One of Naija’s most enduring musicians and respected artist, Alban Uzoma Nwapa, better known by his stage name Dr. Alban, has also added his voice to the unsettling political situation in Rivers state. And he is not finding the shameful drama the least amusing. To put it in very plain language, he is very, very furious. This superstar who dominated the airwaves with his unique brand of music in the late 90s through to the 2000s says he cannot contain his frustration at the outrageous political situation in Rivers state. Interestingly, this Nigerian-Swedish musician and producer rarely gets involved in political crisis brewing in the country. Dr. Alban prefers to leave the government to clear up its own mess and stays clear of whatever controversies they get themselves entangled in. He dislikes drawing undue attention to himself. He prefers to concentrate on seeing what he can do within his own little space to help the vulnerable and the less privileged around him get on their feet and carry on with the hope that there surely shall be light at the end of the tunnel. But after a state of Emergency was declared on Rivers days ago by the President, which came as a rude shock to many, Dr. Alban decided Silence was no longer an alternative. He had to speak out. He couldn’t look away anymore. He just had to let out his anger and make his position on the matter public.
Unknown to many, this famous cousin of one of Naija’s most respected entertainers and social crusader, Charly Boy, is extremely conversant with happenings in Nigeria. Dr. Alban keeps himself well informed of the political and economic realities of the country via the internet. And a lot of times, he breezes in quietly into the country, spends a few weeks and gets a feel of what is going on in the country before returning to his base in Sweden. Just like he did last year December 2024, when he came into the country to spend time with family and close friends. He has been following closely the Fubara versus Wike battle from day one and that is why he is in shock and totally outraged by the present development in the state.
“I understand the politics in Africa, I’m online 24 hours a day, I know what is going on, and I have seen a lot of things happen, but this Rivers nonsense is just too outrageous! It’s frustrating!” he says, trying very hard to keep his voice low and calm.
“I am really worried, my brother,” he’d continued, still trying to keep his emotions under check. “Let me tell you what I’m worried about now, it’s beginning to look to me now that, apparently, with what we have seen in Rivers, the president of Nigeria can sack any governor at any time, and everyone knows that this is not in the Constitution. So, where then did he now get this power to sack anybody that he wants out of office? And if that is the case, why then did he not declare a state of Emergency on Lagos state weeks ago when there were two speakers in Lagos state House of Assembly? Who reinstated the original Speaker? Was the situation not bad enough to warrant the declaration of state of Emergency on Lagos? And what about other states that cases of banditry and kidnapping have been on the increase in, don’t such states need State of Emergency imposed on them than Rivers? I am talking about states where bandits go to people’s farms and kill dozens of people almost on a daily basis, those are the states that urgently need State of Emergency not Rivers where lives of the indigenes were not threatened in any way,” he stated angrily.
In the course of the conversation with this journalist, Dr. Alban was asked to share with the public the part he finds most frustrating about the whole Rivers saga. And he responded without hesitation: “It’s the audacity and the shamelessness for me! I mean, can you imagine, how can two people be fighting, then only one man, Supreme Court kill am! House of Assembly kill am! President kill am! Even the Senate kill am! Only one man! All the four institutions against one man! Just because of an ordinary minister that can be removed from office at any time? That is crazy! And what did Fubara do wrong? Just because says he no longer wants to be controlled by Wike again, na by force? Seriously, is it by force?”
“And to think that this man, Fubara, was democratically elected by the people while the other person is just a minister, no electoral value in his own state of around 2 million eligible voters or more! And the annoying part is that he has not been made to also share part of the punishment being meted out to Fubara. In fact, nobody has mentioned his name. Supreme Court didn’t mention his name, the Senate didn’t mention his name, the President didn’t mention his name, nobody mentioned his name! It is really sad.”
And given the scenario that played out between Wike and Governor Fubara, what would he have preferred the President to do, he was asked?
“Oh, my answer to that is simple!” Dr. Alban responded almost immediately. “The President should’ve called Wike to order rather than declare a State of Emergency on Rivers. Calling Wike to order would’ve been the sensible thing to do because he is the reason we got into this whole mess in the first place! Slamming state of Emergency on Rivers has totally decimated the democratic structure of the state. It has ridiculed the entire democratic setting. You suspended both the governor and his deputy, even when you do not have the constitutional power to do so! The State House of Assembly will cease to function for the next six months as well? Come on, this is absurd. Let’s not even begin to talk about how wasteful it is to impose state of Emergency on the state. Or, are they not going to pay the new Administrator? Will he not have his own retinue of staff and security detail? The almost 10,000 soldiers that have been deployed to Rivers on Special Duties will be paid heavily as well. There is a whole lot of financial implications involved, and all at whose expense? Tax payers’ money of course! So, it’s much cheaper to call Wike to order than taking this illogical decision of State of Emergency. But let’s even put the cost implication aside, the heavy damage it has done to the democratic set up of Rivers state is what is painful. It is annoying. It will take them quite some time to recover from this set back.”
So, what does he think this portends for democracy in Nigeria?
