How Did Amaechi Last This Long? The Curious Case of a Statesman Who Lost the Statesmanship, By Fattykolly Ibn Alimi

Honestly, whenever I hear Rotimi Amaechi speak these days, the same question comes to my mind: How did a man with such shallow appreciation of governance manage to stay relevant for 24 unbroken years in Nigerian politics?

I have been genuinely shocked by his recent utterances. For a man who was Speaker for 8 years, Governor for 8 years, and Minister for 8 years, his understanding of complexity is alarmingly pedestrian.

1. When Grief Becomes Political Theatre

On Channels Television’s Politics Today on October 2nd, Amaechi did the unthinkable. He looked into the camera and said:

“The policies Tinubu introduced are killing people. I lost my mother because of the policies. President Tinubu’s policies killed my mother.”

His mother, Dame Mary Amaechi, died on July 16, 2026 at 89. Every decent Nigerian prayed for her peaceful rest. But to attribute her death at 89 to subsidy removal is not just emotionally manipulative, it is intellectually dishonest.

This is the same Amaechi who, according to reports, rented a hall for N30 million for his birthday and was accused by no less than General T.Y. Danjuma of preaching hunger while living lavishly. Wike asked the question on every Nigerian’s lips: How can a former Speaker, two-term Governor, two-term Minister, husband of a self-acclaimed industrialist, come on national TV to say he could not afford drugs for his own mother? If it was truly about money, why didn’t his industrialist wife, his wealthy friends, his political allies come to his aid?

Even the Presidency had to respond that “even the madman who advised Obi won’t believe Amaechi.” The APC called it reckless. And they are right. You don’t weaponize your mother’s memory for a cheap political point ahead of 2027. As Wike said, “It is unfortunate people can descend so low to use their mother to play politics.”

2. The Ogun Seaport Fabrication

Then came Edo State. At an ADC Town Hall in Benin last week, Amaechi declared:

“Tinubu just hates you. If Tinubu does not hate you, why is he building a new seaport in Ogun State? What goods are we producing to have many seaports? It’s not because he likes the Ogun people. It’s the money he will make out of the construction.”

And then for good measure: “Only mad people will vote for Tinubu.”

Where is the evidence? None. Not a single document, not a single contract paper, not a single proof of personal financial interest. In a country governed by rule of law, a former Minister of Transportation who supervised the Lekki Deep Seaport himself — and now claims he built it “from scratch to finish” — should know better than anyone that seaports are not built on a whim. They are built on feasibility studies, cargo projections, and national industrial policy. Ogun State is Nigeria’s industrial hub. It needs a port.

But Amaechi reduces a national economic decision to “Tinubu wants to make money.” That is not opposition. That is gossip.

He also said fuel importation corruption can be stopped in one day if a President threatens jail. Really? A man who was Minister of Transportation for 8 years, in charge of ports where fuel importation happens, could not stop it in 2,920 days, but now has a one-day solution on AIT?

3. The Pattern: From Power to Hunger

Nigerians remember. This is the same Amaechi who said he was hungry two years after leaving office. After 24 years of being fed by the public purse. After presiding over billions as Governor of Rivers State. Wike captured it perfectly: “He was Speaker in London, Governor for 8 years, Minister for 8 years, he never talked about hunger. Two years after leaving power, he became hungry — hungry for power.”

That is the thread that connects all his recent outbursts. The birthday hall that allegedly cost N30m while Nigerians cannot afford rice. The claim of not being able to buy drugs while throwing lavish parties. The claim that Tinubu hates Edo people simply because a seaport is going to Ogun.

It is not about policy. It is about relevance.

We are in a political season, and rhetoric is expected. But there must be a line between rhetoric and recklessness. Between opposition and desperation. A statesman, even in opposition, must be measured, factual, and presidential.

Amaechi’s utterances are none of those. He cannot give what he does not have.

I leave it to discerning Nigerians to judge: Is this the man who wants to be Vice President to Atiku Abubakar in 2027? A man who insults the very voters he needs — calling Edo voters “mad” if they vote otherwise — and who uses his mother’s passing as a campaign talking point?

Nigeria deserves better opposition.

Written By Fattykolly Ibn Alimi
Fattykolly can be reached at fattykolly@yahoo.com