By Justice Osai Ahiakwo
There is something fundamentally wrong with politics in Rivers State, and it is time to stop pretending otherwise.
What should be healthy political competition has deteriorated into a crude struggle for dominance. Debate has given way to intimidation, competence to blind loyalty, and policy to threats. Power is no longer treated as a responsibility but as a weapon.
When politicians begin to sound like warlords, democracy is already in danger.
For years, Rivers State has been trapped in the twin evils of godfatherism and gangsterism.
A powerful figure installs a loyal protégé who governs not for the people but for the godfather. Dissent is punished, opponents are harassed, and elections are reduced to rituals that merely validate decisions already taken behind closed doors.
The state begins to look less like a democracy and more like a private estate controlled by a strongman.
Politics becomes a vehicle for personal ambition rather than public service.
Conviction disappears.
Alliances shift overnight. Defections become routine. Everything turns transactional, driven by survival instead of principle.
While politicians fight for supremacy, governance collapses.
Roads crumble. Schools decay. Young people wander without jobs or direction.
Development stalls because energy is wasted on power struggles instead of progress.
Now the dysfunction has taken an even more disturbing turn: the normalization of open threats.
Nigerians watched in disbelief as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory publicly declared that politicians supporting the Rivers State Governor would “collapse and die” for their choices. Earlier, he threatened to set fire to the states of governors who intervened in the crisis.
This was not rhetoric or political drama. It was the language of vengeance.
When leaders speak this way, they legitimize violence without firing a shot.
They signal to their followers that opponents are enemies to be crushed.
In a state already plagued by political thuggery, such words are dangerous.
What separates a statesman from a gang leader if both rely on threats?
Words from public officials carry weight.
Youths who already see politics as combat interpret such statements as marching orders.
They become foot soldiers in battles that serve only the powerful.
The result is predictable: ballot box snatching, shootings, destruction of property, and lives lost in the name of loyalty.
Fear becomes the foundation of the system.
This is tragic for a state as important as Rivers.
Rich in resources, talent, and strategic value, Rivers should be leading conversations about industrial growth, innovation, and infrastructure.
Instead, it is trapped in petty rivalries and personality clashes. That is not strength; it is insecurity disguised as power.
Real leadership does not threaten opponents with death.
It persuades, builds consensus, and competes with ideas.
Only weak leaders depend on intimidation.
Any politics that requires curses, threats, or strong-arm tactics has already admitted failure.
The people of Rivers deserve better than godfathers dictating outcomes from smoke-filled rooms.
They deserve better than enforcers posing as loyalists.
They deserve leaders who speak with responsibility, not rage.
Democracy cannot survive in an atmosphere of fear.
If Rivers State is to move forward, this culture must be rejected.
Institutions must be stronger than individuals.
Elections must reflect the will of voters, not the wishes of patrons.
Politicians must be held accountable not only for their actions but also for their words.
And citizens must stop rewarding aggression in place of vision.
Because when politics becomes a threat, governance becomes impossible.
The choice is clear: continue down the path of intimidation and decay, or reclaim politics as a civil and democratic process.
Rivers must decide whether it wants leaders who serve the people or overlords who command followers.
The choice is for the future survival of the state.
$Justice Osai Ahiakwo is a practicing lawyer and public analyst*
