Fubara Declares Peace in Rivers Again, and Rivers People Keep the Popcorn Close

If you thought Rivers politics had finished its season, I have news: they have renewed it. Same plot, same cast, and a brand-new “final episode.”

On Sunday, Governor Siminalayi Fubara posted a video on X to say he is supporting President Tinubu, the Rainbow Coalition, and Kingsley Chinda, the APC governorship candidate in Rivers. “We have made peace in the state, and I am supporting the Rainbow Coalition,” he said, adding, “The time of war is over. This is the time of peace, and this peace is taking us to another level.” Which level? He did not say. Nigerian peace always comes with a mystery destination, like a danfo conductor shouting “last stop” when there is no stop.

To catch you up: Rivers has had an impeachment attempt, a suspended governor, a sole administrator, six months of emergency rule and more reconciliation meetings than an NGO. If this were a Nollywood series, it would be the one with seven parts, where every part ends with “the final one is coming soon.”

The Rainbow Coalition, by the way, is led by Nyesom Wike, and it is called rainbow because it has members from both the PDP and the APC, so nobody can tell who belongs where without checking their Sunday profile picture.

Now, here is where it gets spicy. Back in December, Wike told Fubara, “You take stands when things are tough, not when food is ready.” In May, he said the coalition was not working with Fubara. And now Fubara is declaring support for that same coalition. Either the food is finally ready, or somebody found the key to the pot. The reports we saw carried no reaction from Wike, which in Rivers politics usually means he is drafting.

Fubara also said his supporters do not need to be paid to back the coalition, and that he is not doing this for personal gain. Great. Nigerians love when a politician denies something nobody asked about. It is the political version of “I am not angry” said in a very loud voice.

To be fair to the governor, a state that has been through this much drama deserves some peace, and if a video on X is how we get it, so be it. Ordinary Rivers people have businesses, school fees, and generators that do not care who is aligned with whom. But whether peace lasts depends on whether everyone who signed it agrees on what they signed, and history says that is a very big “if.”

For now, Rivers has peace, a coalition, a candidate, and a video on X. The only thing missing is the finale. We will be watching, with popcorn and a charged phone.