NYESOM WIKE: A FIGHT FOR ETHNOREGIONAL JUSTICE
Opinion by
Washington Osa Osifo, Ph.D.
The Governor of Rivers State, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, CON is fighting an internecine war of wits. To many Nigerians, given the explicit conspiratorial events that played out during and after the Peoples Democratic Party’s National Convention, the explosion of a caldron of Governor Wike’s repressed anger and consequent brinkmanship is understandable. To some others, the quarrel may be justified but it has been taken too far. It is the reason why some have scurrilously lampooned the Governor for his pertinacity. Supporters and sympathizers of the embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Sen. Iyocha Ayu, are mostly of this school of thought. You can’t blame anyone. Opinions are free and often laced with biases but facts are sacred!
Nigerian politics from inception have often than not been colored and constricted by ethnicity and regionalism. Both have severely stunted our politics, blinkered our thoughts and blurred our vision. Ethnicity has been expressed in a way that denies people political power and its instruments. Regionalism on the other hand has denied sections of this country economic power and resources. These have tested people's loyalty, resulting in perennial yearnings and cries of marginalization while spotting domination of one group over others. The aftermath has been pervasive climate of fear, suspicion and mistrust; the fear of not getting fair share of the political space and fair share of access to national resources.
Sometimes, tension in Nigeria soared to near boiling point and a little short of a spark. Nigeria on each occasion has managed to pull back from the precipice and as strategy for managing anger and frustration in the system, flaring nerves have been quickly placated by hurriedly organized political summits. We have lost count of such talk-shops including constitutional conferences with no corresponding far reaching solutions and outcomes. The idea of power shift and zoning are some of the devices and inventions canvassed vigorously at the talk shops. One positive sign that emanated from the talks is that a broad consensus was reached in the interest of peace and unity namely that zoning of the office of President be observed between North and South, in addition to retaining the federal character principle.
There is absolutely no doubt that Governor Wike has simply stepped up to provide strong leadership for the South on a critical matter that is constitutional in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. It is a fight to uphold the PDP constitution and national ethos. Ordinarily, it ought to be a none issue for the PDP, having considered the matter important enough for incision into their constitution. But Abubakar Atiku is a conservative plutocrat of the old order. One of the architects of those days when Aso Villa scripted and choreographed democracy for the Nigerian public. His quest for power is neurotic without limiting principles. His generation used ethnicity and pecuniary power to buy their way through the civil and public services irrespective of the position of the law. With a career deficit of integrity in favor of filthy lucre, he amassed unexplainable wealth and suffers no qualms deploying same with a straight face in every election season.
After prostituting his conscience moving from one party membership to another at every turn and never driven by ideas to build a party, he brashly rushed down from his base in Dubai, out- maneuvering and outbidding all contenders at the cash n carry PDP presidential primary election held in Abuja on Saturday May 28, 2022. Wike was one of the victims of the high level conspiracy at the National Convention. Unfortunately for the perpetrators, Governor Wike may be young and may look ordinary, but he is certainly extraordinary in fighting spirit. In Edo tradition, where I come from, his type is called ‘Udasue’, a dangerous small creature. Those who hunt for games are usually warned not to kill and eat the animal. If you kill ‘Udasue’ and eat it, that may be your last! All party leaders must realize that the days of impunity are over! There is no better way to say this than the way Governor Wike sings and dances! It is the nadir of Atiku’s uneventful and heavily dented political career!
Governor Wike and the other patriotic Southern Governors opted for a well thought out mission to assert the rights, equality and relevance of the South in the Nigerian project. In unambiguous terms, this translates to the fact that the party Presidential candidate and the Chairman of the party cannot come from the same region. In an emphatic manner, this is a daring breach of the party’s constitutional prescription. To turn a blind eye to the brazen breach will be unconscionable and a recipe for division and disaster. Nobody will entrust the leadership of the country to a party that callously and recklessly tramples on her constitution. The party should do the needful in its own interest as fast as possible. The suggestion that it will entail a long and complicated process is not persuasive. It smacks off unwillingness to right the injury by trying to weave a tangled web around a simple process. If there are complications and intricacies, the party has the capacity to traverse same. It is not debatable that the process for reversal is within the mechanics of the party in the same way that the party made it possible for Abubakar Atiku to emerge in spite of the express provisions of the constitution. If you have developed skills of climbing a palm tree to the top, you should be able to come down with those skills as well. The demand for equity, fairness and justice which Wike and others have made, in all good conscience is legendary and can be achieved overnight!
Nyesom Wike has chosen to fight for equality, fairness and justice. It is a fight for ethnoregional justice. It is also a clarion call on all Nigerians to remain vigilant in the defense of their political rights. Nigeria cannot be condemned to the exhausting rigmarole of activities around the same circle, making the same mistakes over and over again. People must stand up for what is right at all times. If Wike and others had refused to fight, the age old tension, fear and suspicion will find unimaginable flourish in national politics and who knows what form and shape it will take in this information age. A stitch in time saves nine! Governor Nyesom Wike and his patriotic team deserves massive commendation and support for taking on the conservative block represented by Atiku to whom rules and laws means nothing. To Atiku and his co-travelers, it is only needful to employ southerners as cooks and drivers and simply carry others along. In Atiku’s own words‘The North do not need the Igbos and Yorubas candidates’. That singular statement is Abubakar Atiku’s primrose path to Waterloo!
Washington Osa Osifo, Ph.D
Uhunmwode Constituency,
Edo State.
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