By Rex Akindele

Politics, they are saying is a recreation of hobby. No permanent buddy, no permanent enemy but permanent hobby. But in every sphere of existence, there’s morality and a person is more healthy revered by his suggestions and the values he stand for.
There’s this faculty of thought that claims “whilst you happen to don’t stand for something, you plunge for the total lot”. This is the crossroad the save the feeble governor of Rivers Narrate and incumbent Minister of the FCT, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike stands.

Loud, brutish and loquacious with a contact of arrogance, the APC as a political Occasion became once constantly the butt of his no longer so humorous jokes while he held sway as governor of Rivers Narrate.
Wike rose from the ashes of the crisis that engulfed Rivers Narrate in 2007 after the gubernatorial primaries of the PDP in the Narrate which the then president, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo described as having a Ample-leg. The winner of that primaries, Rotimi Amaechi with a pure Ample-leg became once no longer basically the most wisely preferred candidate of the powers that be and he became once unceremoniously substituted with Sir Celestine Omeiha to cruise the flag of the Occasion. What ensued after became once a pre-election correct battle that went the total system to the Supreme Court docket. After the fashioned elections which Omeiha won and became once inaugurated as governor, the warmth grew to changed into unbearable for Amaechi and he escaped to Ghana on a self-imposed exile. It became once Barr. Wike, a feeble Council Chairman of Obior/Akpor Native Authorities and shut ally of Amaechi that stayed at the motivate of to coordinate the perfect crew and supporters of Amaechi till the case became once determined by the Apex Court docket.

In appreciation of the job Wike did while he became once away, Gov. Amaechi appointed him as his Chief of Workers in some unspecified time in the future of his first term in place of job. The Chief of Workers in the hot machine we prepare wields hundreds of powers and Amaechi, seeing how mighty and spectacular Wike became once turning into, determined to in the reduce fee of him to dimension by no longer re-appointing him when he won his 2d term in 2011. Amaechi in no doubt one of his interviews, confessed that Wike became once getting uncomfortable and when an alternate got right here to nominate a Minister from the Narrate, a mutual buddy of theirs pleaded with him to take into accout Wike in expose to keep him from a mental crisis. That became once when Wike became once nominated, and appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan as Minister of Narrate for Education in his authorities.
When Governor Amaechi and President Jonathan fell apart, Wike took profit of the crisis to assemble a parallel constructing for Jonathan in Rivers and when Amaechi joined forces with 4 other PDP governors to invent a faction for the interval of the PDP is named the Current PDP, which later joined the APC, Wike, a cabinet Minister, took fee of PDP in Rivers Narrate as the chief being the perfect political place of job holder from the Narrate. With the total Occasion constructing in his kitty and since the perfect hand man of President Jonathan who became once contesting for a 2d term in place of job, the Governorship designate of the PDP became once an easy pick for Wike and despite the opposition from the then incumbent and his estranged buddy, Rotimi Amaechi, Wike rode on the South-South sentiment and the recognition of President Jonathan in the quandary to clinch the governorship seat. This became once Wike’s fling to limelight.

I basically have taken time to designate this to point out you might perhaps well perchance presumably inquire that Wike is a crisispreneur and amongst active politicians in the nation this day, he has benefited from crisis basically the most. That’s why he rejoices at any time when he sense a crisis anyplace as crisis to him is esteem the fairway grass to the fairway snake. His involvement with the APC in some unspecified time in the future of the closing fashioned election became once as a outcomes of the crisis that engulfed the PDP after their presidential primaries of 2022 through which he became once an aspirant. His aim in President Tinubu winning Rivers in 2023 can never be overemphasized but while he presented himself as any individual fighting for the hobby of Southern Nigeria, he lost what can had been a spacious goodwill from such act by accepting a ministerial appointment from the president and the Occasion he had injurious-mouthed for 8 years. It intention it became once all about his deepest hobby all along, which on its hang is no longer injurious if most effective he can swallow his pleasure and show some respect for others.

