Nigeria’s minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on Monday, openly evaded commenting on the herdsmen/farmers clashes in southern parts of Nigeria. Amaechi was on politics today, a programme of the Channels Television where the anchor man, Seun, asked him persistently to state his view and suggest solutions to the herdsmen crisis, Amaechi refused to talk.
Amaechi, a two term minister of transportation and former governor of Rivers state, who handed over to the present governor, Nyesom Wike, has been nursing animosity with his South South brothers, beginning with former President Goodluck Jonathan and to the present governor of his state, Barrister Wike of the PDP.
On several occasions, Amaechi and Wike had clashed in Port Harcourt, leading to crisis between Amaechi’s aides and the aides of Governor Wike. Ameachi had refused to attend any event organized in the South South which has more of the Southern people, especially the core Niger Delta state in attendance.
The Channels Television anchor man had asked Amaechi to give his view being a political leader in the region, Amaechi said Seun should ask all the 200million Nigerians to give their views first before he would give his suggestion but as the anchor man pressed on, insisting that he being a political leader and that he is holding the minister’s office on behalf of Nigerians, Amaechi said if he asked questions about his ministry he would answer.
Not ready to give in, Seun persisted but Amaechi said he leads his wife at home and when he gets home, he will give his view to his wife at home. He added that while he was governor, he was managing a lot of spaces and he could speak on a variety of issues but now that he is a minister of transportation, his sphere of influence is only that of transportation.
In all the angles the Channels Television man came from with his herders/farmers clash, Amaechi refused to comment, making him feel that the people in the South, though he is part of the people they should take care of themselves. He has nothing to suggest as the way forward to end the farmers/herders clashes in the Southern region of Nigeria.
