Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, barrister at law, the immediate past governor of oil-rich Rivers State and the current Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, is a powerful man. His personae, though controversial, is fearsome. His dexterity in turning the tide in game of politics is enigmatic. Like or hate him, he is a proven performer. On the other hand, Wike appears to love the trenches. He has a battle-hungry disposition. He barks and bites. He walks his talk with a great panache, including taking on adversaries with undaunted alacrity. His boisterous style of politics pitches him against adherents of political modernism. But that is perhaps his survival strategy in a shark-infested socio-political milieu. Wike fights with every arsenal at his disposal to actualize political aspirations.
Against all odds, he proved his mettle and turned in over a million votes for Jonathan in the hotly-contested 2015 presidential election. He subsequently ran Amaechi out of Rivers State. Those who dared to test Wike’s resolve or underestimated his capacity to turn the tables are licking their wounds. Wike takes his fight to the extremes. No half measure! He over-dramatizes his grievances. As a verbal warrior, he needs no media finesse. His voluble public image is often deployed in “transforming your (his) war into a crusade”, one of Robert Greene’s 33 Strategies of War. Wike is a great entertainer, too. He knows how to relax tensed situations. His ability to compose songs and dance with a swag could be a skit on political documentary. The dance steps are not for mere entertainment, but mockery in disguise.
Those close to him attest of his large heart. As a clairvoyant politician, he understands the power of money in Nigeria’s patronage politics and deploys selective generosity to achieve political ends. Thus, with a huge financial war chest and amazing brinkmanship, he took the carcass of PDP from ashes of defeat in 2015 and brought it back to reckoning. Not long, the party bounced back and challenged the ruling APC in the 2019 presidential election. The presidential ticket was ceded to the North in line with principle of rotation in PDP Constitution. Atiku secured it and locked horns with the then incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari, a fellow northerner and APC flagbearer. But Buhari defeated Atiku.
When it was time to return the ticket to the South in 2023, PDP ditched the rotation principle, and threw the ticket open. Atiku grabbed the ticket again. That was when the rain started beating heavily on PDP despite the umbrella. The inability to manage the aftermath of the primary election led to intractable crisis. Wike, who came second was tipped for Atiku’s running mate by a panel constituted by Atiku. But in a dumbfounding move, Atiku left Wike, and picked Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate. Reliable sources revealed that some Northern elders advised against choosing Wike as Atiku’s running mate. That was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The cracks deepened.
And, Wike returned to his familiar terrain. He led a group of five PDP governors (G-5) to a rebellion with a cause. The G-5 insisted that the only condition to support Atiku would be the resignation of PDP national chairman, Iyorcha Ayu, who was caught in a tape referring Aminu Tambuwal as hero of the presidential primary, apparently for stepping down for Atiku, in order to consolidate the votes from Northern delegates. The G-5 perceived Ayu’s comment as a let out of a premeditated plot to edge out the South from the prime ticket. Ayu refused to resign. Hence, PDP and G-5 remained at daggers-drawn and entered the general elections fragmented.
Wike and his group struck a deal and secured reasonable percentage of votes for APC in PDP strongholds. It worked out. Tinubu won the presidency. He appointed Wike as FCT minister and, in just one year, his performance in office has elicited commendations from President Bola Tinubu and FCT residents. No doubt, Wike is a strong and effective leader. One might take exception to his style, but he has guts. Be that as it may, as humans, nobody can effectively tie all loose ends. That’s why he is facing strong headwinds from his successor, Similanayi Fubara, who survived an impeachment plot by whiskers, within the first six months in office. And if not that the 25 pro-Wike State Assembly lawmakers committed a political blunder by their premature defection to APC, Fubara would have been a goner.
Indeed, ‘the jungle has matured.’ Certified true copies of conflicting orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction will soon litter the streets of Port Harcourt for Aboki to wrap suya. But come to think of it, Wike has a responsibility to tame his divisive bellicosity. If not, this battle carries a potential for his demystification. He must not win all the time. It is only the Almighty God that does not lose a battle. Delivering populist projects can earn applauses, but utterances and demeanor of political leaders are intangibles that can destroy physical achievements. Cheerleaders may find it difficult to tell him. The easiest way to destroy a man is in a fight with his kinsmen. He should understand that what would dent his sterling performance in Abuja will come from Rivers State. Ask Adams Oshiomhole and Okwesilieze Nwodo!
As the nation is already tension-soaked with centrifugal forces on the wings, President Tinubu will not condone instability in the creeks and threats to national critical infrastructure on account of self-perpetuating adventurism. And as a deft schemer, Tinubu may strike a deal with the man who holds the honeypot, when the chips are down. Therefore, the most urgent strategy for Wike is to refrain from fighting at all fronts. He should feign formless to disarm those who want him cut to size. Already, Fubara’s harmless posture, like a fowl pursued by a merciless predator, mobilizes sympathy. In essence, Fubara might be persuaded to wittingly keep his trump card in abeyance because of moral burden. But Wike has a choice to escape the snare of invincibility.