The victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election has thrown up a formidable force in the political arena of the country, who is undeniably one of the heroes of that victory. He is no other than the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike.
Wike, the immediate-past governor of Rivers state, stood against all odds for his political convictions which culminated in the electoral victory of President Tinubu. Thus, in simple political language this has made “Wike”, as he is popularly called, not one to be ignored in contemporary Nigeria’s politics.
This is true because for Nigeria’s main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the political fear of Wike is the beginning of all political wisdom. Wike introduced the popular “Pepper Dem” in Nigeria’s political lexicon, especially with his display of political knowledge of the country that impacted the outcome of the last presidential election; he is now regarded as a man who would be a recurring decimal in the politics of the nation for years to come.
Wike has by his sheer political wizardry and sagacity become one of the pillars of Nigeria’s democratic evolution, upholding politicians to the virtues of doing what is right at every turn and not what is convenient. The masses love him, the media are frenzy about. Many governors and political leaders across party lines scurry him in the build-up to the last presidential election. Even the frontline presidential candidates crave to meet him and his G-5 group consultations. In fact, when Wike, Rivers state government house, where he resides, became a Mecca of sort to almost all political gladiators before the 2023 elections.
The uncertainties in the PDP ahead of the 2023 general election had made Wike the beautiful bride of Nigeria’s politics both in his state of Rivers and at the national level. Politicians from outside the stated started paying homage to him and commissioned numerous projects which were televised live to the chagrin of the PDP leaders and supporters who are opposed to his style of politics.
The emissaries of the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC now president of the country, Tinubu, led by his protégé, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos state,visited Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, which many then interpreted as an attempt to woo Wike to support the APC and which as the final result shows he did overwhelmingly.
Wike was the leader of some aggrieved PDP governors and other politicians then opposed to the continued stay in office of the embattled chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
Their grouse was that Ayu and the party’s presidential flag-bearer former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar hail from the North. They insisted that Ayu’s continued stay in office was against the zoning arrangement of the party. The G5 thus became the nightmare of the PDP ahead of the 2023 presidential poll. Wike as the leader of the G-5 stood maintained that would not dump the party but remain inside to fight injustice.
This was contrary to the Atiku Abubakar group of the newPDP who decamped before the 2015 general elections because of the same zoning irregularities to pave the way for APC presidency. The Wike group’s clamour and public utterances did not inspire confidence in the party faithful but gradually destroyed the fabrics of the party and paved the way for the victory of Tinubu whom Wike openly supported to clinch the coveted prize.
The signs of the eventual success of the wooing of Wike reached a crescendo when the APC controlled government gave Wike the distinguished award on Infrastructure Delivery. The award was in recognition of Wike’s giant strides in road construction and rehabilitation and the record breaking construction of 12 overhead flyover bridges which was unprecedented, among other infrastructure; Wike was hailed as Nigeria’s Mr Infrastructure. This hampered the electoral fortune of the APC in Rivers state but with Wike ready to reciprocate by showering praises on the APC led federal government at the centre for approving the refund of the 13% oil derivation fund which had accrued since 1999.
Wike disclosed that the funds he has been using to pay for the laudable projects prompted indigenes of the affected Niger Delta states to challenge their governors, which mostly PDP to come clean on the funds. This singular political strategy by Wike greatly enhanced the chances of Tinubu in the Niger Delta region.
Many who before then were wondering what Wike was driving at ahead of the elections in which the presidential election was pivotal got their answers when the APC presidential candidate won the election overwhelmingly in River state.
To many, Wike is the hero of the presidential election because the PDP prevaricated in addressing the anger of the G-5 and other interests in the party who sought alternative platforms to achieve their ambitions. Wike’s interest was APC’s Tinubu – he became the hero of the Tinubu victory.
Musa Wada,A Abuja
08035937424
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