By Dr Gloria Boma Harry
“Ntoor!” In Nigerian Pidgin, the word can be the ultimate political punctuation mark: I told you so.
In the political lexicon of Rivers State, however, “Ntoor vs Asawana” carries a deeper history. Former Governor Nyesom Wike used Asawana in reference to the Ijaw extraction, while Ntoor became a metaphor for vindication the moment when events appear to prove an earlier warning right.
But politics is rarely that simple. Today, the phrase invites a reality check. Is politics about proving who was right, or about building a state in which everyone has a stake?
Asawana is not merely a political bloc. It represents people, identity, history and legitimate aspirations. And Ntoor should not become a permanent political philosophy where every disagreement ends with an “I told you so.”
Rivers State has seen enough political battles to know that victory at the polls does not necessarily translate into victory for the people.
The real test of leadership is not who defeats whom, who predicts correctly, or who gets the last laugh. It is who can rise above political grievances, bridge divisions and deliver a better future.
So, perhaps the time has come to retire the politics of “Ntoor!” and embrace the politics of “Now, what can we do together?”
Because Rivers State is bigger than Wike, bigger than Asawana, bigger than Ntoor and certainly bigger than any individual political ambition. That is the reality check.
Dr. Gloria Boma Harry writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State gloriab4real@gmail.com
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