Chinda, Rivers State APC governorship candidate, is decided to pursue peace if
elected, writes IKE OKONTA
Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State, is an enormous, sprawling metropolis. Making my strategy to Honourable Kingsley Chinda’s house on this metropolis on a Thursday night final September, I misplaced my means twice. But on every event, native individuals got here to my rescue. One lanky youth informed me: “You’re going to see OK?’’ (Honourable Chinda is popularly recognized all via town by his initials) “No downside in any respect, all people on this metropolis is aware of OK’s home’’. And positive sufficient he mounted his business motorbike and guided my automobile via the mazes and streets of town till we acquired to Kingsley Chinda’s home.
The final take a look at of a politician is how effectively she or he is accepted by the peculiar individuals he represents. And Kingsley Chinda passes that take a look at by a mile. From a humble starting as a lawyer together with his chambers in D-Line, a well-liked working-class district of Port Harcourt within the early Nineteen Nineties, to a member of the House of Representatives representing Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency after which on to rising the Minority Leader of the House on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Kingsley Chinda has pursued a politics of the general public curiosity, a politics that foregrounds the peculiar individuals because the cornerstone of socio-economic life in Rivers State, the broader Niger Delta and in Nigeria as an entire.
The attention-grabbing factor about Kingsley Chinda is that he began his political activism on the centre-left, a ‘’comrade’’ as Nigerians wish to put it. His politics was radical, however if you happen to anticipated to see a heavily-bearded, fire-eating Marxist in tattered garments waving “The Communist Manifesto’’ in your face on the slightest alternative, you’ll be sorely upset. His politics is at all times measured, average, and ever able to hearken to the standpoint of his political opponents – capitalists, social democrats and all. Further, Chinda has at all times been an individual of religion, and his Christian beliefs, nurtured over the many years, has served as a moderating affect on his politics and coverage stance.
Another endearing high quality of Kingsley Chinda is his humility. I keep in mind when the political disaster in Rivers State was at its apogee in 2024. Governor Sim Fubara had been suspended and governance had nearly floor to a halt within the state. Kingsley Chinda was then Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and he had his fingers full guiding members of his political coalition because the House debated one contentious invoice after the opposite. I knew that Chinda was extraordinarily busy. But I used to be anxious in regards to the political storm happening in his beloved state and needed to know what he was doing about it. So I telephoned him.
Chinda was extraordinarily courteous. He insisted I come to his workplace to debate the matter. When I arrived he informed his workers to not disturb him for the subsequent one hour and he took me on a journey in regards to the political disaster in his state and the way he and his senior colleague and strongman of Rivers State politics, Nyesom Wike had achieved their finest to make sure that Sim Fubara govern within the curiosity of Rivers State individuals and never permit himself to be distracted by petty ethnic and private issues. Not as soon as did he increase his voice that afternoon in his Abuja workplace. Not as soon as did he condemn Governor Fubara in a bitter voice though all discerning observers of Rivers State politics knew that he Chinda was former governor Wike’s shut ally and adviser. Chinda insisted that what was uppermost on his thoughts throughout that imbroglio was the welfare of the peculiar individuals of Rivers State.
It is that this concern for the welfare of the peculiar individuals of Rivers State that impelled him to throw his hat into the ring to contest for the workplace of governor of the state on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC). When the mass media reported that Kingsley Chinda had emerged because the get together’s candidate I used to be curious. I needed to seek out out what his insurance policies and programmes could be if he was elected governor. I despatched him a message that I want to interview him for a characteristic article in THISDAY on Sunday. But he was extraordinarily busy, flying from Abuja to Port Harcourt and again, campaigning. Eventually, our mutual good friend, Abdul Mahmud, former NANS president and one in every of Nigeria’s most interesting public intellectuals right now, intervened and secured an interview date with Chinda for me. I flew to Port Harcourt and on arrival, referred to as Honourable Chinda. He was extraordinarily busy as typical – this was the peak of the marketing campaign season – however he cleared his diary without delay and informed me to return to his residence on the night of the next day for the interview.
Uppermost in his menu of programmes and insurance policies is his need to construct on the spectacular achievements of Nyesome Wike when the latter was governor of Rivers State. Most observers of the state agree that Wike’s tenure was transformative – he powered industrialisation, infrastructure initiatives and manpower improvement. There is not any space of Rivers State public life that Governor Nyesom Wike didn’t influence positively. Said Chinda to me: “His Excellency Nyesom Wike’s report speaks for itself. I’ll construct on that. I’ll give attention to the economic system of the state. I’ll develop Internally-Generated Revenue. I’ll pursue industrialisation – do not forget that we used to have industrial estates on this metropolis. I’ll revive them. I’ll create employment and pursue investor-friendly insurance policies.’’
Honourable Chinda is anxious to resolve the perennial downside of insufficient electrical energy provide in Rivers State. He jogged my memory that former governor Dr Peter Odili had pursued the institution of an impartial energy undertaking throughout his tenure. ‘’I’ll look into that with new eyes,’’ Chinda informed me. ‘’I’m anxious to pursue industrialisation of the state, and also you want electrical energy to make that occur. So electrical energy will likely be a precedence for my administration if am elected.’’ Another precedence for Chinda is technical training. In reality, he stated it will be one in every of his core programmes. “His Excellency Nyesom Wike constructed faculties, expanded some, geared up them. I’ll construct on that, specializing in technical training for our college students. The twenty first century is the century of fast technological transformation. I’m decided to ensure that our kids are usually not left behind.’’
A word of disappointment crept into Kingsley Chinda’s voice as he surveyed Rivers State politics up to now 4 years. “There have been missed alternatives,’’ he stated. ‘’Time was squandered on frivolities, and the peculiar individuals of Rivers State have been the victims. Without peace you can not make progress, so peace in Rivers State is uppermost on my thoughts. It is peace that offers delivery to improvement, and I’m decided to pursue peace.’’
Kingsley Chinda is a politician with the frequent contact, and he demonstrated this after I was in his home for this interview that Thursday night. I used to be two hours late for the interview and he had given up on my turning up that evening and was consuming boiled corn and pears with associates after I walked in. Some Nigerian politicians like to step out of their motorcade and make a present of shopping for roasted corn from roadside distributors whereas the tv cameras are rolling. But not Kingsley Chinda. Eating boiled corn, whether or not journalists are current or not is what he does as a result of he’s disarmingly easy. He requested me to hitch him and his associates within the corn. I politely declined. Chinda chuckled and stated, ‘’So Ike, you don’t like us frequent individuals?’’
Dr Okonta was till lately Leverhulme Career Fellow within the Department of Politics, University Of Oxford. He now runs a public coverage suppose tank in Abuja.
