If I were Nyesom Wike and other dyed-in-the-wool fanatics of the Bola Tinubu presidency, I will save myself the temptation of premature campaigns. Just as we should not pry when we are about to open a packet, so should we not engage in episodic displays when we are about to rehearse an epistle. Premature ejaculation, in whatever sense it is conceived, is neither good for the body nor the system. The wisdom in this advisory speaks to us about the haste with which some political actors have jumped into the fray over the 2027 presidential elections. Rather than allow things to take shape, some overzealous converts of the Tinubu presidency are already behaving as if tomorrow is here; as if tomorrow will not come. It is the inability to bid their time and wait for the campaigns that is responsible for the ongoing howl about the coalition party that has just come on board Nigeria’s political ship. Agitated minds will not wait and cannot wait. They are too quick to characterize an organism that is yet to take a definite shape or form. That is the reason for the acrimonious commentaries that have rent the political space in the last few days.
The reason for the impatient jump is understandable. It is a product of uncritical fixation. There are persons whose mental composure do not admit of contraries. Such elements see everything from one prism. Anything that falls outside their perspective is a sin. It is such a jaundiced way of looking at reality that has led the Nyesom Wikes of the Tinubu order to feel that anybody who seeks to dethrone their anointed one is guilty of heresy.
To demonstrate his readiness to begin the campaigns now, Wike is descending on the faces behind the coalition one after the other. He has taken on David Mark, the interim National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the platform that the coalition has adopted. Wike has berated Mark for coming on board the ship of ADC because, according to him, Mark sought to become the national chairman of the ailing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but was denied the opportunity by the owners of the party with Wike at the head. Then you ask: if it is true that Mark aspired to lead PDP and was not given the opportunity, does that disqualify him from leading any other political party? Your response is as straightforward as mine. But Wike wants to make that look like a leprous tag; a disability on the part of Mark.
David Mark is not the only object of Wike’s derision. His former boss in Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, has come under attack. He is railing at Amaechi for being in the vanguard of those who want to throw Tinubu out of power in 2027. In recent weeks, he has been painting Amaechi in lurid colours. He has lashed out at Amaechi for talking about hunger in the land. He is angry that Amaechi is working towards returning to government so soon after he left office. Then as if he holds all the aces, Wike responded to Amaechi thus: you will not come back! What an immutable finality coming from a mere mortal. Then, as if lampooning Amaechi is not enough, he has accused Amaechi’s wife of monumental corruption while her husband was governor. In a way, he is prodding the anti-graft agencies to go after Amaechi and his wife. If that happens, Amaechi will certainly be distracted from whatever he plans to do for the coalition. So far, it has all been about smear campaign. After Amaechi, Wike will definitely take on more members of the coalition. He probably thinks that such smear campaigns will weaken the coalition. That is his response to the emerging new order. Is this the shape the campaigns will take when the time comes? I do not think so.
But the way things stand right now, Wike is everything both in the Tinubu administration and the All Progressives Congress (APC). He speaks both for Tinubu and the APC. He is also their attack dog. In fact, he is the face of the government so much so that he has his hand in every pie. I implore those who see Wike to tell him to save his bullets. The storm is yet to come. When the campaign comes, Wike will not be as visible as he is today unless he takes up the job of the presidential spokesman or the head of the media and publicity team of the APC campaign. Right now, Wike is wasting his bullets because he is not yet in competition with anyone. When the campaign comes, Tinubu, his principal, will be on the spot. The story of his presidency will be told by him and by others. He will have to tell Nigerians why they should return him to office for another term in the face of mounting insecurity and other intractable challenges of statecraft. In doing that, he should be prepared to respond to issues of hunger and starvation in the land. He will need to explain to Nigerians why it is only his kinsmen that qualify for the leadership of the country. The president will be saddled with a lot of issues most of which will take only him to put to rest. Fanning them out to spokespersons will only compound his situation.
In other climes, people who aspire to occupy sensitive political offices such as the presidency do not shy away from talking to the people. When Donald Trump sought to return as the president of the United States, he connected with Americans frontally. He gave them a good idea of what his presidency would look like if he returned. Americans heard him. And majority of the voters believed him. The same thing is true of John Mahama of Ghana. He campaigned vigorously when he sought to return as president. He told the story of his first coming. He explained a lot of things to the Ghanaian electorate. Then he gave them a clear idea of what his return would look like. Like Trump, majority of Ghanaian voters bought into his story. Today, Mahama is back as the president of Ghana.
Tinubu, if he seeks to return as president, will tell the story of his presidency himself. He has to explain his actions, even inactions, to Nigerians. The people of Nigeria will like to know why they have to go through another four years of excruciating pain under his presidency. He really will have so much to tell Nigerians. And as I earlier noted, the story will be told by him, not through any proxy. Therefore, those who are falling over themselves now in their defence of the Tinubu regime should find something else to do. It is not yet time for the campaigns. The time for Tinubu to face Nigerians is coming. It promises to be Herculean. The president will have no place to hide this time. The safety nets from which he escaped in 2023 have been torn into shreds.
QUOTE:
“When the campaign comes, Wike will not be as visible as he is today unless he takes up the job of the presidential spokesman. Right now, he is wasting his bullets because he is not yet in competition with anyone.”
