By Taju Tijani
Nyesom Wike, the Governor of Rivers State and its human Rottweiler, is today at the centre of our political universe. His ego, political reflexes, blind ambition, search for relevance and recklessness are all fusing neatly together to present a man with strange fascination for a war of survival.
His search for political significance in a complex polity like ours is turning into his nemesis. His dream of becoming Nigeria’s rising political bruiser has been mired in endless controversies.
Today, Nyesom Wike is a stirrer of disquiet. The moment he fell from the Olympian height of Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential ticket war, he has returned to his natural habitat: an audacious bruiser, irrepressible political grandstander, and a hugger of our political space. His spot on the political totem pole is one of attention seeking, irreverent comments, propaganda fabrication, startling and disturbing demonisation of opponents and endless relational disharmony.
He is a disaster to a healthy, ethical, and common-sense democracy devoid of bitterness and rancour. He foments trouble through his uncouth and radical brand of public engagement.
His primordial fissures are becoming comical by the day. The infernal dullness of his claim to Rambo-like hitman has always met with lofty condemnation. He has forgotten too soon that Nigeria’s new social terrain of nuanced and intelligent exchange does not permit elite shenanigans, discoverable lies, political hypocrisy, character defamation, obfuscation, enticing vague language, self-compromising talk, barmy delusion, and social irrationality.
Wike is morphing into a pre-packaged failed politician. And the simple reality of the social and political shift Nigeria must go through this time is like a fictional construct in the depraved minds of Abubakar Atiku, Nyesom Wike and other delusional PDPers who are yet to wake up and smell the coffee.
Our media have obliged Wike and ever since he stepped into the political limelight, he has held us spell bound by his mischief wizardry; his Goebbellian and Nazification of public communication, his endless soundbites, his gaslighting of opponents and the undying desire for political role at all costs. Nigerians, over time, have become inured to his rants devoid of nuance as long as they fit neatly into his monomaniacal accusation of political adversaries.
We are today witnessing the entry of a pugnacious phase in the evolution of political associations in Nigeria. We are watching with sneering disdain how man, the rapacious and scavenging variants, can become depraved in pursuit of personal vendetta against his own party and its hierarchy.
PDP’s version of democracy is now going gothic where the twin evil of greed and revolting selfishness continue to drive political ambition, and citizen engagement. We are also seeing the evolution of the barbarians trying to fight dirty. London is now witnessing the nuisance variables of our incongruous and shameless politicians.
London is today the battleground for the PDP rebels fighting on all political cylinders: Nyesom Wike, Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia are some of Wike’s allies that were in attendance. There is no social compliance in their methodology. There is no political compliance in their operation. There is no ethical compliance in their ethos. There is no cultural synergy in their posturing. It is just me-me!!!
All they know is that Nigeria is their Imperial Rome that must be taken back through guile, deceit, and political blackmail. There is no integrity capital among members of this noonday cowards, who, in their whimsical calculations, view Nigerians as zombies who have no memory of the merciless plundering and balkanization carried out on Nigeria’s treasury by PDP from 2009 till 2015. Nigeria was obliterated morally, economically, socially, and politically by the likes of Abubakar Atiku, the hawkish presidential contender for the PDP.
Asked why he came to London, Nyesom Wike said: “Whatever we’re talking about, is for the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. It’s not parochial and tied to one person or group of persons. We believe that with what is going on, it will be for the interest of Nigerians at the end of the day.” Liar? How many ordinary Nigerians were in the meeting? The meeting was tied to his beneficial interest as a person and to the group interest of his party.
This is the time to interrogate the unquestioned tradition of political prostitution of the likes of Nyesom Wike and many other politicians whose purpose in politics is blatantly selfish interest as opposed to the nobler enterprise of people’s welfare and their wellbeing.
The ongoing contemporary political culture, which, turbo-charged by social media, only encourages narrow spectrum, personality-driven politics devoid of ideology which almost always opens door to traitors to destroy, balkanize and eventually abscond to form another cluster of disgruntled elements who have no integrity, character, principle and known political ideology. Wike is the Satan, who, out of frustration, wants to string Atiku on his hook like suya steak.
Wike, the political harlot, had to Japa to London to Buga Bola Tinubu, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar and presents a false credential of his political invincibility, delusional grassroots support, and personal charisma at dissembling. Selfishness brought him to London. Political relevance is pushing his Buga. Shamelessness drove him to the conversational ambit of Bola Tinubu.
Is Nyesom Wike going to join APC at this hour or what? To quieten the wounded lion of Rivers’ politics, Atiku acceded to his six-point demands out of political miscalculation and how our politics has overrated Wike and his electoral capital over the years. Political harlotry knows no decorum.
At a time when Wike should be solidarizing with Atiku in a show of statesmanship, especially after the loss of the presidential ticket to the Adamawa fixer, he turns into a vengeful monster looking for who to devour. Or better still, a ravishing male prostitute looking for the highest bidder for his service. But we can learn a political lesson on leadership integrity and unity across the ocean of America.
Ex-President Donald Trump of USA is a blustering racist, misogynist, ill-mannered, elitist, volatile, emotionally complex, unpredictable, unstable, troublemaker and dangerous. He offended every government in every continent. His addiction to twittering was a bane and its real-time effectiveness was abused by Trump to cause offence almost daily. Yet, the Republican Party did not fragment because of the mental depravity of its leader.
The Republican Party has not collapsed because of Trump’s political shenanigans. The party members are still supportive, loyal, and long-suffering because of their steadfast allegiance to the Republican ideology. During Trump’s tenure, Governors in the US did not become fair-weather and calculating politicians looking for ways to destabilize his leadership. They did not Japa to the outer space looking for relevance.
So, thumb down for Nyesom Wike for his playboy foolishness, silly public manoeuvres, noisy propaganda, comic amusement, and childish delirium. His Japa to London has shown that politics is about a struggle for power between the elites who seduce the electorate with false promises of development and social justice.
Next time, Wike, please stay at home and sort your political struggles. Do not Japa to London to Buga us!!! It is sheer stupidity!!!
