It is an open secret that the crisis rocking the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples’ Democratic Party is a supremacy battle between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed and Wike’s political godson, Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
However, rather than a confrontation between Wike and the PDP Governors’ Forum and Governor Fubara, what is playing out is a threat to democracy in Nigeria.
Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, insists on controlling the party in the state. Governor Fubara has objected to a situation that would strip him of the accoutrements of office and turn him into a glorified messenger.
After several botched efforts to resolve the impasse, governors of PDP-controlled states, under the banner of the PDPGF, endorsed the principled position of siding with the embattled governor.
The action of the governors was in keeping with the principle of “touch one, touch all” and not an indication that they loved Fubara more than they loved Wike. The position of the PDP-GF is also validated by the convention that any serving governor automatically assumes the leadership of the party in the state.
Wike, as the governor of Rivers State, enjoyed the same privilege. In fact, it is instructive that his leadership of the party was never challenged by the likes of the former governor of the state, Dr. Peter Odili who provided the ladder that Wike and his cohorts used to climb to political limelight in the country.
That the principled adherence of the PDP Governors Forum, led by Governor Bala Mohammed, to the convention of their party has irked Wike so badly as to fly off the handle, threatening to pull down the entire PDP edifice is a monstrous threat to the survival of Nigeria’s nascent democracy.
“President Bola Tinubu should see Wike for what he truly is – an unruly bull in a China shop, ready and willing to pull down everything in the shop to quench his violent appetite.”
The fundamental differences between the parties in this conflict should not be lost on Nigerians.
The first is the sense of entitlement by Wike who, as Fubara’s godfather, arrogates to himself the power to single-handedly drive political recruitment in the party as against the position of the PDPGF that Fubara be allowed to enjoy long established privileges such as his counterparts in other states enjoy.
The second is Wike’s blatant recourse to arbitrariness as against the principled commitment of the PDPGF that the constitution of the party be respected and not wantonly desecrated.
Sadly, Wike is a man who is driven by the vice of might, hence he boasted of setting fire to some states of the federation.
Unable to stomach such arrogance, a foremost Niger Delta leader and nationalist, Chief Edwin Clerk called for his arrest.
The third is the controlled demeanour of the PDPGF as against Wike’s alarming diatribe. By threatening to set fire to states of governors who support Fubara, Wike has demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice Nigeria’s survival on the narrow altar of his political interest and of those who deployed him to wreck the PDP.
While the governors are preoccupied with strengthening the party, Wike’s interest might as well be to create enough crises as to distract it from effectively playing its opposition role at a time that Nigerians are passing through unprecedented hardship and unmitigated insecurity.
It is to the credit of the Bala-Mohammed led PDP-GF that, despite stiff resistance and blackmail, the group is gradually rising to its role as a dependable bulwark against anti-people policies and decisions.
Ultimately, it is important to note the creeping despotism epitomised by Wike’s aversion to due process is capable of truncating democracy. This is in marked contrast to the PDPGF’s quest to deepen the country’s democracy by upholding rules and due process.
The unchecked excesses of Wike are capable of truncating the nation’s democracy due to his indecorous behaviour and his supporters before, during and after October 5, 2024 local government elections in Rivers State.
Their actions have demonstrated that the former governor is the biggest threat to democracy in Nigeria today and he should be closely watched.
The Federal Government should note that the man it is protecting is capable of pulling down democracy in the country.
It is only in Nigeria and under the watch of the ruling All Progressives Congress that one person will be a member of two political parties and use them to cause nuisance in the society.
President Bola Tinubu should see Wike for what he truly is – an unruly bull in a China shop, ready and willing to pull down everything in the shop to quench his violent appetite.
The Federal Government must be reminded of the strategic importance of Rivers State hosting critical assets of the nation.
We advise President Tinubu to work with Governor Fubara to protect those assets by checking the inordinate ambition of Wike and his co-travellers.
We must not fail to congratulate the people of Rivers State, particularly the voters, for turning out massively on Saturday, October 5, 2024 and resisting all the threats from Wike and his supporters.
We also commend governor Fubara for standing out for democracy and providing leadership to his people when it was very necessary by refusing to be intimidated.
The Federal Government must be warned that all the indexes of a failed democracy already exist in Nigeria, and it should be careful about how it is handling anti-democratic operatives like Wike.
