The purpose of these notes is to appeal to the Hon. Minister of FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, for his sincere support of the efforts to resolve the crisis in Rivers State and restore peace, order and stability in that part of the country. Mentally, I could feel some danger ahead, especially when his home front is in great turmoil and in need of his sincere intervention. I fear that all efforts including his celebrated projects in Rivers State could burn to ashes if the growing fire turns into an inferno.
Need to guard against running out of gas
There is need to safeguard our collective future and for Mr Wike to ensure that he does not run out of gas. That is why I am writing these notes of advice to Mr Wike to review his strategy and to urge him to sincerely work for the restoration of peace in Rivers State. Any further delay is dangerous. I am genuinely concerned and worried that sooner than later the crisis in Rivers State might grow out of his control and influence. Also, he could just run out of gas if he goes on with his present way of doing battles on many fronts simultaneously. That would not be good for such a high-performing man like him, especially so when some of the troubles can be avoided. There is the need for strategic review. His present approach could lead to self-unhappiness.
Towards this end, Wike should forget Rivers State’s politics for now and focus more on his present job as the Minister of FCT. He is a great achiever, but he would need to review his strategy especially that of doing battles on many fronts at the same time to avoid running out of gas and self-inflicted unhappiness. He should learn to let some things go without his action or reactions.
Admirer of Wike
I am a strong admirer of Hon. Minister Wike for a number of reasons. For instance, I like positive actions and Wike is an epitome of a man of many interesting actions. We share common belief and faith in power shift et al as way forward for Nigeria. I am a committed advocate of power shift, power rotation and zoning of political offices as basis of promoting inclusiveness, effective participation, justice, unity, development, and ensuring the existence of the country. Wike was a strong advocate of power shift during the 2023 general elections. There is a kind of convergence of views between us.
However, there is a point of divergence here. While I wanted political power to shift from the North to the South-East geopolitical zone at that time, he was only interested in political power shifting from the North to any part of the South. Unlike me who sat home theorizing about nation building, Wike sought to actualize his belief by seeking the presidential ticket of his political party. He contested bravely but failed to get the desired ticket. He was not discouraged. He wanted something else from the party but that too did not come his way. He detoured and by the time all was clear, he emerged as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. I like his guts.
Though this has raised doubts in some quarters about his sincerity or the altruistic nature of his call for power shift, I like his courage especially the way he stood up to the challenge of his traducers or bitter opponents. Throughout the primary campaign for the ticket, he proved himself to be a great tactician and courageous man of action driven by belief, passion and ideological conviction.
I appreciate his concern for positive actions. He has a knack for infrastructural development especially the construction of roads. His focus on roads in Abuja is appropriate because the country has been highly deficient in terms of infrastructural development. According to relevant literature, Nigeria was ranked 191st out of 192 countries on unsafe roads. Road accidents in Abuja were reportedly high. An average of 269 persons die on Abuja roads from about 99 crashes monthly. In 2021, about 1,193 collisions were recorded on Abuja roads. In 2022 the figure annually was was 1,803, but it dropped to 702 in 2023 (wwwabujacommunity.com).
Wike is a prodigious performer and go-getter of immense significance. For example, he met the FCT as a rusty, sleepy city but woke it up from a prolonged slumber with busy, thunderous noises of the bulldozers working at many road construction sites. With much gusto, he began development activities in different parts of the FCT. The tempo of development activities in the FCT was so high and effective that by the end of his first year in office, an appreciating President Tinubu had justifiable reasons to nickname him “Mr Project”. I like his right vision and faithful approach to public office with its focus on massive infrastructural development. This has been very evident in Rivers State as Governor and FCT as Minister.
Mr Wike seems to me to be a highly effective, hyperactive individual with a strong commitment to his beliefs and anything he sets his mind on. His dogged bid for his party’s presidential ticket and principled stand on the conventional practice of power shift in Nigeria show him as a man of strong character. He appears to have no dull moment. One may not like Wike but one cannot ignore or take him for granted without dire consequences.
The last point is important to note in our search for peaceful resolution of the current crisis in Rivers State. Wike cannot be ignored. He must be persuaded to be on board and play the lead role. Wike is key to lasting peace in Rivers State today. He is my Minister of the Year of the first year of the Tinubu administration.
Some of my dislikes about Wike
It is not everything about Wike that I like. Some of my dislikes about the Minister include:
Too combative and rigid
Mr Wike appears to be too combative, aggressive, abrasive and danger-prone. Based on some developments since the primaries for the 2023 general elections and the current crisis in Rivers State caused by the disagreement between godfather and godson, my impression is that the Honorable Minister does not often seem to know when to apply the brakes to conflicts or offer the olive branch once started. All entreaties are rebuffed.
