Critics of Goodluck Jonathan Should Go For Psychiatric Test - Wike

A day after the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Henry Dickson claimed that former President Goodluck Jonathan wasted six years as president doing nothing for Bayelsa and indeed Ijawland, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said that critics of the former Nigerian leader need psychiat­ric test.

Also, a Niger Delta rights as­sociation, the Movement for the Sustainability of Ijaw People has described Dickson as a stone-hearted traitor who is schem­ing to take Jonathan’s place as the foremost Ijaw leader.
One of such cautions came from the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike when he said such people should go for a psychiat­ric test (apparently referring to Dickson’s inglorious allusion to former President Jonathan’s gov­ernment at the centre).
Jonathan was invited by the Rivers State government on Thursday to commission pro­jects to mark the second anni­versary celebration of Wike’s tenure.
Responding from the point of appreciation, Wike said: “Mr. President, I want to use this op­portunity to thank you for the support you gave to us when we were running this election. I am sure you will not feel disappoint­ed by supporting us.
“The party in power told Ni­gerians that if they vote for them, they will make N1 to be equal to $1. I hope that Nigerians now see that N1 is equal to $1. Is that correct? They said they will make sure that everybody gets employment. I am sure that some of us who are here have all gotten jobs.
“They said that they are go­ing to make life better for Nigeri­ans, I hope that we are no longer dying of hunger. Now, instead of them to solve the problems they were elected to address, they said no, it was the other government.
“You came and told this peo­ple to vote for you and you will solve these problems, they vot­ed for you and now you are com­plaining. You knew that there was a problem and that was why they voted for you into of­fice. Instead of solving the prob­lems, you are complaining that they were not caused by you.
“So, why did you come? I have said it that it is easy for them to shout. Nigerians have now seen those who tell lies and those who tell the truth. So, the difference is clear.
“I have challenged them; no project would be abandoned under our time. We will not use Rivers State government mon­ey to sponsor any political party. Rivers’ money is for Rivers peo­ple. Let our people enjoy the div­idends of democracy.
“I don’t know how a govern­ment would have been in pow­er for eight years and leave this bridge not to be constructed. You have seen the traffic on Pe­ter Odili Road. Now, you can go to Trans-Amadi.
“We are happy and we thank you for coming to commission it. We decided that you should come, so that you will know that, as those you gave support, we have not abandoned you and we will not abandon you. We are not like some politicians who when anything is wrong, begin to sing a different song. Rivers State is a different place; we believe in you.
“We are different from oth­er Niger Delta states. We can say it with all authority. We cannot come out in the public and be­gin to castigate our own and we will not do that. Those of them who do that should go and have a rethink. Doctors should go and examine them whether they are well or not,” Wike said.
In his response, Jonathan said: “I have no regrets that Gov­ernor Wike is the governor of Rivers State. I am happy that the governor has opened up Rivers State through projects.
“Wike has shown so much commitment to infrastructur­al development. The whole of Rivers State is now a construc­tion yard.”
He pointed out that the ap­preciation for the excellent per­formance of Governor Wike goes beyond party lines. Jona­than recalled that Acting Presi­dent Yemi Osinbajo, after visiting the state, declared that the gov­ernor is delivering on projects.
In a press statement on Dick­son’s attack on Jonathan, Mr. Tombra Ebitimi, national leader of the Movement for the Sustain­ability of Ijaw People, described the governor as an overtly too ambitious “lesser star” who dis­parages the former President, while pretending to love him.
He said: “We believe that only a stone-hearted traitor would move against a man who regularly comes to his rescue in times of danger.”
The group compared Dick­son to Brutus, a villain who dealt Caesar the heaviest blow from his hidden hand while pre­tending to be a friend.
Ebitimi continued: “We sus­pect that Dickson’s aim was to rubbish the achievements of the Jonathan administration, pull down its vestiges, and damage the former President’s person as a prominent Ijaw leader, in or­der to pave the way for the as­cendancy of a lesser star, who is evidently too ambitious to take his place. Well, it is obvious that this experiment has failed woe­fully.
“All that Dickson needs to do to see that he has shot him­self in the foot is to go online and read the acerbic comments from angry Nigerians against him and his sanctimonious diatribe.
“We will not say much here because that would amount to publicly disparaging one of our sons in defence of another,” he said.