Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister Nyesom Wike is not always right on the Rivers crisis, particularly his camp’s quarrel with Governor Siminalayi Fubara. But, by a stroke of good fortune, and regardless of what many commentators say, the law has always been on his side. The Supreme Court judgement that gave the advantage to House of Assembly Speaker Martin Amaewhule and his loyal 26 lawmakers underscored Mr Wike’s patrimonialism, sending the legitimate legislature into raptures. The camp has not only been ecstatic and eloquent on the judgement, they have also been threatening and flexing. Months ago, the governor used to grandstand; but today, he is drained and sober. Like lions, the legislators sense the vulnerability of the governor and have begun to toy with the prey, locking the gates against him and embarking on indefinite adjournment.
On Thursday, days after recognising the futility of summoning a meeting with the lawmakers, the governor abandoned the ploy and drove to the Assembly to present the budget. He was locked out, with consequences for the budget and release of statutory allocation. Talks of impeachment, or the likelihood of it, have also begun to rent the air. But both the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), which sought appointment with President Bola Tinubu on the crisis, and the more aggressive Ijaw National Congress (INC) have given hints that the region would burn should impeachment occur. Mr Wike’s response was fierce and spontaneous, unmitigated by the peculiar circumstances of the region and the crisis itself, and indifferent to whatever consequences anybody might hint. Heavens would not fall if the governor was impeached, he thundered in response to threats by some militants to bomb pipelines. On Thursday, the president counselled PANDEF to help nudge Mr Fubara towards accommodation and peace, but it is unclear whether his firm talk about presidential responsibility towards maintaining law and order was not an indirect hint at anyone who might wish to undermine the Supreme Court judgement in any form, either by militant agitation or otherwise.
Last week, this column admonished both camps and their paymasters to approach the court victory and defeat with noblesse oblige. Neither side has given heed to the counsel. Mr Fubara began by posturing magisterially and sounding tough despite his crushing legal defeat. But after a few days of sensing the reality of his dire situation, he quickly retraced his step and began speaking less about acquainting himself with the details of the Supreme Court judgement, and even declined to use commanding tones in his interactions with the legislators. It is, however, obvious his convictions are only skin deep; but at least he appears more amenable today than he was months ago. On the other hand, the Wike camp is still euphoric and hyperbolic. They have shown little appreciation of the magnanimity their legal victory requires of them, and have continued to press their advantage recklessly, brutally and dishonourably. This column supported them throughout their legal combat with the governor, but it is unable to countenance their actions and statements since they won unequivocally. They have before them a vanquished governor, but they are beginning to show that they might be undeserving of their victory. Mr Fubara would of course have behaved worse had he won the court battles, but the mettle of a man is reflected in how he treats his quarries once he had them cornered.
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Mr Wike has in fact been far less gracious than the legislature. Apart from attempting to make God sorry for his camp’s victory, he has spoken disrespectfully of both the governor and the state. He clearly takes no prisoners. Yes, he stood on higher moral pedestal when the legal combat lasted, partly because the governor botched the legal contest and displayed unfathomable immaturity; but now Mr Wike seems to find the lower ground curiously enticing. No man worth his salt, no politician who knows his onions, and no leader worthy of the name should exult and speak so condescendingly like Mr Wike has done in the past few days. Though strangely nearly always right in his ratiocinations, he must not forget in the first instance that the Frankenstein he foisted on the state was entirely his doing in the name of instituting fairness in the state’s political leadership. Rather than be mortified by his mistakes, rather than see the tragedy those mistakes have cost everyone, not least his state, he appears fixated on only the court victory. His side indisputably won fair and square; but it has come at a huge cost. Should God and the courts and the people of Rivers begin feeling sorry for the now humiliated governor, Mr Wike could very well end up snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Even if Mr Fubara wants to follow his instincts to keep fighting a lost battle, thus sinking further in the quagmire, he can’t. He has played all his cards, including the joker, and lost disastrously. Should he engage in self-immolation and pretend to matrydom, it is still impossible for him to display any nobility in defeat. It is counterintuitive. That leaves only Mr Wike to be admonished. He holds the legislature in thralldom. That cannot be contested. He got a deserved legal victory. There is no more appeal. But he can quieten a little to ruminate on the dizzying events of the last few months. He could have lost had the courts been less professional. Instead he won, and got the local governments dissolved to boot. He may want to permute the future of the state without the menacing presence of Mr Fubara. But that would be a terrible miscalculation. In 2023, he made the incalculable mistake of backing the wrong horse for the governorship, followed by his own indiscretions and lack of capacity to judge character. He should now learn to be less forward about his political calculations and less cocksure of everything.
If he can manage it, let the feisty Mr Wike lower the political temperature of Rivers State by sounding less intemperate and unfeeling. Though he has been described as unappeasable, let him be more subtle about mastering the state. Let him be more sensitive about the feelings of others, particularly the defeated, not to say the sometimes duplicitous leaders and elders in the state who might be secretly chafing at the turn of events. And let him nudge the legislature to sensibly and firmly treat the governor’s budget presentation professionally, and give respect to the office of the governor, even if the lawmakers privately detest Mr Fubara. And in God’s name, let Mr Wike not say or do anything that would suggest he owns the state. He does not, and cannot. But he can lead the state, help define its values, fight for it, even be prepared to die for it, and do what he woefully failed to do in 2023 – chart a clear ideological path and inspiring succession framework for Rivers. It is a thankless job, especially self-appointed, but it is the road to canonisation.
