₦airaland Forum

Someone shared this on WhatsApp:

Gov Wike and the Soot Scandal

By Dr Ugoji Egbujo
A few days ago, Gov Wike marched around the bushes. Cameras and journalists followed him. Wike, the strongman.

He went to seek out and destroy the illegal refineries that had poisoned his state. Wike, the detective.

He cried that the soot billowing from the illegal refineries was choking residents and businesses in the state. Red-eyed and breathless, surrounded by soldiers and policemen, the governor seemed a Tarzan on a rescue mission.


They say any time a man wakes up is his morning. Wike’s soot morning is January 2022. But if a man wakes up in the afternoon, he shouldn’t call his kinsmen for morning prayers. Wike woke up after his state had become well suited in soot.

We will not ask Wike what made him sleep and forget himself. He must be busy with many projects, building flyovers all over the place and helping to build the PDP.



But a visitor watching Wike swearing to deal ruthlessly with boys who steal and cook crude oil would think Wike was elected into office the previous week.

Or that the soot flew into Rivers state that day and woke Wike up from an afternoon slumber. But we will leave Wike; he is a theatrical man.


The only problem is that the comedy script Wike rehearsed in the bushes should have been flagged by a good editor as lacking believability.

Wike could have said the boys began cooking beyond acceptable limits. That’s all. Because the governor, in pretending he never knew about the soot, inadvertently exposed himself as egregiously inept.

For six years, Wike soothed the soot and allowed it to mushroom in Rivers. Now, Wike is hooting and tooting, pulling the wool over our eyes, rooting around, rummaging bushes for the source of the soot. Woot!

Some might say since he has started, we should encourage him. We shouldn’t distract him by asking him naughty questions. But can we all pretend that Wike didn’t see the soot for six years?

Wike’s triumphant entry into the bushes was so dramatic that even some of those who had lived in Rivers all their lives were tempted to believe that soot had been a problem that Wike’s predecessors didn’t have the balls to curb. So they didn’t see a criminally negligent governor.

They saw their strong man taking the bulls by the horn in Isiokpo. After all, isn’t that why he is the only workaholic governor in Africa?

The problem with Africa is that charlatanism wears long robes with matching hats and marches around with confidence while living in high places. Before Wike became governor, militancy had been banished from Rivers.

In 2015, Wike had to win the rivers governorship elections by all means. So he threw in the kitchen sink. Militants who had found other decent careers in Lagos returned to help him. After he won, some of them became traditional rulers.

It’s good to reintegrate former militants into society. They are stakeholders. But, when an emperor compensates the youths by looking the other way while they steal and cook crude oil, he cannot come many years later to feign ignorance, find scapegoats and fool the country.

Port Harcourt is now buried in soot. The former garden city now has a black blanket. Before Gov Wike became governor, Portharcourt didn’t know soot, and soot didn’t live in Portharcourt.

Now, once a child walks barefoot on the balcony, he must wash his feet to save the bedsheets. The roofs are all black— black-maroon, black-brown, black-beige, black-green. The tennis courts are messy. Lungs, all soot-filled.

Fo so long, doctors didn’t know that the inhalation of asbestos dust caused any problems. Hundreds of years after asbestos became popular.

Asbestosis was only discovered in 1924. Then, it was discovered that one out of every four who worked in the asbestos industry suffered Asbestosis. Asbestosis was a disease of latency; it took many years to manifest.

But the link between Asbestosis and lung cancer was only established about 1955. Wike knows that six years of massive soot inhalation has guaranteed a future health calamity. Chronic soot inhalation can quietly damage the lungs and the heart. Wike knew that before he became governor. But he had his priorities.

Wike wants to blame the police. He wants to pass the buck. Since Wike came, he has set up committee after committee to find the immediate and remote causes of the soot. Where are the reports of those committees? Are they covered in soot?

The committees consumed taxpayers money to see what school children in a helicopter could have discovered in 10 minutes.

What exactly does Rivers State Executive Council discuss with their sooty microphones on their sooty tables in their sooty chamber? What has Rivers state ministry of environment done for six sooty years?

The truth is that the soot plague is the product of criminal collusion between the governments and the governed at many levels. A responsible governor, prioritising public health above political patronage and electoral conquests, would have declared an emergency on soot in 2016.

But an opportunistic emperor, looking out for his boys, would leave the soot till he finished his fantasy bridges and visited Real Madrid with his friends.

The problem started in 2016 from the Okrika axis. All children in port Harcourt knew this. Those stealing and refining crude oil in the riverine areas were allowed to develop this alternative economy.

The lowest-paid labourer in a ‘pot’, the local refinery, is the man who does the bagging. That man receives N8000 a day. Lucrative business.

The initial investment to establish a pot is about 12 million naira. It is no secret. The business breaks even in a few months. The village youth, traditional ruler, community dev union, security agencies all have their cuts.

The justification was that other folks were mining diamonds and gold in Zamfara to look after their families. Nice logic, right?

Gov Wike looked away when the industry began in Okrika. As the boys in the riverine villages became wealthy, the boys in other communities started their own refineries. It didn’t take long; refineries sprouted everywhere.

Once the boys engaged themselves in the petrochemical kitchens, crime rates dropped.

That was what somebody said. Perhaps, the federal government let sleeping dogs lie so that the major crude pipelines could heave a sigh of relief. Perhaps the federal government was asleep too. If the stealing of crude oil didn’t matter, the health hazard should have roused Abuja.

The consequences were foreseeable. The government abdicated its responsibility. The same Wike who rushed to crush two hotels on a Sunday for flouting covid regulations allowed the soot to seize the state. And when he decided to play to the gallery, he didn’t choose a chopper. It’s understandable.

