The ongoing controversy around Dr. Godbless Azibapu Eruani should not be turned into a social media marketplace for outrage, traffic, and character assassination. The aviation litigation and related defamation claims deserve seriousness, restraint, and respect for due process, not the frenzy of cyberbullies looking for clicks or politically exposed interests seeking advantage.
If there is a genuine grievance, the courts should be allowed to determine the matter, including the reported ₦1 billion lawsuit and any defamation claims arising from it. That is the proper channel in a civilized society. Where parties prefer peace, alternative dispute resolution should also be explored in good faith, because litigation should not become a permanent substitute for dialogue when reconciliation is still possible.
What is troubling is the way some people have weaponized the dispute for content creation and political mischief. They are not helping the claimant, not helping Dr. Eruani, and certainly not helping Bayelsa. They are only inflaming tensions, poisoning public discourse, and distracting attention from the real developmental conversation.
This is where public responsibility must begin. Cyberbullying is not activism. Character destruction is not accountability. And turning every unresolved dispute into a trial by social media is a cheap form of engagement that weakens both justice and society.
Dr. Eruani should be allowed to defend himself in the proper forum, while critics should also exercise restraint and fairness. If the matter is strong, the courts will say so. If peace is preferable, ADR should be pursued. But mob attacks, politically motivated ridicule, and opportunistic online exploitation will not produce justice.
Bayelsans should be wiser than that. A people serious about development must learn to distinguish between lawful criticism and deliberate destabilization.
The stronger position is not blind defense and not total condemnation. It is to say that Dr. Eruani should be held accountable where promises are disputed, while his investment in refining, employment, and local industrial capacity should be assessed on its real developmental value to the region
For the avoidance of doubt, his repeated public distance from any governorship ambition should be respected. He should not be dragged into political speculation simply because he has chosen to invest massively in Bayelsa. The attempt to weaponize his name with electoral insinuations does a disservice not only to him, but to the larger development conversation in our state.
What should command attention is the scale and significance of his investment. A young industrialist, and indeed a single investor, has committed multibillion-dollar capital to economic development on Bayelsa soil. That in itself is worthy of applause, not abuse. In a country where many talk endlessly about transformation but never put significant capital at risk, it is only fair to acknowledge the courage it takes to build where others only criticize. Bayelsa should be encouraging such boldness, not chasing it away with character assaults and politically motivated hostility.
The present wave of attacks says as much about our public culture as it does about the individual being attacked. Too many of us in public office, private business, and social engagement have made promises we failed to keep. Some people have disappointed families, communities, partners, employees, and institutions, yet have never faced half the outrage now being directed at one man. If every broken promise automatically became a basis for astronomical compensation, very few among us would escape accountability.
This is not to excuse genuine grievances where they exist. It is simply to insist on proportion, fairness, and truth. Public dispute should not become public execution. Litigation should not become an instrument of political intimidation. And a man who has put real money, real structure, and real confidence into Bayelsa’s economic future should not be bullied because some people have chosen to turn every disagreement into a campaign of destruction.
There is no one without sin. That old truth should make us humble before we become loud. The standard must be justice, not mob emotion. Let allegations be examined where necessary, but let us not sabotage development because of envy, bitterness, or political mischief. Bayelsa needs investors, not intimidation; builders, not bullies; vision, not vendetta.
Dr. Eruani deserves fair criticism where warranted, but he also deserves honest recognition for choosing to stake serious capital on Bayelsa’s future. That is the kind of courage a development-minded society should applaud.
Jokori Macaulay writes from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State
