News
TUC President and April 26 Polls
In Rivers
Written by Tony Amadi,
Port Harcourt
The president-general of
the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Peter Esele may be
traversing the borders of decent and legitimate trade unionism,
natural patriotism and election duty call. For, not as a
conventional polls monitor or observer would his recent
utterances and actions on the Rivers governorship elections be
welcomed.
Condemning the alleged
mob attack on a police officer by voters at a polling unit in
Ikwerre Ward Eight, Ubima, and the TUC boss displayed an anti-Omehia
inclination unworthy of his status as either a trade unionist or
an accredited election monitor/observer.
The Comrade accused
Barrister Celestine Omehia of standing by and watching his
supporters mob the police officer in question. He however failed
to tell the world what the reaction of other security personnel
at the unit, if any, was in the face of the breach of security
by the mob.
Mr Esele knew too well
that Barrister Omehia, even as a politician and gubernatorial
candidate of APGA was merely a voter on the day and couldn't
have been at the unit to do any other thing but cast his vote
and, perhaps monitor the process at his own unit.
It was entirely the
responsibility of the security forces to quell any uprising and
bring to book all defaulting members of the public who came out
that day to cast their votes for candidates of their choice but
sought interest in negative things. Barrister Omehia couldn't
have been in control of the security at the polling units even
though as an illustrious son of the area his influence could
simmer down high emotions.
Esele was, perhaps
saddling Barrister Omehia with the security of the polls at the
unit on the day, and just stopped short of stating if the man he
was faulting on the alleged mob action against the police
officer, perhaps also prevented or commanded the security forces
on hand not to check the situation.
It was surprising, in
the first place to learn that the Comrade had such a strong tie
with the Rivers governorship that he assigned to himself the
responsibility of leaving Abuja not for Port Harcourt but for
Ubima. Was he, particularly following the Rivers State chief
executive just like journalists would follow figure heads to
wherever they lead them? Or was he on a fault finding mission?
Comrade Esele's
observation and comments however ran contrary to reports which
portrayed the police officer as imposing himself on the unit. It
was learnt that the police officer was a security detail at
Governor Amaechi’s country home and so was challenged by the
voters when he tried to arrogate to himself powers of police
officers on election duty.
The director of
publicity of the Celestine Omehia Campaign Organization, Mr
Barth Emarkpo confirmed that the police officer had no business
with the electoral process of the day, and bitterly countered
the positions of the Rivers State Police Public Relations
Officer, DSP Ben Ugwuegbulam who held that “the police officer
couldn't have been at the unit if he was not on duty”.
“That is a blatant lie”,
the publicity director said when told the position of the State
PPRO. “The officer was well known to the people to be a security
detail at the governor's family house. He had no business with
the polling unit”.
But whatever may have
prompted the friction of the day and led to the manhandling, one
would have believed that the TUC president would be the last to
slant the incident against an individual whose duty it was not
to ensure security at the unit and who did not have the power to
command a mob against an officer of the nation. Perhaps, Esele
would make his narrative better by adding that Barrister Omehia
partook of the mob action against the police officer for the
world to know where he is faulting him from.
Comrade Esele's comment
did not attract much concern when it was first made on April 26,
2011. but when the same trade unionist re-visited the issue,
with all the unanswered questions surrounding it at this year's
May Day celebration in Abuja with a call for the APGA candidate
to be investigated, it dawned on many that he must have been on
a special mission, not particularly to monitor the polls in
Ubima.
Comrade Esele would do
well to tell the listening world what prompted his visit to
Ubima on the day of the guber polls. He would also make a good
monitor or observer if he would specify what role security
agents played at the unit where their colleague was being
mobbed, and probably connect that role to Barrister Omehia so
that the candidates’ guilt would be better highlighted.
Did Omehia prevent
security from acting? Did he command the mob to pounce on the
police officer? Or was his sin the fact that he merely stood by
and watched while the brutalization was meted out, as the
comrade said on April 26 on Television? Was the affected police
officer on election duty at the unit on the day? What did he do
to have prompted the mob action, since there were hardly any
reports of security officers on election duty being attacked at
polling units elsewhere? What, in the eyes of Esele is Celestine
Omehia's sin that he made a sermon at Abuja out of him and
called for him to be investigated during a global celebration of
workers' contributions to their societies?
We should know where to
draw the fine line between trade unionism, election monitoring
and partisan politics, if we would not knock the heads of the
sheep and goat together and cause problems where we are expected
to promote peace and justice. Esele should be more of a comrade
than a partisan monitor or political jobber.
Tony Amadi is a
Journalist based in Port Harcourt
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