Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, says suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has not apologised to him and therefore cannot be forgiven.
Wike’s position was made known on Tuesday, April 15, through his media aide, Lere Olayinka, in response to an appeal by ex-militant leader, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo, who urged the minister to forgive Fubara in the interest of peace.
Tompolo, commenting on the Rivers political crisis, said in a recent statement: “And just like I will not accept rebellion from my son, I will also not cause more problems.
“Wike is angry, but he has to bring his temper down for the good of all. We will have a dialogue and resolve all lingering issues, and again Fubara will return to his seat.”
But Wike’s aide dismissed any notion of forgiveness without a genuine effort from the governor.
“There is no offence. It is when somebody has offended you personally that you are talking about the person seeking forgiveness or whatever,” Olayinka said.
“As Christians, let’s now assume that Fubara has offended the minister, do you forgive someone who has not come to you to seek forgiveness?”
He stressed that reconciliation cannot happen if the person in question does not acknowledge any wrongdoing.
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“The person who has wronged you must first agree that in his mind he has wronged you. Let’s assume that Fubara has offended the minister, has he come to seek forgiveness? I’m not saying there is an offence and there should be forgiveness but he has not even come for forgiveness,” Olayinka said.
He clarified that Wike’s concerns were not personal but rooted in principles of governance.
“The minister has never said that Fubara offended him personally. He only said that Fubara should govern in accordance with the rule of law and that Fubara should not throw away those who risked their lives and resources and that is not too much to ask.
“He said, ‘Those who worked to make you governor, don’t throw them away like that’. So, that is not about forgiveness. If there is one person Fubara would say he has offended, it should be the President.”
Olayinka further questioned Fubara’s sudden change of attitude towards Wike.
“He is the one to go for soul-searching because throughout the time he was working with this same Wike, throughout the time Wike was facing the bullet for him, Wike was not a bad person then.
“So, at what point did Wike become a bad person to him? He should ask himself. When did Wike become somebody that Fubara would be so bold, telling him that he would deal with him? At what point? He should ask himself questions like this.”
He concluded with a proverb to illustrate Wike’s stance: “You are begging a doctor to provide medicine for someone that is sick, but you are not begging the person that is sick to take the medicine. What happens?”