David Umahi, the governor of Ebonyi State, and his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike, are two of a kind. They are figures of fun. Their actions, for the most part, border on the ridiculous. While Wike dramatizes his folly, Umahi takes self-righteousness to the level of the absurd. Both have exaggerated sense of selves. They are also given to intolerance, a trait that often drives them into emotional outbursts that are unbecoming of the high office they occupy.
Umahi and Wike are self-opinionated both in words and action. They are creatures of anger; always taunting and railing. They have something in them that tells them that they do not and cannot make mistakes. Beyond this self-conceit, they are intolerant. There is no room for contraries in whatever they do. You either flow with their indiscretion or you are dismissed as a misfit.
Given that they share similar mental attributes, Umahi and Wike never got on well. The pride in one repels the other. They have always been at each other’s throats.
We should recall that it was Wike who as the Lord of the Manor in Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) vineyard, spearheaded a legal battle that almost removed Umahi as governor. The bone of contention then was Umahi’s defection from PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Wike, in his usual braggadocio, railed at Umahi freely. He boasted that Umahi must be removed as the governor of Ebonyi State by the courts for deserting his party. But Umahi would take none of that. He fired back. He accused Wike of being driven into frenzy by the huge public fund at his disposal. He said Wike was nothing when divested of the wad of cash that he gloats with. He even challenged Wike to a television debate for Nigerians to know who, between them, is really a performing governor. There has never been any love lost between the two governors.
But something has, curiously, brought them together. They are united in their common resentment for one man-Mr Peter Obi. The two men are now the best of friends on account of this. The common ground on which they operate is the aspiration of Peter Obi to the office of the President of Nigeria. Umahi and Wike do not like the idea. A possible ascendancy of Peter Obi to the office of president scares them to the marrows. They have been unable to come to terms with it.
It should be recalled that when, in 2019, Atiku Abubakar chose Obi as his running mate for that year’s presidential election, Umahi stopped at nothing to discredit the idea. He wondered why it should be Peter of all south easterners that were in PDP. And only last year when the jostle for who will fly the flag of PDP for the presidential contest was on, Wike acted in ways and manners that suggested that Obi would not go far in the race because he (Wike) will even buy off the votes from Obi’s Anambra State just to ensure that he does not make any headway. Obi eventually left the PDP and pitched his tent with the Labour Party.
In the race for the presidency in the February 25 elections, Obi was a frontline contender. He was tipped to win the election. And he is believed to have won regardless of the chicanery by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Obi has since approached the court to reclaim his mandate. But the likes of Umahi and Wike are gloating. They are singing an anti-Obi song.
A few days ago, Umahi took up advertorials in national newspapers where he described Wike in glowing terms. The Wike that Umahi once derided has suddenly become “Mr Projects” and “A Trusted Friend of Ndigbo”. Umahi also said of Wike: “ He is a dependable ally of Ndigbo…The Rivers governor has the best of intentions at all times for Ndigbo…his commitment towards the advancement of the cause and aspiration of Ndigbo remains unshaken and solid.” Consequently, Umahi is asking Ndigbo to reciprocate this gesture by joining hands with Wike in electing “his candidate and successor, Hon. Sim Fubara.” Umahi is asking Ndigbo to vote “massively for Fubara who is well positioned to continue the development strides of the state.” With this,
The cheapness in this charade rankles. It is sickening. Who does this Umahi think he is addressing? I pity his lack of maturity. Wike on his part must be congratulating himself for a job well done. He has coopted cheap elements to join his anti-Obi chorus. I shudder at this depravity. Umahi has, shamefacedly, made himself Wike’s super salesman.
Beyond the ping pong Wike and his mischievous allies are playing with the Igbo, we must not lose sight of the fact that these characters are debasing politics in Nigeria. Umahi is of the APC. And here he is campaigning for the candidate of the PDP. If such a character is not a figure of fun, I do not know what else he is. Under normal circumstances, Umahi will be sanctioned by his political party for anti-party activities. Unfortunately, we live in abnormal times. Umahi’s pronouncement is in line with what his party wants. Wike supported their presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, against the candidate of his own party, Atiku Abubakar. So, it is normal in APC circles for the party to support Wike to deliver his candidate. They call it reciprocity. This is in spite of the fact that supporting Wike’s governorship candidate will hurt the interest of the APC candidate in the same election. What perverse politics.
While we leave the APC to deal with its internal contradictions, we cannot but query the overzealousness of David Umahi. Who appointed this man to speak for Ndigbo? No one that I know of. But as a self-proclaimed spokesman of the Igbo, Umahi should have known the right moment to interject. He got it all wrong in this particular instance. Among the Igbo, Wike is a reprehensible fellow who sabotaged the winning streak of Peter Obi. It is an open secret that Wike used his position as governor to thwart the will of the people in Rivers State. It is this same man that Umahi is asking his Igbo kinsmen to embrace. If this call is not idiotic, I don’t know what else it is. What this says of Umahi is that his quisling instinct will never die. Umahi delights in anything and everything that makes his Igbo kinsmen unhappy.
Wike and Umahi who were once implacable foes are now united in mischief. Both are in an unholy alliance in the plot to shoot down Peter Obi. They have a common enemy in Peter Obi. It is a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend. It is a tragedy that our political space is populated by this breed of brigands who have been fighting hard to reduce public office to their lowly level.