The current face-off between the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his dubious rainbow coalition could have been avoided only if the minister had put aside his combative, confrontational and megalomaniac attitude to consider, for a minute, the argument and position of the governors. But being who he is, “the General Commander of the Political Infantry in Rivers State” and now working assiduously to conquer Nigeria as well, Wike would not believe that his so-called rainbow coalition is antithetical to political party cohesion and loyalty. The APC governors do not believe that a politician can support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for president while simultaneously supporting candidates from other parties against APC candidates in the states. If the argument is stretched further, if non-APC candidates succeed in winning a majority in the National Assembly, what would be the fate of the president?
But beyond his infantile reasoning and the irritating attitude of playing God at every occasion, Wike decided to single out the Governor of Imo State and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Senator Hope Uzodimma, for tongue-lashing and political revisionism. This is not the first time that Wike has publicly excoriated Uzodimma over national issues, but we have always exercised restraint for the fact that this same Wike conferred on Uzodimma the highest state honour in Rivers State, GSSRS, before he departed the Brick House. Etiquette also demands that, as people seemingly working for the same goal, that is, ensuring that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is re-elected, Uzodimma should not be publicly exchanging words with Wike.
Unfortunately, like the loose cannon that he is, Wike has decided to dance naked in the marketplace by making personal attacks on an issue that was collectively decided by 31 governors who belong to the All Progressives Congress. While Mr President is at liberty to appoint anyone to his cabinet, genuine members also have the right not only to defend their party and protect its integrity, but also to ensure that the APC would not just win the presidency but the National Assembly and governorships of the states.
Uzodimma is not just the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum. He is the Governor of Imo State and has the capacity to defend his actions without any fear whatsoever. As a committed and loyal party member, he will not engage in any act that would undermine the supremacy of the party, the name-calling by Wike and his cohorts notwithstanding. The derogatory comments about the politics of coming fourth to become governor are quite outdated and no longer hold water. The case was decided by the Supreme Court, and the matter has not only been closed, but Uzodimma has gone ahead to win re-election overwhelmingly, including delivering the state to the APC in the 2023 elections.
The allusion that Tinubu won a little over 15 per cent in Imo State during the last election has been taken out of context. The almighty Wike knows that Peter Obi won Rivers State squarely. It took more than 48 hours for the figures to be changed after counting had been halted. At any rate, while Uzodimma was and remains an intentional supporter of Tinubu, Wike only joined the President’s camp after he had won the election.
For those who have been suffering from amnesia like Wike, the FCT Minister was frustrated out of the PDP. He failed to realise his presidential and vice-presidential ambitions. He was roundly defeated by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for the PDP presidential ticket right in his backyard. Many PDP bigwigs, including Senator Dino Melaye, have recounted how desperate Wike was to become Atiku’s running mate, but he was rejected. It was, therefore, frustration and desperation that led him to Tinubu, who was his rival. On the other hand, Uzodimma, after the APC presidential primary, never left Tinubu’s side. The fact that the APC scored the highest number of votes in Imo out of the South East is confirmation that Uzodimma put in more effort in the project.
Again, the environment that prevailed in 2023 is entirely different. Whereas Tinubu was an ordinary candidate in 2023, he is now the President and has a record of achievements in Igboland for the people to compare and make informed decisions. These achievements have become a campaign issue in favour of the APC and Tinubu, unlike what obtained in 2023. At any rate, no governor in the South East needs Wike’s help to convince voters to align with the APC.
It is also illusory for Wike to think that he is more important than all politicians in Nigeria, including Tinubu himself. Because he has been allowed to believe that he is important to the administration, he now thinks he is a god who must decide what happens in Nigeria. He loquaciously boasted the other day that if he were put in charge of the Osun governorship election, the APC would not have lost. Would he have put a gun to the heads of the voters or employed his crude method of writing results? That could only happen in Rivers and not in Osun.
It appears that when Wike boasts of “delivering votes to Mr President”, he invariably means subverting the will of the people and, by extension, painting Tinubu as a non-democrat, whereas the APC is proud of Tinubu’s unassailable democratic credentials. That was exactly what Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos meant when he said, “Heaven does not need to fall when the APC legitimately loses a state, even in the South West, because the will of the people should be allowed to prevail.”
But with his anti-democratic credentials and crude method of politics, including his vindictive attitude, Wike believes all is fair in war and politics. That, perhaps, is why he is everywhere, like a bull let loose in a china shop. That is why he thinks he is more important than all politicians in the country. That is why he wants to foist his convoluted rainbow coalition on the people as the “star boy” of the moment.
But in his delusion, he has forgotten one vital point, which is that his control of Rivers State, or even the FCT, put together, is of microscopic political importance compared to 31 states controlled by the APC governors. There is no way Wike can be more politically relevant to Mr President than his own party men who are in charge of 31 states. While Wike is interested in building his own political future using the resources of the APC-led Federal Government, the APC governors are more concerned with the triumph of the party in the 2027 elections at all levels, from the House of Assembly to governorship, and from the National Assembly to the Presidency. That is the difference between an opportunistic spoilt brat and the heir to the throne.
Harcourt, writes from Asaba
