THE QUINTESSENCE OF SADISM

By – Memoye Oghu.

When Ukraine described its deal with Russia in their ongoing war for a reprieve on its Black Sea Ports as the quintessence of sadism, many diplomats and international observers were taken aback.

But events, since that deal brokered by the United Nations (UN) and Turkey have proven Ukraine right as Russia gave with one hand and took back with the other. President Vladimir Putin of Russia is a sadist who loves to see people suffer.

This is because, while Putin agreed to allow Ukraine use its besieged Black Sea Ports for the export of its much needed grains to other parts of the world, he took back with a barrage of Russian missile attacks on different regions of Ukraine, destroying her grains infrastructure and industries. Is it not when there are grains that they can export?

More than two weeks after, Ukraine is just preparing to kick start its first export of grains since that agreement while other parts of the world wallow in hunger and pains waiting for the implementation of that truce.

Secondly, he also tightened the noose on oil and gas export to Europe when he directed Russia’s oil and gas conglomerate, Gasprom to embark on an orchestrated maintenance spree of its Nord Stream one facilities, knowing fully well that much of Europe will be engulf in energy crisis because of their dependence on Russian oil and gas.

The quintessence of sadism is also very apt in the ongoing schism in the Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) where fanatical loyalists and supporters of the immediate past Transportation Minister and APC leader in the south south zone, Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi are deserting him in droves for undisclosed reasons.

But if the ensconce insinuations in the public domain that their anger against the former governor of the state is his recommendation of Hon Udi Odum for the less than one year ministerial slot is anything to go by, then it is hogwash.

It is more clearly so and obvious that their schism, coming all at the same time and period with the Odum’s appointment appears quite true and premeditated. Or a pent up anger waiting for the right time to explode and that time, to them was it. If not, why would all of them leave shortly after the new Minister of State for Environment, Hon Udi Odum was sworn into office?

The deserting chieftains of the party in the state, by their actions have shown their topocratic politics of bread and butter; greed and selfishness; aggradizement and sadism. They want only them to continue to benefit from their leader as they smile at their sheepish followers, writhing in pains and suffering because they, unlike their overall leader have refused to lift up those under them.

Although, unlike Senator Magnus Ngei Abbe and his co-travellers and Prince Tonye Princewill who publicly declared that he was abandoning his erstwhile leader because of the Muslim-Muslim ticket of his party, the APC which to him is a hard sell, for the likes of Dr Dawari George, Sam Sam Jaja and Tolofari George et al jumping ships for no other reason is perfidiously perfidious.

For moving the first motion in June, 1999 that made Amaechi Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon George Tolofari had benefitted immensely from him. Apart from his two terms as a state Parliamentarian representing Bonny state constituency in the State House of Assembly, he was also a two terms Commissioner of Transport under Governor Amaechi and one who supervised the flagship project of that government, the monorail project.

It’s treacherous therefore to dump a man whom you’ve benefitted so much in the past 24 years simply because you were not nominated for a ministerial position. I can imagine how he felt when the news of Udi Odum’s recommendation hit his ears. He may have nodded stiffly and made a sound that was half way between a snort and a laugh. He may have equally wiped the two corners of his mouth, with his heart bucking wildly in his chest when he finalized the decision to dump his master.

However, when he finally did and moved over to the government he’d fought so hard to dismantle over seven years ago, he seemed but a silhouette of a man outlined in the silver lights of the Executive Chamber of the Brick House next day when he appeared along with Gov Wike during the signing ceremony of the 11th and 12th tableau flyovers of the Wike administration.

For Sam Sam Jaja, the Referee who Amaechi singlehandedly made a national BOT member of APC and chairman of the state APC Reconciliation Committee as well as leader of the party in his Opobo/Nkoro LGA, the news may have gotten to him when the sun was just up and his world glowed rosy like the hollow of a conch shell in which he had hid his real self. He must have flushed his face neither to the left, nor right before deciding to dump his leader.

We gathered that all entreaties to him from Amaechi fell on deaf ears. Perhaps, standing before his new found leader to inform him of his decision to jump ship, his chin would have sank into his chest and he may have wrapped his arms tightly around himself, as if to physically hold himself together.

As for Dr Dawari George, a political neophyte, who from nowhere, but with the full support of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi sprang like a spring to represent his people at the Green Chamber of the National Assembly for two terms. Yet, like Oliver Twist, he still wanted Amaechi to have continued to lift him up.

But Amaechi isn’t a Putin, he enjoys seeing people around him smiling and laughing. He loves building people and moving them up the ladder of life. Beneficiaries of his government overseas scholarsip awards under the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) would attest to this fact. He’s not the type who would pull down the ladder after getting to the top.

Unfortunately however, he’s often surrounded by mediocres and sadists. But one thing is certain, these mucandious deserters will be hogweeds wherever they found themselves. There can be no peace for the wicked as the holy wrists counsels.

Memoye Oghu is of the Daily Times Newspaper