Erstwhile governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, is easily the most controversial minister in the cabinet of President Bola Tinubu. Some of the controversies he is currently involved in followed him from his eight-eight-year reign as governor of the oil rich state.
For many Wike has simply metamorphosed from that governor who was playing the role of the much lacking opposition to then President Muhammadu Buhari to a state today, where it is difficult to say which party between the PDP and APC he belongs to. For the PDP, sacking Wike would not be out of place given his undisguised romance with the ruling APC, but the current FCT minister is like a bone in the neck of the PDP: they can neither swallow him nor spit him out.
Wike’s open romance with the APC leading to the last general elections and his no-holds-barred fraternisation before, during and after the elections can only be tolerated by a party like the PDP. A party that is currently gasping for breath. The PDP haven been out of power for over eight years and the party members are frolicking and decamping from the party to seek greener pastures in the ruling APC, the party certainly cannot muster enough courage to expel him.
His open opposition to his party’s choice of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s flag bearer and his unrestrained opposition to that choice as well as his huge contribution in securing Rivers to the APC in the presidential poll cannot be tolerated in any party, group or association where there are guidelines, laws, rules and regulations.
Now as Minister of the FCT, Wike’s list of enemies is growing so fast that you wonder if he will survive these new onslaughts. First, some self-serving, greedy elite from the North, who have come to see the FCT as an exclusive preserve of the north, openly complained about a southerner heading that ministry. An action which simply confirmed the suspicion that Wike being the first southerner to administer Abuja, that is supposed to be a federal territory, was not a mere coincidence.
Then came opposition arising from his ongoing demolition of structures built in areas not approved or in contravention of the Abuja Masterplan. Painful as this decision may be, it is important for people to realise that whatever is illegal remains so, irrespective of whatever happens. If a government of the day tolerates such illegality, it does not make it right, because should another government come and decide to strictly enforce the law, nobody should blame them.
There is so much lawlessness and disregard for due process across the nation. Most of these law breakers are the very ones that promulgated these laws. They are in the ministries, local governments and other agencies of government. Now, after demolition, what happens to those corrupt officials who aided and approved these structures? It takes two to tango and there are usually two sides to every crime; the giver and the taker.
Therefore, after demolition, those who gave the go ahead should equally be fished out for punishment, whether they are in or out of government. That way these problems will be put in check. Punishing the giver while allowing corrupt government officials would only mean that the root cause of the problem remains.
However, Wike’s case is peculiar because ab initio, his appointment was resented by those who feel that a southerner should not administer the FCT.
A coalition of so called indigenes of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and civil society groups were at the National Assembly last Wednesday, clamouring for the resignation of Wike.
The protest, supposedly organised by the Network of Civil Societies for Economic Sustainability, cited Wike’s alleged incompetence and lack of vision for the capital city as the primary reasons for their demand.
Addressing the gathering, the group’s convener, Adamu Kabir Matazu, characterised the former Rivers State governor as callous, indecorous, uncouth, greedy, and selfish.
Matazu stated their concerns about the direction of the FCT under Wike’s administration, claiming that his actions have not only undermined President Tinubu’s agenda but also cast doubt on the credibility of the federal government.
“We are here today to demand the immediate resignation or sack of Nyesom Wike as Minister of the FCT due to his deficiency in character required for his office and in a government that promises to renew the hope of Nigerians,” he stated.
The convener accused Wike of being a difficult person for the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and urged the Federal Government to remove him from office.
The protesters expressed dissatisfaction with Wike’s alleged land grabbing, cronyism, and high-handedness in land policies, which they claim reek of corruption.
The clash between Wike and the governor of Rivers State was also cited as an example of the minister’s involvement in dirty politics.
Matazu stated: “It is in the best interest of our nation that Mr Wike’s disruptive tendencies are addressed promptly to safeguard the integrity of this administration and ensure that the objectives set for the FCT are pursued diligently and without distractions.”
I am not holding brief for Wike, because he is not only better qualified to do that, he also can afford to hire people to do that for him. However, Matazu cannot convince me that there are no ulterior motives behind his action other than what he was claiming.
First, how can Matazu accuse Wike of lack of vision or incompetence as though the APC government he obviously supports or belongs to since Buhari’s reign has done any better? Why has he not led opposition against the APC for the hardship Nigerians now face? Or is he unaware of the corruption in the federal government, especially during the Buhari regime?
Assuming, without admitting, that these allegations of land grab etc, against Wike are true, does Matazu not know that it’s for these same reasons that the northern elite have held on to the FCT all these years?
For all his sins while in government as governor, it’s difficult to point at any state governor that did better than Wike among his peers. So, how can a man like that be accused of not being capable of administering the FCT? By the way, how long has Wike been in office to support this verdict by Matazu and co.
Again, I have my reservations against Wike’s style. I am therefore not suggesting that there are no better persons or ways to do that job but all I am saying is that the evidence on ground do not support Matazu’s allegations, If anything, he appears simply, to be pursuing the agenda of those who wants Wike out because, in the first place, they never wanted him because that office is an exclusive preserve of the north. Is it not surprising that Matazu is now leading a coalition of indigenous people of Abuja? Or did he mean that to be the power brokers of Abuja?
That said, Wike should realise that his style needs to be moderated. He cannot possibly be fighting everyone as though he can go it all alone. He is also entangled in another faceoff with the Senator representing the FCT, Ireti Kingibe.
Recall that the FCT lawmaker had warned Wike to desist from working without the supervision of the National Assembly.
Kingibe also noted that the FCT minister does not have executive powers but must operate within the constitutional frameworks of the country’s legislative arm.
However, in spite of the fact that some prominent lawyers like Femi Falana and Olu Adegboruwa have argued to the contrary that the FCT minister in terms of execution of duties is not answerable to Kingibe or the National Assembly, Wike, all the same, should find a way of working with her for the good of the FCT.
Added to all these is the fact Wike is also involved in another controversy with his appointed godson in Rivers. It’s obvious that the fight between them must have been due to Wike’s overbearing nature.
That Wike made Siminalayi Fubara, Governor to succeed him is not to say that the latter must remain a puppet to him. He must allow him to do his thing his own way. The overbearing attitude of former governors is the cause of the friction between them and their godsons. Wike must moderate his impatient and unguarded utterances most times. For heaven’s sake this is a democracy and not a military dictatorship.
