The political crisis that has rocked Rivers State for the past two years, due to a fallout between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his erstwhile political godfather and former Governor Nyesom Wike on the one hand, and a faction of the State House of Assembly loyal to the FCT Minister on the other hand, was brought to a temporary halt on Tuesday when President Bola Tinubu imposed a state of emergency on the oil rich state.
The political imbroglio that began in September 2023, had lingered unabated with several twists introduced into the fray and effectively denying the people of the state the opportunity of enjoying good governance and the dividends of democracy that should come with it.
Before taking the decision to impose the state of emergency on Rivers State, the crisis was almost returning the state to the dark eras where militants ran riot and were blowing up oil pipelines almost on a daily basis. Two explosions were recorded within hours in the oil rich state which necessitated the strong response from the President.
While declaring the state of emergency in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday evening, President Tinubu cited the protracted political crisis that has been rocking the oil-rich state, and in a sweeping move, announced the suspension of Gov. Fubara, his deputy, and all elected members of the state House of Assembly for an initial period of six months.
Tinubu went ahead to appoint a former Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Ibokette Ibas (retd.), as the Sole Administrator who will oversee the affairs of the state in the six months period.
The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State is not the first time the Nigerian government would take such steps when there appears to be a situation where round table dialogue could not settle.
Since the advent of the current democratic dispensation in 1999, this is the fourth time that a sitting president has had to take a hard stance of declaring a state of emergency in the country due to some reasons ranging from political crisis, ethno-religious crisis, to insecurity, among others.
Ripples Nigeria takes a look at the other scenarios that led to the declaration of state of emergency by the Nigerian government.
1. Plateau State (2004)
In May 2004, then President Olusegun Obasanjo was forced to declare a state of emergency in Plateau State following a wave in ethno-religious violence which led to widespread killings and destruction of properties in the state.
While announcing the state of emergency on May 18, 2004, President Obasanjo suspended the then elected governor, Joshua Dariye and the State House of Assembly in the process.
The President also accused the governor of failing to act to end a cycle of bloodletting violence which had gone on for over two years at the time, between the Muslim and Christian communities in the state which led to the death of an estimated 2,000 people.
2. Ekiti State (2006)
In October 2006, President Olusegun Obasanjo again imposed a state of emergency rule in Ekiti State following a leadership crisis that threatened to tear the state apart.
The crisis arose following the controversial impeachment of then Gov. Ayo Fayose by the House of Assembly which plunged the state into chaos, leading to loss of lives and destruction of properties worth billions of Naira.
The crisis prompted Obasanjo to wade in and declare a state of emergency in the state for an initial six months and named Brigadier General Adetunji Olurin (retd.), as the administrator until the situation stabilized.
3. Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States (2013)
In 2013, the escalating Boko Haram insurgency with a dangerous pattern of exploding bombs threatening to tear the northern region apart, then President Goodluck Jonathan had no option but to declare a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States on May 14, 2013.
However, the governors of the affected states and their Houses of Assembly were not suspended but the President, in his wisdom, ordered the deployment of extra troops to the states with a mandate to restore sanity and root out the insurgents within the stipulated time.
4. Western Region (1962)
The first state of emergency the country ever witnessed was in 1962, two years after gaining independence when then Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa declared a state of emergency in the Western Region due to a severe political crisis within the Action Group (AG).
The feud which was between the leaders of the party, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, had resulted in violent clashes where many lives were lost and properties destroyed. It also led to legislative chaos which forced Balewa to declare an emergency and appointed Dr. Moses Majekodunmi as the administrator.
