Of all President Bola Tinubu’s appointees, former Rivers State governor and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister Nyesom Wike has been one of the most astounding. His remit may not be countrywide, for he would then have needed to travel over vast distances in order to accomplish national assignments and make great impressions, but probably one of the most difficult jobs any minister could grapple with is administering the federal capital, the seat of the federal government and cynosure of all eyes, including the eyes of all ministers.
Mr Wike has not needed to try to settle into the job, or find his feet. Instead he has been composed, relaxed, assiduous and supremely self-confident. Much more, though he is of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and has so far managed to remain an influential factor in the party, he is mystifyingly becoming the poster boy for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The first few months of the Tinubu administration have been testy and unpredictable.
The APC has been in office for about eight months, and has waged a valiant battle against the conventions and orthodoxies, not to say the detritus, of the previous administration. That battle has not gone too well, and has left many bitter and angry Nigerians in its wake. If Nigeria had credible opinion polls, they would not show the administration rising in popularity: its popularity rating would be in sharp decline because of the hardship the reforms and palliative measures have elicited. But here precisely is where Mr Wike has become a factor. Of all the ministers saddled with the responsibility of ameliorating the harsh socio-economic conditions of the people, including ensuring the fair distribution of palliatives and conceiving and implementing impactful policies, Mr Wike excels.
He has been careful about mouthing the governing philosophies of the Tinubu administration so as not to be seen as demarketing the PDP; instead, he has limited himself to the president’s renewed hope agenda slogan, and his pragmatic enunciations, passionate commitment, and hard work have turned him into a consummate marketer of the administration.
Where other ministers and appointees have been reticent, Mr Wike has been voluble on behalf of the administration. Where they seemed fazed by the cries and agonies of the people, and were consequently careful about sounding optimistic, Mr Wike has seemed to outdo even the president himself in selling the administration’s sure cures. He has insisted that the pains are temporary, and the benefits, if the people endure for a little while longer, immense.
Speaking during the commencement of the resurfacing of 189 roads in the Maitama District, Garki, and Utako in the FCT last week, Mr Wike defended the administration with engaging plausibility. He said: “To change the economy is not by mouth. So, many things will go wrong, but in going wrong, it will get right. The wrong is the effect on you temporarily… What the President is doing today will yield positive results soon. We may be having some inconveniences, we agree. But be patient.
You will see the turnaround of things. I will never support what will not work. I know that whatever position or whatever policies you see today coming out is not intended to make anybody suffer. We need to pray to make sure there is good health for Mr. President, for the wisdom, the strength for him to pilot the affairs of this country. It will not be good for us only to talk about the bad. We should also talk about the good side.”
Some analysts have described the FCT minister as mercurial, a politician capable of defending the implausible with perfect equanimity. But his remarks at the commencement of FCT road projects last week appear heartfelt and convincing.
He is not just trying to keep a job; he has transferred his loyalty and commitment to a president he believes keeps his word, a president who fears no one, and indeed a president who has no airs. Convinced that the president is genuine, and persuaded that the reforms embarked upon to recalibrate an economy knocked out of kilter by previous administrations are difficult but sensible, Mr Wike has spoken energetically about why Nigerians must be patient instead of looking for quick fixes. Indeed the Wike factor is underscored by his total commitment to identifying projects beneficial to his constituency, and has promoted, sold and executed them with equal if not surpassing panache.
He has not lost his governorship touch. It can be argued that other ministers had to seek funding from the federal government for their projects, a limiting factor that had generally hobbled previous FCT administrations. But Mr Wike studied the constitution and discovered a lacuna which he implored the president to resolve. Once that was done, the FCT minister had a new and secure line of funding for FCT projects, and he now runs Abuja like a state, as conceived by the constitution. Even on the matter of insecurity and kidnapping, the FCT minister has approached the matter in an aggressive and sensible manner that reassures Abuja suburbs. If only the states would borrow a leaf from him
the Nation
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