“Its like setting a bad precedent because what it means now is that all the other governors too should expect that anything can happen to them anytime. One morning, the President can just wake up and decide he no longer likes the face of a particular governor and then suspend him from office! Is that the kind of country we’re in now?”
“And this National Assembly na wa! This voice voting, it’s crazy! Yes, I know they do a lot of crazy things but this one shook me. It shook me. We know they do a lot of unthinkable things, we know, but this voice vote to determine 2/3rd is daylight robbery.”
“It shocked me and surprised me that they have the audacity to do this. A state that boasts of millions of eligible voters yet they did this type of thing? And then they didn’t even care if there were any consequences to what they were doing. The voice voting is the part I don’t understand, how do you determine 2/3rd by voice voting? This is madness!”
How does this whole situation make him feel as a Nigerian in the Diaspora?
“You know, whenever I tour Europe, when I’m in Europe, and people are asking about Nigeria, I find it very difficult to give them satisfactory answers. You know I do lots of interviews and when we’re talking music, suddenly they’ll say but you’re from Nigeria, because people have an idea what’s going on there. It’s shameful. It’s shocking. They see all this nonsense our judiciary is doing. They see the joke our Lawmakers call voice voting and what this voice voting shows clearly is that the Executive controls the Legislature. And look at the judiciary, the Supreme Court, the entire judgement was against Fubara, nothing was said about Wike. Even the President didn’t mention Wike. All they wanted was to force Fubara to continue to obey Wike and the man says, no, is there a crime in that? Don’t they realise that the international community, investors, foreign immigration, authorities at foreign airports, they all see these things going on in the country? This is why our Green passport is disrespected globally. You need to see the way Nigerians are treated abroad, it’s terrible. And for investors, this is not a good sign at all. Nobody wants to invest in a country where the rule of Law is disregarded and thrown out of the window. All these foreign countries have their embassies all over Nigeria, their people are watching everything and will be shaking their heads, saying these people are criminals and they report back to their country, especially when they see this voice votes that our Lawmakers say they are doing. It is so shameful.”
For the much younger generation who may not know Dr. Alban very well, he is one of Naija’s most successful hip-hop reggae artistes with a dancehall style. He is also a dental surgeon. He has been living in Sweden for decades with multiple awards under his belt. Dr. Alban is by every standard a comfortable man. So, why then is he this bothered and frustrated about the Rivers Emergency rule situation when millions oif Nigerians are wishing they could be in his shoes abroad so they can forget all about the myriads of problems facing Nigeria?
“Oh, of course, I am bothered and frustrated because this type of mafia, or mafiocracy as I call it, it breeds nothing but poverty. Look at the poverty rates, its increasing every day. I mean, come on, when I come to Nigeria, I am walking on the streets, I see people begging for money everywhere. It’s crazy. You have to send money home all the time. You have to do this, you have to do that. Even in the East, we have to pay for security every time I come home. We have to pay for this. We have to pay for that. I came home last year December, 2024, for Christmas and it was crazy. Hunger and poverty written all over people’s faces. So, where is the government? Where is the money? All you see is poverty everywhere. I don’t see myself eating expensive meals, driving flashy cars and living in a big house, and when I come out of my gate, I see poverty. What kind of life is that? How happy can one be with such situation around you? These people, these politicians, they are so cold-blooded! How cold-blooded can they be? I still don’t get how they can drive around town and still pretend they cannot see poverty everywhere. How can they close their eyes to all the corruption around them?”
“Personally, I’m okay where I am, I thank God, but it’s not about me. I too would not be bothered if I was cold blooded like they are. But it’s just saddening when you open your gate to drive out and you just see people begging to eat.”
Intelligent and witty as ever, Dr. Alban drops a poser for Nigerians to answer. He asks: “Now, in all of this madness, who do you think is the winner, Wike or the President? And I have another million dollar question for you: With this state of Emergency, the President has weakened Wike’s influence and hold on Rivers state because the sole administrator reports directly to Mr. President, not Wike, right? So, who has lost out here? And the billion dollar question is this: Is all of this not oart of the plan towards getting hold of Rivers ahead of the 2027 presidential elections? I stand to be corrected, but this President is the first President in this country, from 1999 after the military handed over power, to declare state of Emergency in an opposition state. Rivers is a PDP controlled state. If that’s a fact, then is it not clear what this is all about? Somebody should answer these questions for me, I rest my case!”
Multiple award winning singer and music producer of international repute, Dr. Alban, is a proud Nigerian. He has a long list of big hits to his credit amongst which are, Its My Life, Hello Africa, Carolina, Sing Hallelujah, etc. His style was unique. It was fresh and exciting. It was a blend of hip-hop with dance hall/reggae and he became an instant success both within the European market and the African market, most especially in his native land, Nigeria, where every youth was vibing and dancing to his music. Dr. Alban also accompanied his hit songs with beautiful and exciting videos that have kept the songs fresh and indelible in the memories of his millions of fans scattered all across the globe. This very modest but accomplished Dental Surgeon turned musician lives in Sweden but has retained his unwavering love and passion for his beloved country Nigeria.
