President Bola Tinubu has been urged by the National Civil Society Council of Nigeria (NCSCN) to form an impartial Truth and Reconciliation Committee in order to resolve the ongoing political unrest in Rivers.
The President of NCSCN, Mr. Blessing Akinlosotu, made the appeal while addressing newsmen in Abuja.
The committee, he said, should comprise elder statesmen outside Rivers, such as former presidents, past vice presidents, former Senate presidents, speakers of the House of Representatives, and others.
Akinlosotu said that the committee should be mandated to make an unbiased and in-depth inquiry into the root and proximal causes of the crisis and extract vital facts and figures that would lead to a sustainable and generally satisfactory resolution of the crisis.
We will communicate to the committee and set up some issues that can be made public during personal engagements and interactions with both the presidency and the sole administrator, retired Vice Adm. Ibot-Ete Ibas”.
”Before the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers, we sounded words of caution and decorum during the crisis that engulfed the state.
”The Supreme Court pre-empted the decision of Tinubu by affirming in its judgment that there was no government existing in Rivers following the demolition of the State House of Assembly.
”The demolition of the house amounted to destroying the symbol of democracy, adding that such an act took the matter too far,’ he said.
Akinlosotu said that if Rivers had been left to plunge into full-blown violence, the effect and consequences would have been more devastating than the temporary setback of the declaration of a state of emergency.
He said that the decision of Tinubu and the response of the National Assembly could be understood in a way.
“A stitch in time, they say, saves nine others. It is better to be responsive and proactive than defensive and reactionary.
“It may even be considered too extreme a measure in addressing the situation, yet it is wiser to save precious lives and valuable properties than to respond after costly damages have been done and irreversible losses have occurred.
“For us here in the Civil Society Council, the milk has been spilled already, and it is too late to cry over the spilled milk.
“However, we advise that, if possible, the state of emergency in Rivers should be terminated within the next three months.
”The wisdom behind and success of the state of emergency will be tested and attested by the level of peace, stability, progress and political harmony achieved in the state by the sole administrator,” he said.
