My dear Admiral, may your days be long. They called you out of retirement into an unconstitutional but juicy job. Tread carefully because a good name is better than many riches. 

Critics have said that a man of conscience would have rejected that job. Because such a man wouldn’t partake in the dismantling of democracy and usurpation of the mandate of the people for private gain, no matter how tempting. But I do not blame you for grabbing it with both hands. The country is hard, and retirement is an eye-opener. Rivers State is fat. Our people admonish people who want to eat toads to go for the fat and juicy ones. That will make the name-calling a little endurable. Yet, my Admiral, the evil that men do lives after them. 

Perhaps you knew there was no compelling need to throw Rivers State into a state of emergency. I am sure you didn’t believe the lies told by the presidency. The problem with feigning ignorance and playing along with an avaricious script written by opportunists and schemers is that you could easily become synonymous with the perfidy. They are political cowboys. They do not pretend to have any moral hygiene. You could easily become their cross-bearer. My dear admiral, a good name is better than gold 

A young officer might be forgiven for allowing the trappings of the office of an illegitimate sole administrator to excite him. He could be excused for abandoning scruples to acquaint himself with a little vanity. But a retired Admiral should have seen it all. He should have seen that all that glitters, even if forged by a president, is not gold. While an Admiral can’t stay home and watch a goat go into labour tethered,  he cannot become an errand boy for greedy politicians perpetrating a state capture through the backdoor. Joseph could have accepted the sweet secret offer from Potiphar’s wife but that would have been the end of his dreams. 

You have no wiggle room, my Admiral. Esau sold his birthright for a plate of porridge. The Bible says he was hungry, so he lost his head and couldn’t weigh value, perhaps. You are a Commander of the Federal Republic. The military taught you democracy, constitution, patriotism, discipline and courage. Courage is the ability to choose good over evil at all times. You are a former service chief. If you mortgage your conscience to political blacksmiths trying to forge the country into their personal estate, you can’t plead ignorance. Recruits and ratings are to obey the last order. Generals are to obey the last lawful order. They are supposed to have the critical capacity, initiative, and judgment. 

My Admiral, your current job description says you are a temporary recruit. The Constitution says you are an impostor. The NBA says you are an illegal aberration. But your actions say you think you are the Obong of Rivers. I hope you are not trusting in some overzealous prayer warriors. If this apparent delusion is sponsored by the subterranean designs of some Abuja politicians bent on sabotaging the constitution, you deserve some sympathy. Eleven states are in the Supreme Court asking the court to sweep you away like bad rubbish. Should that make a reasonable sole administrator more hesitant, more circumspect, and less bullish? Is it because our courts have become temples of chicanery? Why are you hastily reconstructing democratic institutions and machinery as if you were an errand boy of a certain minister? 

My Admiral, you know that if a Nigerian president is allowed to remove governors at will, this country will slip into a one-party state and ultimately perish. You know that a rubber-stamp National Assembly that sabotages the constitution using voice notes to allow a president to remove a governor can turn the president into a demi-God. Have you bothered to address your mind to the ultimate consequences of the subterfuge being perpetrated against the people of Rivers? Constipated Cameroon is the picture of a country ruled by an old and gluttonous despot superintending over a bastardised democracy. Is it too much to ask what your vision of Nigeria is? 

How can a Sole Administrator go to a state, ostensibly to maintain law and order for a few months, and in his first month, he reconstitutes the State Electoral Commission? What business has a sole administrator with rejigging an existing and legitimate electoral commission? My Admiral, many of your actions are laughable.  If you must act a script, why not demand a script that preserves your dignity? You can’t become a puppet. You can’t become a contraband Jumping Jack in the hands of a wily riverine politician. 

If you are forgiven for forgetting you would be in office for a fleeting 6 months before stepping back into retirement to allow democracy to resume in Rivers,  how will you be judged for hiring 10,0000 people into state civil service? Is that audacity or piracy? Is that how to maintain law and order? Have you ever imagined yourself in the suspended governor’s shoes? Are you supportive of the idea that he should have remained a puppet and allowed the state capture to continue? Do you still have the capacity for independent thought and moral evaluations? 

You attained enviable heights in the military. The military may not be what it used to be but the public expects discretion and judiciousness from you. The country expects an admiral to know the difference between patriotism and a personality cult. You can’t deny yourself sober reflection. How have the actions and policies you have initiated shown that you understand the complexity of the situation and that you desire to promote justice and lasting peace in Rivers? Most people in the state now believe that you are a bucket of fuel poured into a smouldering fire. Admiral, history is not forgiving. 

The Bible says bad company corrupts good character. But some critics say the Cowboys found their man. They suggest that you were the meticulous choice of the opportunist for a good reason and that you are living up to that reputation. I’m not that cynical. It’s possible your actions are not totally voluntary. Because some of them are outstandingly absurd. But you must know when to quit. You are a master of underwater warfare. You are now floundering in a dirty political swimming pool. Your career until recently was fairly unblemished. History can be unforgiving. 

In Rivers, are you working for the people, the country, justice and democracy or are you working for Wike, Tinubu and yourself?  It’s a simple question. 

Mr Sole Administrator, nakwa echecki.