The atmosphere in Rivers State could best be classified into sadness, happiness, anger and for some, relief following the declaration of a state of emergency by President Bola Tinubu in a broadcast on Tuesday night.
Those reached for comments are only full of exclamations without any official response.
The streets and relaxation centres are silent and moody. Business organisations are calling newsmen to advise them on whether to cancel engagements and meetings.
Efforts to reach the governor to get his farewell message to the people have been unsuccessful.
Oil workers are reaching each other to know what to do before morning, expecting email messages asking them to work from home until things get clear by the next day, Wednesday.
The camps loyal to Sim Fubara are silent and sad. The camps loyal to FCT Minister who is seen to be victorious in the broadcast, are jubilant but quiet about it. Some of them are sending emojis of victory and happiness to their associates.
The neutrals are the ones vocally fuming. They say the battle was between Gov Fubara and the Minister, but that only the governor was scathed in the broadcast.
They say Wike was an open opponent in the confrontations and has been directly mentioned in all the crisis points, in which case, he is a direct combatant.
A source said Wike even visited Rivers State at the weekend where he made direct statements appearing to have given a nod to the impeachment, and that the lawmakers were always openly flying to Abuja and from there to the House of Assembly sitting.
Many say the attacks appear stage-managed to convince the presidency that Rivers State has become ungovernable. They opine that such veils could have easily been unveiled by security operatives to give the president proper briefing.
Some persons say some states in the north were overdue for state of emergency but Rivers has been singled out.
In his late reaction, Darlington Nwauju, the publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) recognized by the courts, said the country is adrift; “We have never had it so bad, quoting what Tinubu published on May 17, 2013, by Wale Odunsi.”
He further quoted thus: “The present scenario playing out in the country reminds one of the classical cases of a mediocre craftsman who continually blames the tools of his trade for his serial failure but refuses to look at his pitiable state with a view to adjusting.”
