Nyesom Wike as cross- border distraction ( 2)
NOT content with his primary responsibility as FCT minister, Wike claims he single- handedly installed Siminalayi Fubara former accountant- general of the state as his successor, yet he wouldn’t allow him a breather to operate. In Wike’s most recent interview on Channels Television, he restated the fact of being Fubara’s benefactor. He said he was correct insisting on a “50/ 50 sharing of political offices and freebies between him and Fubara.
Wike re- echoes the lines of Louis XIV of France and Navarre” on April 13, 1655, that L’etat, cest moi, which translates as “I am the state.” He is the de facto owner of Rivers State as it were. The entire gamut of Wike’s political structure while he held sway in * Brick House* was initially wholly imposed on Fubara. This was before Wike’s recent proposal of a “50/ 50” template.
It has also been alleged that Wike is not satisfied with his implied derivations from his outpost in Abuja which budgetary allocation has for the first time in history reached and surpassed the N1trillion mark! Wike’s voluptuous consumptiveness must be supplemented by spinoffs from Rivers State strong rooms! For daring to dissent with some of these stifling terms and conditions, Fubara has been serially threatened with impeachment by the Wike segment of the Rivers State parliament. These and other developments have largely unsettled governance in the state, its pulse hallmarked by unending palpation.
Wike is at daggers- drawn with the political establishment in his state. He has disowned the most eminent first governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili who provided the springboard for his political ascendancy back in 1999. He is at war with elders in his state notably Rotimi Amaechi his predecessor; Celestine Omehia, governor for a few months before Amaechi and Abiye Sekibo, a former transport minister.
He is sparring with Austin Opara, a former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives; Lee Maeba, a former senator and Uche Secondus, a former national chairman of the PDP; Tele Ikuru, deputy to Amaechi, among others. Not much of Chibudom Nwuche has been seen around Wike these days, so it is just possible both men have parted ways. Wike has brushed aside key opposition elements in the state notably Tonye Cole who many assumed would have been favoured by Tinubu as the eyes and ears of Rivers State in the federal executive council.
I decidedly described Wike as an extremely lucky man in the very first sentence of this essay. He is serving in the administration of a President whose capacity for restraint and accommodation can only equate the legendary thick torso of the hippopotamus. I served in the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo and I can speak for the limited elasticity of his patience with any public official whose focus and pursuits ran counter to the core objectives and focus of his administration. Such an official was unceremoniously shown the door. Obasanjo it was who began the culture of requesting public servants keen on elective office to resign and concentrate on their ambitions. He also released senior appointees desirous of coordinating his own reelection in 2003 for instance from his cabinet.
Wike must be put on leash with immediate effect. He is neither an exemplar of the “renewed hope agenda” of the the APC under which he presently serves, nor the PDP’S “let’s make Nigeria work again” theme. Rivers State is too important to the socioeconomic life of Nigeria to be pocketed and unsettled by the malevolent desires of a control freak.
Rivers State is the undisputable second place holder to Lagos in IGR aggregation for example. Beyond accruals from the federation account therefore, Rivers State capably augments such earnings with its IGR, in the provision of services and development for its people. Wike’s knee must be forced off the neck of Rivers State so the geopolitical entity can breathe.
The FCT is in the grips of security and developmental challenges while Wike is trying to be a “Minister- Governor,” under a President, Commander- in- Chief. Come to think of it, the FCT minister is the face of government in many ways.
As minister of the capitol, Wike is the first port of call of many diplomats, respected international figures and eminent statesmen. I will be reluctant to honour a scheduled meeting with Wike if I only just watched his petulant interview on global television.
Concluded.