By Luka Danboyi
The self-immolating tendency for people to be indifferent to situations in which they are not directly involved seems to be playing out in the debacle in Rivers State. Curiously, there are people who are enjoying the political drama between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor-cum-godfather, Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
There is no question that the vast majority of Nigerians are inured to the shenanigans of a disoriented political elite that hardly reckons with the plight of the people. Only such a situation would produce the present economic nightmare afflicting a country so richly endowed that, less than 50 years ago, other countries were visiting to understudy its impressive developmental effort and to borrow ‘seeds’ for their agricultural revolution.
While other nations were
evolving through that developmental trajectory, Nigeria was mired in
destabilising politics, the type that Wike has foisted on Rivers State.
Nigerians can only ignore the signals from the Garden City at the risk of a
national implosion: when Rivers State sneezes, Nigeria catches cold. Ditto Kano
and Lagos.
A country is like a human being.
What affects any part tends to affect every other part. That is the systems
theory. That is why perceptive systems strive to prevent localised dysfunctions
from spreading to other parts; that is why doctors strive to quarantine benign
tumours before they become malignant and spread to other areas.
In politics, at least two
previous experiences should alert Nigerians that danger is looming. The first
example was the Western regional crisis in 1964. The mishandling of the crisis
created the environment for the 1966 coup that unleashed a chain of sad
developments in the country. The adverse impact of that crisis has remained
with us ever since. The second political example was the 1983 Ondo crisis where
the determined people rose against an electoral heist. By the time the people
had finished processing the violence, destructions and killings, the soldiers
struck, consigning the Second Republic to history’s ignominious scrapheaps.
Nigeria must watch it. The drums
of destabilisation are being beaten again. This time, by the events in Rivers
State. And the chief drummer is Wike. Wike’s actions are a threat to democracy
in three disturbing ways. First, by rejecting a practice that he benefited
from, Wike is sowing the seeds of confusion in the Peoples Democratic Party.
His declaration that President Tinubu would be re-elected in 2027 casts a
monumental doubt on his loyalty to the PDP.
Whether or not Wike is still a
member of the PDP is a different question altogether. If unchecked, the FCT
minister’s unrelenting actions in trying to have his way in Rivers State could
snowball into a major national catastrophe. All that it takes for an inferno of
unquenchable proportions to start is for every gladiator to adopt Wike’s
unguarded utterances and actions.
Second, for an ex-governor and
now a serving minister to openly threaten to destabilise some states of the
federation just for selfish reasons is not only unacceptable, but unlawful.
Considered against the background of the security crisis bedevilling the
country, Wike’s threat to escalate the misery of the people for personal
political benefit and ego trip is mindless, uncharitable and
unpatriotic.
What Nigerians deserve and
indeed demand at this critical watershed is not the threat of fire and
brimstone but a soothing balm to their worries and distress. That Wike is still
throwing bombs at fear-drenched, shell-shocked citizens, some of whom have
either lost loved ones or have been displaced from their homes or indeed both,
is a regrettable cut from someone who is supposed to inspire confidence and
hope.
Thirdly, Wike’s threat that he has the capacity to
destabilise Bauchi, a state in the North-East zone of the country, an area that
has been on the receiving end of insurgency, banditry and terrorism, is an
unconscionable assault on the psyche of a zone whose entire life has been
shattered by the scourge of violence. To imagine that a public official can be
so insensitive to the sufferings of others is heart-wrenching and unfortunate.
Wike’s threat to throw Bauchi
State into disarray smacks of bare-faced arrogance. It is a slap on the faces
of the Bauchi political elite, that they are so cheap that any ambitious power
broker can procure them to foment chaos in their state and derail a government
that, since 2019, has continued to uphold the finest traditions of good
governance through visible development indicators and the type of inclusion
that Wike insists on denying the people of Rivers State.
Sadly, what is playing out in
Rivers State has become a barometer for measuring the conduct of politicians
where, rather than show humility, they play God and arrogate to themselves
omnipotent powers such as Wike is doing presently.
That Governor Fubara has, so
far, resisted the temptation to join his estranged godfather in this macabre
show of shame is a commendable approach that should be sustained, no matter the
level of provocation.
In the same vein, the
re-energised PDPGF, under the able leadership of Senator Bala Mohammed,
deserves commendation for standing on both the Constitution and the convention
of the Peoples Democratic Party irrespective of the status or idiosyncrasies of
any member. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. To the
extent that the convention of the PDP cedes control of the party structure in
the state to a serving governor, a privilege that Wike enjoyed, the PDP
Governors Forum is treading the path of honour by insisting that Wike should
allow Fubara the same privilege.
It is noteworthy that the
position of the PDP Governors Forum completely aligns with the good governance
principle that prioritises institutions over individuals and an enduring civic
culture over arbitrariness or the whims and caprices of any individual and his
cohorts. What is even more: by subjugating his well-known friendship with Wike
to the larger interest of the PDP and by extension Nigeria, Bala Mohammed has,
once again, shown himself to be a statesman, a patriot and reliable democrat.
It is now incumbent on the Board
of Trustees of the PDP, the National Working Committee of the Party, the PDP
Ministers Forum as well as all men and women of goodwill in the PDP to rise to
the challenge of the moment by sticking to the constitution and conventions
lest Wike’s wildfire provide anti-democratic forces the justification to
truncate this democracy.
*Danboyi is a commentator on public issues
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