By IKECHUKWU AMAECHI
The conduct of the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, in the public space is quite unbecoming. It is not enough to dismiss him as unhinged as many are wont to do because to do so is to ignore the fact that for whatever it is worth, he is a Nigerian political elite, a member of the privileged club that makes the authoritative allocation of our collective values. In any sane society, such privileged position demands some level of politesse and dignity in public conduct. But the reverse is the case here. Wike’s actions, at any given time, violate the accepted moral standards of politeness, morality, and respect for others. To put it mildly, they go beyond the bounds of decency.
Those who egg him on in his bad conduct do so on the ground that politics, particularly in a low-income country, is for roughnecks, not angels, often mouthing Niccolò Machiavelli’s maxim in his political treatise, The Prince, that there is no morality in politics.
But in panning the sometimes overtly moralistic perspective of authority, Machiavelli was simply saying that public morality need not be identical with private morality because the ends of both moralities may not necessarily be the same. Unfortunately, those who don’t understand the context of his 16th century postulation use it in extrapolating that Wike is a political wizard, someone who understands the game and its supposed lack of moral compass.
In doing so, they forget the admonition of the Indian sage, Mahatma Gandhi, who once avowed that: “Politics without morality is a thing to avoid.” His contention being that “politics without principle,” and stripped bare of truth, is a recipe for chaos. Gandhi labelled this cynical mischaracterization of the essence of politics as “passive violence,” which ultimately fuels crime, rebellion and war. Is it any wonder why Nigeria is in an active state of war?
Lest I be misunderstood, every contestation for power is a serious business not meant for the chicken-hearted. It requires huge material resources, intellectual capital and enormous time. And despite these huge investments, the reward ought to be more intrinsic than overt. The seriousness of the business lies in the ability to convince the electorate to vote one way or the other. The high stakes stem from the potential use of the acquired power for significant social and political change and the inherent risks and profound consequences for individuals, groups, and societies involved in its pursuit and distribution.
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When the exercise of public authority elevates rather than diminishes the people, the society is better for it and that, in itself, is enough reward for those who view power from the prism of public trust.
But the reverse is the case in Nigeria, which explains while the likes of Wike are thriving politically. What is required to become an astute politician in Nigeria is brawn, not brain. And because the material reward is huge, politicians compromise the system, kill and maim to acquire it. No one who does all these to acquire power uses it for public good, which explains why Wike is perpetually embroiled in a political cage match, exhibiting conducts that are beyond the pale, way beyond what can be considered tolerable by any decent society.
The FCT minister was at his theatric worst on Monday, September 1, with his habitual rants, in the name of media chat, that cross the line. Beside himself with joy after the ultimate humiliation of the Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, during the so-called Rivers State local government poll on Saturday, Wike procured the services of major television houses to amplify his barrage of insults against innocent Nigerians whose only crime was their criticism of an election, which was not only illegal but also failed to meet the thresholds of fairness and credibility.
In his ranting, no one was spared. He threw caution to the winds and disparaged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, and even former President Goodluck Jonathan, whose wife, Dame Patience, made him Rivers State governor in 2015.
“I have integrity and character,” he boasted. And the only claim he is laying to being a man of honour is his decision not to contest the presidency in 2027 because his present political benefactor, President Bola Tinubu, will be a candidate. “My appointer is running. There is no way I would contest against him,” he said.
Then he went on a rampage, unhinged as ever, insulting all and sundry. He said Peter Obi has no moral authority to lecture anyone on democracy. And what was Obi’s crime? Daring to criticize the charade that took place in Rivers State in the name of local government election, which he described as rascality taken too far. “Who can be more rascal than Obi?” Wike thundered.
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Then he descended on Atiku, calling him ignorant for also criticizing the Rivers LG poll. “What you don’t know, don’t comment about. This is law, not Customs. Atiku does not have the knowledge,” he charged. “Under emergency rule, certain aspects of the law are suspended to allow government function. The sole administrators act on behalf of the President. Funds are made available in line with Supreme Court pronouncements,” he lectured the man who was Vice President when he was local government chairman. To him, both Atiku and Obi are not only ignorant of the law but driven by political frustration.
He warned Bauchi State Governor and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, Bala Mohammed, against moves to bring Obi back to the PDP and giving him the presidential ticket, which he said would destroy the party. “Bringing Obi to where? You want to kill the party? Obi that was abusing the party, saying it is rotten — so the party is now good enough for him? Ambition can make people even go to Satan’s house,” he said.
He didn’t spare Jonathan, whose rumoured 2027 presidential ambition on the platform of the PDP he said would further weaken the opposition political party.
He didn’t even spare the PDP itself, casting a shadow of doubt on the party’s planned national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November. “The issue of the national convention is not the problem. The issue is the problems leading to the convention, and people should understand that. If they are not well taken care of, there is a likelihood that the convention will not hold,” he said.
For now, the only Nigerian that Wike seemingly has any iota of respect for is the president. That will no doubt change tomorrow. If he could go against Jonathan and his wife and even Dr. Peter Odili, it is only a matter of time before he throws Tinubu under the bus of his crass irresponsibility.
The question now is: Who will rein in Minister Nyesom Wike? Definitely not the president who sees him as his greatest political asset in his 2027 re-election gambit because he exemplifies the politics that is devoid of morality. But Tinubu should be embarrassed that his biggest political asset is the man perceived by many as a mere political thug. Yet, everyone knows that expecting him to be embarrassed by Wike’s misconducts is a gross betrayal of lack of understanding of what Tinubu represents. The two men – puppet and puppeteer – are birds of the same plumage. If Wike is not embarrassed by the public perception of his personage as a thug despite his high office, while should his alter-ego, Tinubu, the man on whose behalf he is playing politics without principle feel mortified?
It is sad that Wike uses public funds to procure prime time live television slots every month only to launch verbal attacks, abuse and disparage political opponents without consequences. That is unconscionable. While he has the right to grant interviews or even indulge in press briefings, it is inconceivable that the man will buy prime television time at enormous cost to the taxpayers not to discuss what he is doing in the FCT but to threaten the entire country and abuse whoever catches his fancy.
Yet, this is a country which under the watch of the government he serves and which he insists has already ‘won’ the 2027 elections willy-nilly, now has the lowest life expectancy in the world, with an average of 54.3 years, according to the United Nations World Population Prospects 2025 Report. A country where the UN body bluntly said: if you live in Nigeria, you are simply waiting to die.
But it is okay if politicians that have no shame decide to dance naked in the public square. What is not right is for the media, the fourth estate of the realm that is constitutionally empowered to act as a check on the idiocy and excesses of public officials and hold them accountable to the people to become complicit in their malfeasance. It is not right that the Nigerian media, wittingly or unwittingly, has become Minister Nyesom Wike’s greatest enablers in his monthly dance of shame.
