"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln

How a man exercises governmental power, as Abraham Lincoln rightly said, is the best test of a man's character and integrity. This is why the December 5 governorship election is a moment of truth for Bayelsans to decide their future through the ballot.

As the people of Bayelsa prepare to go to the polls in two months' time to elect a new governor that will oversee the affairs of their state for another four years, they must be overly circumspective. Their attitude to this election should be "once bitten; twice shy". Right now, there is so much propaganda to idolize the candidature of Chief Timipre Sylva, the APC flagbearer in the state. One doesn't think the overt propaganda can change the real person or character of Chief Timipre Sylva.

However, one continues to wonder how Chief Timipre Sylva has transformed into an "angel of light" despite all the negative things he has to his name by his five-year stay in office as governor of Bayelsa State. That Chief Timipre Sylva is being eulogized as political messiah of Bayelsa State by some 'respected' Bayelsans only goes to show how corrupted the Ijaw man's ideology of truth has become. While as governor, Chief Timipre Sylva enslaved Bayelsans and reduced the state into a slave plantation. But today, we find the same liberated slaves calling on the 'emperor' to come back to re-enslave them once more. What a sad irony!

Need anyone be reminded how Chief Timipre Sylva used the Operation Famu Tangbei (i.e., kill and cast away operation) 'security' outfit to extrajudicially execute countless Bayelsans in his five-year reign of terror in Bayelsa State? Need anyone be reminded how Chief Timipre Sylva, while governor of Bayelsa State between 2007 and 2012, openly patronized cult fraternities in the state, resulting in incessant inter-cult wars and show of supremacy of violence between and among cult leaders?

Need anyone be reminded how Chief Timipre Sylva reportedly diverted the bond his administration took to satisfy his own frivolous fantasies, thereby defeating the very essence of the bond, the burden of which repayment is being borne by the present administration? Need anyone be reminded how Chief Timipre Sylva embarrassed and disgraced President Muhammadu Buhari when the latter came to campaign in Bayelsa State under the CPC for the 2011 presidential election?
Need any Bayelsan be reminded that violence walked on four legs in their state during Chief Timipre Sylva's administration? Need anyone be reminded how the Chief Timipre Sylva-led Bayelsa State Government, a vital institution of the state whose first constitutional obligation is the security of the citizen, was killing and maiming the very citizens it was meant to protect with the Operation Famu Tangbei in our streets; and on the other hand, watched with clinical gratification the unchecked inter-cult wars in the streets of Yenagoa with the attendant heavy collateral casualties?

That Chief Timipre Sylva is still the same violent man we knew, who approved the callous decimation of lives in Bayelsa State as state chief executive, came to the fore once again at the recent APC governorship primary of September 22. Thugs hired by Chief Timipre Sylva turned the election ground into a battle field of sorts and held the Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, hostage for several hours. For not succumbing to Chief Timipre Sylva's wish for the primary election to be conducted without proper accreditation of delegates, Oshiomhole was called a liar and mischief-maker. Every discerning mind should understand who the liar is between both men because Adams Oshiomhole is a man of integrity, and respected by not a few Nigerians for being highly principled, both as a labour leader and as a governor.
This is the kind of man that is seeking to be given a fresh mandate to govern the people of Bayelsa State. He is a man with a long history of violence and thuggery; a man that has no atom of the fear of God.
Chief Timipre Sylva is a man who has a pathological hatred for the Rule of Law and tramples on fundamental human rights of citizens with criminal impunity. Chief Timipre Sylva is believed to have a long association with hard drugs, a reason for which many drug addicts enjoy a warm relationship with him.
This is the public record of the personality the APC has presented as standard bearer for Bayelsans to cast their votes for. Unless the APC has perfected a plan to rig the results of the December 5 election, I don't see how the party can coast to victory with Chief Timipre Sylva as candidate. The APC must be told this bitter truth. It should not be under any illusions about taking over Bayelsa State.
Although there are unceasing professions of support here and there on the pages of newspapers and in the social media, the truth remains that Chief Timipre Sylva has a leprous leadership record in the state. For the people of Bayelsa State, they have long seen that Chief Timipre Sylva is not a man they can trust.

Therefore, re-electing Chief Timipre Sylva as governor of Bayelsa State is indeed fraught with danger. It will be the gravest political misstep the Ijaw nation can ever make. Admitting that Chief Timipre Sylva's riotous first tenure was an avoidable accident of history (because the PDP ought to have re-run the primary election after Dr. Goodluck Jonathan's nomination as running-mate to late Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, and Chief Timipre Sylva didn't secure the required percentage of votes in the election), Bayelsans will be the worse for it should they repeat the same mistake of relinquishing their state to Chief Timipre Sylva.

On a final note, re-electing Chief Timipre Sylva is tantamount to committing a political suicide in the state. One therefore urges all Bayelsans of good conscience to say no to Chief Timipre Sylva with their votes come December 5. It is a historic duty they owe those innocent souls mowed down by the heartless Operation Famu Tangbei operatives commissioned by Chief Timipre Sylva in his first term. Say no to violent leadership; say no to Chief Timipre Sylva, and say no Operation Famu Tangbei part 2!
By: Austin Baribotey

Bayelsa palava


The people should know who they want to vote for.[b][/b]