In a helicopter, the world would have seen more than he wanted it to see. So he went on foot chasing grasshoppers leaving the elephants in the Okrika and other riverine areas.

The Igbo say a frog doesn’t make an afternoon dash in vain. It’s either chasing something, or something is chasing it. Buhari is not Obasanjo, he doesn’t threaten governors. It’s possible Wike wants the boys to return to the campaign field.

The timing is suspicious. It’s possible Wike wants the soot to leave before he leaves. So that it wouldn’t look like the soot belonged to him. So that his opponents won’t name the plague Soot Wike. A plague that resembles a Crime Against Humanity.

With a reasonable budget for the media, any cunning Nigerian politician with agbero instincts and a knack for crude talk and rancid comedy can be a hero.

But someday, an inquest into the soot scandal will happen.

Vanguard News Nigeria

So are you.
Cheers!

franchasng:
You are right

While I get the point you are trying to make, the truth is, industrialization is a must for poverty eradication for third world countries. More like, It's either you die by fire or brimstone.
It's just the way the world works now.
No pain, No gain!

franchasng:
If you visit any American or UK hospital, you will marvel at the names of sicknesses and diseases being diagnosed. I haven't been to US but I have lots of close childhood friends and classmates plus relatives working in different health facilities as Doctors, Nurses, Lab Scientists, etc.



Many Americans live with terminal illnesses and diseases for decades, many have cancer and its seen as nothing. lung cancer, different versions of cancer and if you see them you wont know until you see their medical history.


The only thing sustaining them is their exceptional healthcare system that have the capacity to handle and manage any sickness or disease, whether the patient is rich or poor so long as he or she is a citizen.



That's why they consume GMO foods without much worries too.


Nigeria and West Africa don't have such competent healthcare system that can manage such ailments when they arise.


As a nation gets more heavily industrialized, they invest hugely in healthcare and environmental protection and management to curtail the resultant negative effects of the industrialization.



I am a trained Engineer with years of experience. I have undergone several environmental health, and safety traininga and gotten certifications, so I know what I am telling you.



I am not hating on Dangote, he is so way above my level for me to be hating on him even though I dont accord him much respect I accord to seasoned entrepreneurs who started from scratch and rose to riches without government assistance which Dangote enjoyed for decades now and part of what made him who he is.

Not true! More than 2 million Americans live less than 1 mile to a refinery. Dangote refinery is sited many miles away from where people live.
We really must commend the project stakeholders in the carefully planned (conscientious) project. Let's try and be positive in this country. This refinery benefits us all. Dangote will not live forever, but he will leave a legacy that generations to come will benefit from.

franchasng:
In few years to come, the pollution that will be generated by this refinery will force residents around Ajah down to Ibeju lekki and maybe VI to start relocating. And if they refuse to move, the health hazards will be incredible. Residents will be exposed to dangerous radiation and heat wave.



It wont be funny.


Heavy industrialization comes with a price to pay.


US and other first world nations have a reason why they moved most of their manufacturing activities to China and other Asian countries.



If you see the pollution Chinese cities like Shanghai battle every now and then, I doubt any African nation can manage it

Your phone number is not on your profile. Drop your number

JavaScript90:
have gotten an interview invite from a company that I applied to through them but I didn't go because I wasn't ready for a full time role, I just wanted to see if my skill can get me employed in the corporate world.

Hello, I am a fullstack web developer. I develop all types of website. I major in developing complex custom website and mobile apps for businesses and startups. If you have an idea and need a competent programmer to translate your idea into codes, I am the right man for the job.
I also have a nice real estate website for sale specially designed for the Nigerian market
Click my username to see my WhatsApp number on my profile

If other ethnic groups in this country have focused and intelligient leadership such as the Yoruba's have in Bola Tinubu in this country, this country would have gone far. I hope the Yoruba's recognise that this h.ate for Bola Tinubu is only borne out of envy and the knowledge that we have leadership that looks out for our collective interest.



I just hope the Igbos will not allow this O to ge they are shouting to consume them in this town. If APC lose this election, the Ibos will be the greatest casualities......their businesses will be frustrated and Jimi Agbaje will not be able to help them one bit.

A word is enough for the wise

Bustincole:
O to ge my pple


lets begin d campaign

Tola Adesokun Weds a rapist

What goes around comes around. You will get yours someday.

SexTin:
Wow, Thats Nice But Who Is That Hoe Accusing Him Of Rape

You are a sad sad man.

Tonymario58:
Olosho on the loose

What a sad experience! Reading the above comments made it even sadder. Many Nigerians have zero empathy. What would or could this woman hope to gain by lying about such an experience? She only wanted closure and a little empathy from fellow humans. She was 16. At that age unpleasant experiences are usually blocked out by the brain to avoid psychological breakdown of the individual.

This man took advantage of an innocent young girl and unless we learn to collectively condemn such acts, we will remain a corrupt and morally bankrupt nation.
Rape is illegal and i would like to implore the owner and moderators of this forum to allow 'thumb down' dislike bottons or even remove such comments that might further traumatize victims. By allowing such comments, evil doers and sociopaths will only be more audacious, while their victims become more wary. Indeed, "evil thrive when good men stand aside and do nothing". Seun take note, you can use this medium to foster hate or spread love, history will surely be the judge of that. Cheers all.

TV presenter/model Emilia Samuel accuses filmmaker/Linda Ikeji’s staff, Ukpaa, of raping and disvirgining her at 16.

See post below...

http://gistmore.com/model-emilia-accuses-lnda-ikejis-staff-raping-disvirgining-16-pics


See his wedding photos
https://www.nairaland.com/4697863/theo-ukpaa-tola-adesokuns-wedding[/quote]

Kunlenoni:
That's for irresponsible ones, responsible ladies needs affection and Companion.

It is easier for ladies to get sperm and money from men than love and compassion