ECHOES OF A FAILED POLITICIAN; THE MAN TIMI ALAIBE

By Owei Tariebi

From a typical Izon man’s perspective, the thoughts that comes to mind when the name Timi Alaibe is mentioned is that of a brother, politician, business man and stakeholder in the Bayelsa state project.

However asides ethnicity which is not in dispute, has Timi Alaibe lived up to expectations by justifying the other attributes accorded his person?, the answer is No!.

After Alaibe’s spell in the banking sector as MD society general bank where he left trails of mismanagement that eventually led to the collapse of the said bank, fortune still smiled on him as he was appointed by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo to serve as EDF Nddc in 2001 which was his birth into the public sector.

With the hope that the opportunity will positively impact on his home state, Bayelsans were elated only to have their hopes dashed as the true traits of ill will Alaibe represents began to play out. Alaibe quickly took swipe at the then Governor of Bayelsa state, chief DSP Alamieyeseigha for none performance and held a crafty notion that if he Alaibe with his privileged position attracted Nddc projects to the state, chief Alamieyeseigha would bask in the shine as Governor and for that irrational reason Alaibe refused to do the needful even despite the glaring fact that the state was yearning for development.

In 2003 Alaibe took to active politics when he first vied for Governor under the platform of the PDP but was overwhelmingly defeated at the PDP primaries and thereafter sort solace in labour party, but when the political pendulum failed to swing in his favour, discontented Alaibe colluded to hatch what would later be termed as the great political conspiracy that led to the arrest, impeachment and incarceration of chief DSP Alamieyeseigha, needless to say death from the hands of a brother, followed by a ruthless strings of misguided acts of betrayal that would leave a sour taste in the annals of Bayelsa state politics.

Not relenting in his insatiable quest for power, Alaibe successfully in 2007 arm twisted and prosecuted a 60/40 political deal through the aid of his south Western cronies preceding the general elections which was benevolently upheld by chief sylva after Goodluck Jonathan had been tipped for national assignment as vice president. Alaibe went on to enjoy the proceeds of his political mischief leaving his supporters to their fate as he was again appointed into the commission as MD Nddc where he served for 2years and was later appointed pioneer SA on Armnesty but without any significant impact he unceremoniously resigned setting precedence to the rot that eventually characterized the Armnesty program.

Bayelsa state again came to the fore when the Izon nation and well meaning Nigerians called the attention of the world against a certain cabal that stood against the elevation of Goodluck Jonathan to office of president through the introduction of the doctrine of necessity after the untimely demise of President Yar’adua.

In all of this Timi Alaibe kept mute and rather than standing with a brother, Alaibe pitched his tent with the north as it was even in public domain he had concluded plans to take the Late President Yar’adua’s daughter as wife. Another signature of Timi Alaibe’s self-centered disposition over the common good of Bayelsa state and his supporters who’s trust he consistently betrayed.

Immediately after the political twist that brought Goodluck, Alaibe bluffed every possibility of service in that administration and in his usual self proceeded into solitary confinement only to resurface when the plot to unsit Sylva took centre stage.

Alaibe unsolicited joined forces with the powers that be and Sylva who had been magnanimous in upholding the power sharing formula he inherited in Alaibe’s favour was ousted through a court pronouncement. A typical example of the biblical excerpt “the hands of Esua and voice of Jacob. When Hon. Henry seriake Dickson eventually assumed the mantle of leadership, the principal as he is fondly called was again drawn into the compensation duck and was appointed Honorary SA with the mandate to indict Chief Sylva on perceived allegations of embezzlement which he Alaibe performed with appreciable dexterity. Soon after Alaibe failed in his ploy to gain relevance in the restoration administration,the time was right to strike by embarking on subtle anti party politics which in the long run culminated into the defeat of President Jonathan at the 2015 polls with Alaibe fingered to have been delighted with the outcome. Governor Dickson was next the next to bear the brunts of the principals mischief antics following Alaibe’s swift decamp to the APC, abandoning the PDP that orchestrated his rise into public prominence.

Timi Alaibe’s last shot at the governorship seat with the sole aim of bringing the Restoration to a halt was manifested in the unusual alliance between himself and Sylva but Alaibe’s ambitions met an untimely death as he was edged out by Chief Sylva who eventually clinched the APC guber ticket but lost at the Bayelsa governorship election.

It was later gathered that Alaibe did not vote for Sylva, the least to say, supported the party. As political permutations predicts a PDP rise to power in the forth coming general elections, it is rumored that Alaibe is set to dump the APC where he holds no record of service to the PDP to further embolden his vicious circle of betrayal in the Bayelsa state political space.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT!: .

1. Has Alaibe invested or aided investment in Bayelsa state?

2.Has the principal even been a student in respect to service to the leadership of Bayelsa state and the PDP?

3.Has Alaibe ever considered the expectations of his supporters over his interest?

Less we forget…

Alaibe is not an option.

Written by Owei Tariebi

Comments

comments