explained that every step so far taken in Rivers State by the Presidency is in order. He described the declaration of a state of emergency as a “lawful and constitutional response” to a deteriorating political and security situation in the State. He said Dickson portrayal of state as being under military administration is not only false but intellectually dishonest. He added that the Supreme Court decision of February 28, 2025 was clear in saying Rivers State was without a constitutional government. No options existed and Chinda spoke as if he was, on behalf of the people of Rivers State, thanking Tinubu for benevolently stepping in with the emergency declaration to prevent sure descent into anarchy. His verdict on Dickson: “He is not from Rivers. If he wants to stir trouble, let him do so in Bayelsa. We will not allow external actors to destabilise our state.” Senator Allwell Onyesoh representing Bayelsa East added that: “Rivers people deserve stability and governance, not provocation from those who are not even directly affected by the crisis.”
We are getting somewhere. At least, there is agreement among the caucus that controls the narratives that crisis exists in Rivers State. What is not too clear is the true character of the crisis. The evidence however points to a moral crisis. It might even be deeper such as complete loss of functional spirituality and all sense of propriety that could lead to a wholesale adoption of evil as a mainstay. Like Muriel, the goat character in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, members of the Rivers Caucus are too fascinated with ribbons and colours to apply their faculties. Comrade Napoleon is always right. The arising benefits from maintaining that position induce an intoxication that is edging them in the wrong direction. Whoever preaches caution is roundly derided. They laugh to scorn the wisdom of elders. They did so Senator Henry Seriake Dickson. They gladly point at the grave of their ancestors with their left hands.
The caucus has to be reminded that it is only in the grave that darkness lasts forever. On earth, darkness does not last forever. Daylight usually follows darkness. It is not going to be different in Rivers State where there is a dark overcast. For now, it is still a moving performance where the actors are having a swell time playing their nefarious roles. There is a ritual that usually attends the end of a stage performance. It is called Curtain Call when performers re-assume their real-life character to break the artistic barrier between the stage and the audience. We await the Curtain Call in the Rivers high drama.
Meanwhile, for being more Catholic or holier than the Pope, we can go ahead and issue a few gbosaas for Distinguished Senator Henry Seriake Dickson. Continue to stand tall among Lilliputians.