Mr Wike’s brazing exhaust of his vantage space as a cabinet Minister in an opposition authorities to intervene with the governance of his dwelling Narrate of Rivers with out reservation is popping into a correct burden for the Tinubu administration. Crisis of distrust and disloyalty is traditional between successive governors and their predecessors in Nigeria for the rationale that inception of this democratic dispensation and on all instances, the sitting governor constantly have the sympathy of the americans.
At recent, esteem Rivers, there’s a frigid battle in other States between governors and their benefactors, particularly in Benue Narrate the save Senator George Akume, a feeble governor of the Narrate and incumbent Secretary to the Authorities of the Federation (SGF), and his anointed governor, a Catholic Priest became baby-kisser, Fr. Hyacinth Alia are fighting for supremacy. Senator Akume has maintained a dignified silence and performed himself in a system befitting of a excessive profile authorities appointee while allowing his men to battle it out with the governor. Within the case of Mr Wike, he talks at every given change in a demeaning language directing his missiles no longer most effective to his Narrate governor but additionally to any elder that dare to associate with the governor. A few of those phrases are no longer even sufficient to be regular on an opponent to no longer chat of members of the identical political Occasion. His supporters continue to desert him on day-to-day basis as it appears to be just like the communities are basically turning in opposition to those fighting the governor.

Rivers Narrate is a extraordinarily soft Narrate. One of many oil producing States in the nation that has the privilege of serving as the operational disagreeable of most oil companies in the quandary. It regular to be the hotbed of militant actions till the intervention of gradual President Umaru Yar’Adua who launched an amnesty programme to assuage aggrieved youths fighting decades of neglect and insensitivity to the quandary of their americans. At present, something that threatens the peace of Rivers Narrate is a threat to national security and it’s turning into evident from the tone of Elders, archaic leaders and stakeholders of the quandary that the Minister of the FCT is viewed extra as a threat to peace in the Narrate, a personality unbecoming of any individual who served as Chief Safety Officer of the Narrate for 8 years.

On the political side, Wike is lost between the devil and the deep blue sea. After the 2023 fashioned election the save the PDP failed woefully attributable to some choices and miscalculations of her presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Wike became once presupposed to be the rallying point of aggrieved stakeholders and pissed off supporters of the Occasion. He became once being looked upon, along side members of his G-5, to changed into the recent face of the opposition in the nation and give the Occasion recent course till he tumbled from his Olympia height. He had Governor Ortom, the feeble governor of Benue Narrate who became once a torn in the flesh of the Buhari led APC administration with him. But by selecting to lend a hand as minister in an opposition authorities, he lost the belief of his fellow ‘comrades’ and the first to desert him became once basically almost definitely the greatest final governor amongst them, Seyi Makinde of Oyo Narrate. His appointment as Minister from Rivers, with Mr President no longer giving extra consideration to the Narrate in expose to accommodate any individual from the recent APC household, threw the APC into confusion. At present, while the national secretariat of the APC dissolved the Narrate Working Committee and installed Wike’s loyalists in a caretaker skill, Wike remained a PDP member in the day and APC at evening thereby allowing every Events to suffer in the Narrate as he continue to play the double recreation. Fanatics of multi-Occasion democracy will undoubtedly set a query to President Tinubu’s democratic credentials on the account of this. A virile democracy strives on the muse of a solid and healthy opposition and the President will build his record in the global neighborhood hundreds of fine if he be aware of strengthening his Occasion in preference to being viewed as destroying the opposition.

Regardless the preference of Narrate Assembly members standing with the minister, it’s a advance impossibility to impeach the governor as the Narrate will mosey up in flames. Seen as the first person to emerge as governor of the Narrate from the riverine communities for the rationale that return of democracy in 1999, Gov Fubara has played the ethnic card very wisely to his profit. He has additionally succeeded in harvesting the total other feeble governors who were additionally at the receiving raze of Wike’s arrogance, vindictiveness and winner-takes-all means to politics.
It has now advance to the final public that with the total noise from Rivers in some unspecified time in the future of his time as governor, Native Authorities workers were denied the statutory minimal wage of ?30,000 and for 8 years, their promotion became once stagnated. The national leadership of NULGE had to ship a sturdy delegation to governor Fubara to commend him for righting the wrongs of the previous by enforcing minimal wage for native authorities staff in the Narrate and effecting their backlog of promotions. If these and additional is been done to ingratiate himself to the americans, Fubara has succeeded to a extensive extent as it continue to relish into any godwill left of Mr Wike as his feeble trusted allies throng the authorities house in Port Harcourt on day-to-day basis to pay homage to the governor and pledge their allegiance.

If an election were to be performed in Rivers Narrate this day, can Wike composed be ready to ship for Mr President? The reply is a tall NO and the disaster will get worse with time.
It is therefore excessive time President Tinubu delivery to glance Wike as a political prison responsibility and social disaster by reaching out to other stakeholders and making recent chums in Rivers Narrate in expose to safeguard his political future in the Niger Delta.

Akindele wrote this share from Kubwa, FCT and might perhaps also be reached at [email protected]