Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike is no doubt one of the most talked about policians in Nigeria today! This is on account of his current faceoff with the national leadership of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu and the party’s presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
On the face value, one may be tempted to agree with Wike and his comrade-governors, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State in their agitation for “justice, fairness and inclusiveness” in PDP. A deeper look, however, into the issues involved, the history of their agitation and the way and manner they have gone about it, will no doubt cast some dark clouds on their sincerity.
For the sake of clarity of the issues Wike and his comrade-governors are agitating for, Nigerians will recall that the Rivers State governor contested the primary election of the PDP for its presidential ticket, where he came second, losing to Atiku Abubakar. Though he had issues bordering on the way he lost, he still eyed the vice presidential ticket of the PDP.
Before the eventual emergence of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as Atiku’s running mate, Nyesom Wike remained a great party man, not raising dust or resorting to his current verbose utterances and pull down mentality he has operated with lately. This, may have been because of his belief that he would be picked by Atiku as his running mate. The story however changed when Okowa was picked, as all hell was let loose, with the vehement demand for the head of Senator Ayu as the National Chairman of the party.
One question, who have been watching the current display by Governor Wike and his colleagues-in-arms, have been asking is would Wike have insisted that Ayu give up his position as chairman if Atiku had picked Wike as his running mate? Would he be talking about justice, fairness and inclusiveness for the Southern part of the country?
Your guess is as good as mine!
It is highly unlikely that the current crisis threatening the chances of the PDP in the 2023 presidential election and others, would have been at all!
Wike, for those who know him well, is a man in love with power and would give up any agitation to achieve his power aims, which in the present instance, is the vice presidency he lost to Okowa.
With the forgoing, it is goes to say that the often touted reason for the current faceoff with the party – justice, fairness and inclusiveness for the South is a mere afterthought and an attempt to give their war against the PDP, the party’s chairman and presidential candidate, a befitting colouration in order to curry sympathy from Nigerians, especially the gullible.
The sincerity of the agitation notwithstanding, the sheer impunity with which Wike, as a person, has gone about the current crisis leaves much to be desired, especially from a sitting governor, a supposed leader and a major stakeholder in the party. On my occasions, he had boasted on how he stayed back to build the party when several others left. It is the same party he is bent on bringing to it knees on the alter of a failed personal ambition and an unmitigated ego.
It is also instructive to note that Wike, as against his threat, has failed to reveal the identity of the presidential aspirant that gave Ayu N1 billion in Lagos, since Ayu has already denied the allegation. He has also failed to reveal many other dirty details he threatened to make public.
Governor Wike will do himself a world of good and clear doubts in the minds of Nigerians, who are already seeing him as someone who talks without control. Someone who spread fake allegations and news just to paint the other person black and make them lose face before the public.
One thing is certain, there is need for regional balancing in PDP, there is need for fairness and inclusiveness but that will not be achieved with the combative and destructive approach Wike and his co-travellers have employed!
Both Atiku and Ayu will be the greatest weaklings of this age if they sheepishly acquiesced to Wike’s tantrums and verbose rantings. They, in the eyes of their supporters would have become less men they have always been thought to be, and will have no moral justification to face Nigerians to demand for votes, as they will be seen as unable to hold their own when challenges come calling.
On a second thought, an Atiku presidency, with a Wike as Vice President, would most probably be a turbulent one, given the governor’s verbose nature, say it all attitude and an unpredictable temperament!
