Chinda, Rivers State APC governorship candidate, is set to pursue peace if
elected, writes IKE OKONTA
Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State, is a giant, sprawling metropolis. Making my strategy to Honourable Kingsley Chinda’s house on this metropolis on a Thursday night final September, I misplaced my manner twice. But on every event, native folks got here to my rescue. One lanky youth informed me: “You’re going to see OK?’’ (Honourable Chinda is popularly recognized all by means of town by his initials) “No drawback 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 by means of the mazes and streets of town till we bought to Kingsley Chinda’s home.
The final check of a politician is how properly she or he is accepted by the extraordinary folks he represents. And Kingsley Chinda passes that check 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 extraordinary folks because the cornerstone of socio-economic life in Rivers State, the broader Niger Delta and in Nigeria as a complete.
The fascinating factor about Kingsley Chinda is that he began his political activism on the centre-left, a ‘’comrade’’ as Nigerians prefer 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 disenchanted. His politics is all the time measured, reasonable, and ever able to hearken to the standpoint of his political opponents – capitalists, social democrats and all. Further, Chinda has all the time been an individual of religion, and his Christian beliefs, nurtured over the a long time, 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 just about 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 concerning 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 employees to not disturb him for the following one hour and he took me on a journey concerning 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 greatest to make sure that Sim Fubara govern within the curiosity of Rivers State folks and never permit himself to be distracted by petty ethnic and private issues. Not as soon as did he elevate his voice that afternoon in his Abuja workplace. Not as soon as did he condemn Governor Fubara in a bitter voice regardless that 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 extraordinary folks of Rivers State.
It is that this concern for the welfare of the extraordinary folks 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 celebration’s candidate I used to be curious. I needed to search out out what his insurance policies and programmes can 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 best public intellectuals immediately, 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 ordinary – this was the peak of the marketing campaign season – however he cleared his diary without delay and informed me to come back to his residence on the night of the next day for the interview.
Uppermost in his menu of programmes and insurance policies is his want 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 impression positively. Said Chinda to me: “His Excellency Nyesom Wike’s report speaks for itself. I’ll construct on that. I’ll concentrate on the financial 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 drawback 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 mission 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 shall be a precedence for my administration if am elected.’’ Another precedence for Chinda is technical schooling. In reality, he mentioned it will be one in every of his core programmes. “His Excellency Nyesom Wike constructed faculties, expanded some, outfitted them. I’ll construct on that, specializing in technical schooling for our college students. The twenty first century is the century of speedy technological transformation. I’m decided to ensure that our youngsters will not be left behind.’’
A observe of disappointment crept into Kingsley Chinda’s voice as he surveyed Rivers State politics up to now 4 years. “There had been missed alternatives,’’ he mentioned. ‘’Time was squandered on frivolities, and the extraordinary folks of Rivers State had been the victims. Without peace you can not make progress, so peace in Rivers State is uppermost on my thoughts. It is peace that provides delivery to improvement, and I’m decided to pursue peace.’’
Kingsley Chinda is a politician with the frequent contact, and he demonstrated this once 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 night time and was consuming boiled corn and pears with pals once 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 affix him and his pals within the corn. I politely declined. Chinda chuckled and mentioned, ‘’So Ike, you don’t like us frequent folks?’’
Dr Okonta was till not too long ago Leverhulme Career Fellow within the Department of Politics, University Of Oxford. He now runs a public coverage assume tank in Abuja.
