He will not be on the ballot for next year’s election. But, to observers, he is among the political actors to watch. When he sneezes, either in Abuja or Port Harcourt, some people catch cold.
Chief Nyesom Wike, lawyer, former governor of oil-rich Rivers State, and highly diligent, influential, and wealthy Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, is not a liability to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his current employer.
The minister has done the administration proud by his scorecard as the Abuja landlord. He has shown how the infrastructure battle can be fought and won, and he enjoys a high rating as a public officer.
But it appears the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) comprising 31 All Progressives Congress (APC) state chief executives and heads of sub-national units does not see him as an asset to the ruling party and the administration it has midwifed. The minister is an exceptional politician with a unique modus operandi. He seems to enjoy staying on the firing line, attracting enmity at will and making friends as well, simultaneously loved and hated. Indisputably, he is bold, brave, and forthright. He is also focused, predictable, vocal, fork-tongued, and garrulous. He is at his best in launching battles, but in doing so, he is always relying on the law, the right strategies and requisite tactics for survival.
Wike may not come across as an intellectual giant. But in matters of political reasoning, comprehension, judgement, and logic, he is adept. More importantly, his strength lies in the cult followership he relies upon for political relevance. If structure is a factor in politics, Wike is not found wanting.
His associates speak about his kindness. His foes are more vociferous about his capacity for hostility. Thus, this Ikwerre gentleman appears to be a fusion of contrasting personalities.
Wike has assisted numerous politicians in distress. Beneficiaries of his gestures during difficult times owe him loyalty, and failure to reciprocate often draws his ire. He often reminds of past favours and sacrifices or gloats over kindness done to friends-turned foes when the chips are down. This he does to express his bitterness towards betrayers, or typically because the other persons failed to show appreciation or reciprocation. The secret is consequently let out. The Yoruba describe such a disposition as ‘iregun,’ what psychologists call transactional helping or keeping score.
Wike, like most politicians, loathes betrayal; and he never hides his anger. That was what cost Governor Siminalayi Fubara his second term ticket, after losing power for six months during the emergency rule. That undiluted fidelity is the chord that binds him and his other followers who weathered the storm in Rivers.
Not all the 31 APC governors have issues with the FCT minister. Many of them actually admire him. But for the few scared ones, the fear of the stubborn politician is the beginning of wisdom. These few ones are just hiding under the PGF to make their onslaught against the minister look like a collective action.
Wike is not contesting any election in 2027. But he has candidates he is rooting for.He will use the money he earned from the APC government to sponsor PDP candidates. According to his lawyer-colleagues, he is at liberty to exercise his freedom of choice under the constitution.
The minister is campaigning for the APC National Leader, Commander-in-Chief and the main issue in contemporary Nigerian politics. His man is seeking re-election next year. The FCT minister is the apple of his eyes, a dependable ally outside his party, a principled figure, an actor with a heart of steel and stone, a caterpillar and bulldozer whenever political strength has to be flexed on the national stage, or any other state at all.
By wholeheartedly supporting President Tinubu, the FCT minister had struck a personal alliance with Aso Villa, the seat of federal power. Since one good turn deserves another, he is ordinarily entitled to what might be perceived as real or imagined presidential favours. He thus attracted concessions as Abuja minister, and these have made some members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) green with envy.
However, the minister, despite his support and avowed commitment, has always insisted that he belongs to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Currently, the opposition party is decimated and crisis-ridden. It is a struggling platform; the pitiful half of its old self, the pompous party that dreamt of ruling for 60 years only to be left in the cold now at the national level for 11 uninterrupted years.
No doubt, the party is in turmoil, by courtesy of Wike and other feuding chieftains, led by Taminu Turaki, Governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, and Seyi Makinde of Oyo, who are now hibernating in the Allied Peoples Party (APM).
But the PDP is not dead; it may not die. Its fragility has not heralded the prospects of extinction. The party remains polarised, almost disintegrated, but it still has some traces of breath. For 2027, Wike, its latter-day national leader, is warming up to make the point that in Rivers, and few states, including Benue, Imo, and Kwara, the party, if properly galvanised and funded well, can spring surprises during the governorship and National Assembly elections.
It, therefore, means that Wike is not an ordinary politician. The late Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State nicknamed him ‘Wicked Wike,’ a homonymous sobriquet that conveys the minister’s political antics and shrewdness. The late eminent lawyer and governor never meant that Wike was a killer. He only attested to the minister’s strong will and formidability. Wike’s friend, Ayo Fayose, former governor of Ekiti, has also described him as a spirit. In reality, nobody is a spirit; it’s a mere hyperbole. But God is with this Ikwerre son, because while foes plotted his political downfall, he emerged stronger.
However, his support for the ruling APC has limitations. That is the bone of contention between him and the governors, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma. By showcasing his support for the APC at the presidential election, Wike also cleverly proposed a political bargaining that appears incomprehensible to the governors, who are trying to package a stiff resistance to his plan.
The minister has moved to Bayelsa, Imo, Benue, and Kwara to fund PDP candidates, making the governors to become somehow jittery. If they sleep on guard, it is possible that he would pull the rug off their feet. The governors are suspicious – and rightly so – that Wike would use the money the APC government pays him as minister to fund opposition candidates.
With his Rainbow Coalition, Wike has his hands and legs in APC and PDP. It is noteworthy that the governorship, National Assembly, and House of Assembly candidates he is sponsoring on the platform of the PDP are also campaigning for President Tinubu. This is a complex situation. It means that although they are opposition candidates, they are not much of threats to APC’s interest, given the big picture, but threats to some individuals in the ruling party. Wike is keeping them close to APC, thereby preventing them from joining forces with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).
Also, why these PDP candidates are actually rooting for President Tinubu, he cannot in turn campaign for them or maintain aloofness to the cause of the APC candidates, in the semblance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ‘vote for me at the presidential election and vote for candidates of your choice during governorship and legislative elections’.
While there is a justification for the ADC and the NDC to be livid, what is required of the few APC governors is not panic but a critical and realistic understanding of the power game. This should be the baseline for engaging or negotiating with the PDP leader, who in turn should be ready for dialogue and compromise. In politics, this is possible. It is not strange. After all, the PDP leader and APC governors are somehow united by the president’s push for a second term.
But what is Wike doing now that is new? As leader of G5, did he not support the APC at the presidential election in 2023? Then, did he not also sponsor PDP candidates in Rivers and other states?
Is it not better to have a Wike supporting APC for president than to see a Wike teaming up with the ADC and NDC to oppose the APC?
Why are the governors afraid of a minister who does not enjoy incumbency power like them? Are they doing the president any good by attacking his chief supporter? If they have issues with the minister, why can’t they engage him, personally and collectively, instead of this attack which Wike’s supporters view as blackmail?
If the APC governors work hard and mobilise well in their states, would Wike’s overtures not pale into empty threat?
If the APC governors are really popular in their states; if they are effectively in charge, why should they be afraid of Wike’s onslaught?
What is the assurance that the minister is not even grandstanding?
However, Wike needs to be cautious. The political field is slippery. What has a beginning, surely, must produce an end, which nobody can predict, except the Almighty.
The Yoruba have a proverb: ‘Bi ilu bata ba n le, o fe e ya ni,’ and ‘Ti aye ba n ye’ni, k’a maa sora nitori ile nyo.’ When the bata drum sounds hardest, it’s roaring to a burst. Also, when life confers its favours on some people, it’s necessary that they should be circumspect because even the ground could betray the feet with its slipperiness.