Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state is a very shrewd, rugged and sagacious politician. Since he started contesting elections in 1999, he had never lost any election until the recent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primaries which he lost to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar by polling 237 votes to Atiku’s 371.
Wike has never hidden his dislike or opposition to Atiku. When Atiku contested the 2018 presidential primaries, Wike supported Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state for the ticket. When Atiku eventually won the 2018 primaries by a landslide against Wike’s expectation right inside his home state of Port Harcourt, reports said that Wike stormed out of the convention ground out of anger even before Atiku was finally declared the winner of the primaries. A replay of the video clip of the 2018 presidential primaries would show that Wike was not at the podium to receive or congratulate Atiku when the presidential candidate was giving his acceptance speech whereas many PDP governors were there.
Wike clearly showed his open rejection of Atiku as the presidential candidate in preference to Tambuwal even when the party delegates had elected him. The current allegation of bias which Wike is leveling against the national chairman of the party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, was what Wike did to Atiku when the latter emerged as the presidential candidate of the party in 2018.
Granted that Wike later delivered PDP to Atiku at the general elections, but if he had not shown his open dislike for Atiku, after the 2018 primaries, his current fate may not have arisen. Many PDP governors actually worked against Atiku/Obi’s ticket of 2019 but they did not exhibit open disdain for the ticket.
Wike has been sulking since he lost the vice presidential nomination. If Wike were in Atiku’s shoes, would he pick his greatest opponent in the primaries as his running mate? Wike has remained recalcitrant and implacable because he had been winning elections in the past. He had never tasted defeat unlike most politicians including Atiku himself who had been losing elections since 2007 till date.
At times, it’s good for a successful politician to taste defeat so that he/she can feel the other side of the coin. Too much success makes a politician inebriated with power and becomes very uncontrollable. Defeat tames irascible politicians. Life itself is full of ups and downs, bitter and sweet pills. Imagine the kind of presidency Nigeria would have if Atiku becomes the president and Wike his vice president when both of them don’t usually agree.
If Wike had emerged as the presidential candidate of the PDP, would PDP defeat this Tinubu/Sheriff Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket even if Wike had picked a northern Muslim as his running mate?
If Wike had emerged as the presidential or vice presidential candidate of the PDP, would Ndigbo vote for him during the main election taking into consideration what happened in Obigbo in Oyingbo local government area of Rivers state in 2021 where scores of Ndigbo were allegedly killed which had made the leader of proscribed Indigenous People of the Republic of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, declare a fatwa on Wike?
The PDP has a duty to pacify or placate Wike but the latter cannot hold the party to ransom just because he lost the primary election. Wike had fought a few battles for the PDP in the past, especially in removing two former national chairmen, Sen Ali Modu Sheriff and Chief Uche Secondus, from office.
However, Wike also benefited from the PDP for offering him the platform to be elected as the governor of the oil-rich Rivers state for two terms. Wike became local government chairman, chief of staff, minister and governor on the platform of the PDP, so the party has done more good to him than otherwise. No other party can give him such benefits.
The speculation of Wike’s intention to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is bunkum. What can APC offer him now? Nominations of candidates had ended. The highest offer APC can make to him now is an unrealistic ministerial position if the party wins the presidential election. Was Wike not a minister under the PDP?
If Wike supports Tinubu’s presidential aspiration, it means that Wike himself may never be a president or a vice president in his life time because by the time Tinubu finishes his eight years as president, power will return to the North for another eight years, making it a cumulative 16 years, before power can return to the South.
In fact, APC has nothing to offer to Wike, no matter the sweet tongues of its leaders. Besides, former governor and immediate past minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who’s an arch political rival of Wike is the current leader of the Rivers APC. Can Wike displace him if he defects to APC?
Even if Wike displaces Amaechi as the leader of Rivers APC now, it’s meaningless and nonsensical because the primary purpose of a political party is that it provides the vehicle for elections into various offices. The Rivers APC had long closed their primaries and nominations. Is Wike going to APC to campaign for the candidates Amaechi nominated? Will Wike abandon the PDP governorship candidate just because he’s aggrieved with the party?
Recall that Wike chose a political greenhorn as the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP? He’s the immediate past accountant-general of the state. Some political analysts are insinuating that Wike picked him as his successor for strategic reasons. The candidate, as the accountant-general of the state, may know a lot about the financial dealings of the state under Wike. Once he becomes the governor, constitutional immunity covers him against prosecution by anti-corruption agencies like the EFCC and the ICPC.
If EFCC goes after Wike when he leaves office, they will need the accountant-general as a vital prosecution witness. But with immunity, the governor cannot be subpoenaed by the court as prosection witness.
Maduako writes from Owerri, Imo state via [email protected]