I first noticed this trait during his struggle for the nomination for PDP presidential ticket. I can recall with relative ease that there was ample time to negotiate a good deal for his side and save the party from loss, but he ignored it because of his rigid position, which suggests that it was all a case of either the Wike way prevails or no deal. In the end his party the PDP lost the elections to the APC and he got a ministerial appointment. In the present crisis in Rivers State, there are missed opportunities for peaceful resolution even in favour of Mr Wike, especially the many pleas from leaders of thought, due to his obstinate position.
Fighting wars on many fronts
I do not like Wike’s strategy of taking on too many enemies and doing many battles on many fronts at the same time. I do not like it because I think it is unhelpful and could prove disastrous sooner than later. The strategy has created uneasiness between the former Governor and other people both within and outside the state.
Home state uneasy with Wike
His home state is uneasy with him. Majority of the people who gave Wike pass mark as Governor of the state are equally begging him to let Fubara be. But so far he has not heeded the pleas. He should listen because, as they say in Esanland, “He that is begged is the king”. And politics, in the final analysis, is a local affair. It is needless to say that a politician without a solid, stable and peaceful home base is doomed.
Political party’s uneasiness with him
Wike’s political party has been uneasy with him. He is just like a bone on its neck. Many of the party leaders are uncomfortable with some of his actions since the 2023 elections. They have grounds to see some of his actions as anti-party and to believe that some of them made their political party lose the presidential election in 2023. But they cannot set him aside because they know that he has been an effective performer and a great asset to the party over time.
FCT Senator is unhappy with the Minister
The Senator for FCT at the National Assembly is uneasy or unhappy with the FCT Minister. She says the Minister’s development projects were not benefitting the majority of the people she represents. But the Minister would not accept such observations by a Senator. He therefore launched a diatribe with threat on the commentator, perhaps forgetting that the Senator has the right to express opinion on happenings in her constituency. It is needless to say that the Minister’s response was against public opinion and it certainly increased his litany of “enemies” and the number of battlefields or fronts.
In comparison, what l like about Wike are more than my dislikes. Together, they give cause for concern. Some of the concerns are as follows:
A lingering crisis in Rivers State
Our first concern is with the lingering crisis in Rivers State caused by disagreement between a godfather and his godson over post-election expectations and realities. The state has been in bad news since almost the end of the 2023 elections. It is still boiling, sad, unstable and highly anxious for peace. There is the urgent need to resolve the crisis.
The crisis in Rivers may look local, but actually it is national in effect. As the Kano riot of May 2004 which nearly took my life has shown, what affects a part of the country affects the whole. Kano went up in flames in support of a public protest in Jos three days earlier. It reveals how closely knit the country has become which makes one problem at one end to resonate quickly at another – thanks to IT.
As Abhuere (2015) observed on the Kano riot, though “we are spatially apart…and our tongues differ, yet in brotherhood we stand because there are many many things including socio-economic problems which bond us together”. Therefore, no citizen “can afford to stand aloof from events happening in different part of the country from his/hers because of the rebounding effects from one fringe of the country to another” (Power of Youth).
I am not the soothsayer of Unuwazi who advised Akohibhiegbe the fabled great warrior of the town to beware of the next battle lest he be struck down by a snake without head. I am just a writer and teacher of management and development. I do not see a snake without a head on my radar. But I can sense a bigger danger in Rivers State which has been more or less in a state of flux, boiling and unpeaceful as a result of the face-off between godfather and godson. Consequently there has been real “fire on the mountain” with distressing cries of “run, run, run” to safety.
Time is fast running out
There is the need for the political elite to act fast to get Rivers State to safety before the warlords of the various militant groups take over control of the scene. Peaceful resolution of the crisis is desired. There are foreboding signs. For example, drums and songs of war are in the air and attacks are coming from different angles but mostly to the direction of one man with passionate appeals to cease fire.
Rivers State sits on a keg of gunpowder and the time bomb is ticking to zero hour. Who will save the situation by belling the ravaging skillful monster cat for the rats? Many are called but few are chosen. In this business of seeking to restore peace, order, and happiness in that part of the country, it must be recognized that some people are more skillful and thus more equal than others to help. If there is one to be approached here, that man must be Wike. He is an effective leader and a prodigious go-getter. He must be persuaded to be apply his skills and talents to peace-making in Rivers State.
*Abhuere is of the Centre for Child Care and Youth Development, Abuja.
