Leave Fubara Alone: The Palm Kernel Is Jumping, Don’t Blind Yourself -By Isaac Asabor

There is an old African warning that fits perfectly into the chaos currently consuming Rivers State: “When a palm kernel is jumping and flying when struck with a rocky stone, whoever keeps striking at it risks blinding himself”. It is not poetry for entertainment. It is a caution against obsession, desperation, and the foolish persistence of a doomed mission. Today, that proverb speaks directly to those fixated on impeaching Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

This is not the first time they have tried. It is not even the second. Two previous attempts to remove Fubara collapsed under the weight of their own contradictions, political bad faith, and legal emptiness. And now, with this third attempt already tripping over court orders and judicial restraint, the signs are unmistakable: this impeachment project is once again heading for a brick wall.

Yet, like men who refuse to accept defeat, Fubara’s traducers keep swinging at a palm kernel that will not stay still. Let us strip away the pretense. What is unfolding in Rivers State is no longer about accountability or constitutional responsibility. It is about vendetta. It is about wounded egos. It is about power blocs that miscalculated, lost control, and now want to burn down the house because they no longer own the keys.

The latest court intervention says it all. A Rivers State High Court has slammed the brakes on the impeachment process, restraining the Chief Judge from receiving or acting on any impeachment notice against Fubara and his deputy. That order did not fall from the sky. It followed suits filed by the governor and his deputy, challenging a process that many Nigerians already see as reckless, rushed, and politically motivated.

When a court has to repeatedly intervene to stop an impeachment, it is no longer an impeachment. It is harassment dressed up as constitutional procedure.

And this is precisely why the proverb matters. You do not keep striking blindly at a moving target without consequences. Every failed attempt exposes the desperation behind it. Every judicial setback strips away the mask. Every reversal tells the public one simple truth: this fight is not about Rivers people, it is about control.

Let us not forget history. Since the crisis between the executive and the legislature escalated, impeachment has been brandished like a weapon of intimidation rather than a last resort. Instead of governance, Rivers State has been treated to a circus of threats, counter-threats, walkouts, defections, and legal ambushes. The state’s problems have taken a back seat while political actors obsess over how to unseat a governor who, by all constitutional standards, still enjoys a valid mandate.

Twice they tried. Twice they failed. That should have been a lesson. Instead, it became an obsession. The irony is that every attempt to impeach Fubara has only strengthened his political narrative. Each failure reinforces the perception that he is being persecuted rather than held accountable. Each setback paints him less as a villain and more as a target. And in Nigerian politics, nothing builds public sympathy faster than visible persecution.

Those pushing this agenda seem blind to that reality. The court’s latest ruling is not just a legal technicality; it is a political message. It says the process is questionable. It says due process matters. It says institutions are watching. And above all, it says this third attempt is already wobbling.

Yet, the impeachment drumbeats continue. Why? Because some people cannot accept that the era of absolute political control in Rivers State has shifted. Because some godfathers are struggling with the shock of disobedience. Because some lawmakers have mistaken loyalty to individuals for loyalty to the constitution. And because some political actors believe power must always submit to their will, even when the people say otherwise.

This is where the palm kernel proverb becomes prophetic. The more aggressively they pursue this impeachment, the more damage they do to themselves. Public confidence in the Assembly is already fragile. Nigerians are asking uncomfortable questions. Why the hurry? Why the obsession? Why the repeated failures? Why ignore governance for vendetta?

These are not questions Fubara’s camp needs to ask. They are questions being asked by ordinary citizens, like this writer, watching the drama unfold.

And the answers are not flattering. If this impeachment were truly about gross misconduct, it would not require multiple failed attempts. If it were genuinely about constitutional breaches, it would not collapse repeatedly under judicial scrutiny. If it were about public interest, it would not look this personal, this emotional, and this reckless.

Let us be honest: impeachment has become the last card of those who have lost political leverage. And like most last cards played in desperation, it is being overplayed.

What is even more dangerous is the precedent this sets. If governors can be subjected to serial impeachment threats simply for falling out with powerful interests, then democracy becomes a hostage situation. Elections lose meaning. Institutions become weapons. And governance becomes impossible.

Rivers State deserves better than this endless tug-of-war. This is not to say that Governor Fubara is above criticism. No leader is. But criticism must follow the law, not shortcuts. Accountability must be grounded in facts, not manufactured crises. And impeachment must be a constitutional necessity, not a political hobby.

The courts have spoken again, and their message is clear: slow down, step back, and respect due process. Ignoring that message will not strengthen anyone’s position. It will only deepen public distrust and further delegitimize the impeachment camp.

Those driving this process should pause and reflect. Two failed attempts should have inspired restraint. This third stumbling attempt should inspire wisdom. But instead, it seems to be fuelling more anger and more stubbornness. That is how people blind themselves.

Politics is not warfare. It is negotiation, compromise, and respect for institutions. When leaders forget this, they turn governance into a battlefield and citizens into collateral damage.

The palm kernel is jumping. It has refused to stay still. Each swing has missed its mark. At some point, the smart thing to do is to stop swinging.

To sound the warning loudly at this juncture, it is enough to opine that Fubara should be left alone. Let him govern. Let institutions function without intimidation. Let the courts do their work without pressure. Let Rivers State breathe. Because if this obsession continues, history will not remember those behind it as defenders of democracy. It will remember them as men who kept striking at a flying palm kernel, until they blinded themselves.