Wike is boastful. The temptation is to take his claims with a pinch of salt. But unlike other loud and garrulous politicians, friends and foes alike say it is perilous to ignore Wike’s rants, even when he sounds inebriated. Who would have believed he was bred by a pastor? He is brash and ferocious. And outstandingly cunning .
On television a few days ago, Wike claimed that the G5—a flock of former governors he shepherds—made Tinubu president. This latest chest-beating was provoked by governors of the ruling party, who all but labelled him a political chameleon: hiding under a rainbow flag to trumpet support for Tinubu while sabotaging the larger APC in furtherance of his personal ambitions. They accused him of sponsoring candidates of other parties against those of the ruling party, perhaps with resources from his parasitic relationship with the federal government. Wike’s coat of many colours, they warned, would confuse their voters. That was a polite way of telling Tinubu that the romance was selfish, not for the good of the party.
In an attempt to prove the usefulness of that duplicity, and to dismiss the charge of voter confusion, Wike described a dubious horse trade which critics heard as a confession that he rigged the 2023 elections. He said they used Obi to stop Atiku. In his words: we allowed Obi to take Edo. We allowed him to take Cross River. In Rivers, we said No. We stopped him because it would send the wrong message. So we delivered Rivers to Tinubu.
In 2023 , Yiaga Africa and the EU observer mission reported massive electoral malpractices in Rivers. The BBC said its tally of INEC results, drawn from polling-unit sheets display on Irev , showed Obi winning the state by a wide margin—contrary to the official declaration. So how did Wike stop Obi in Rivers?Why didn’t Wike stop Obi in Lagos?
It was in Rivers that a BBC investigation found that the collation officer for Oyigbo LGA who submitted false figures to INEC was an impostor. The man, one Dr Ariaga, presented himself as a lecturer at the Federal College of Education, Omoku. Live at collation, he announced APC (Tinubu): 16,630 and LP (Obi): 10,784. The BBC’s tabulation of the same INEC sheets gave Tinubu – 2,731 and Obi – 22,289. Dr Ariaga multiplied Tinubu’s votes by six and more than halved Obi’s. That was one local government. That was how Obi was “stopped” in Rivers.
In the states Wike claims he gifted Obi, Obi was already miles ahead on the polls. His simplicity and philosophy of prudence had captured the imagination of the young across the country. The South-South and the South-East were his surest bets. So perhaps Wike “gifted” him those states only by refraining from the kind of gross manipulation that took place in Rivers. He gave Obi Edo by allowing votes to count . The governors of the ruling party know their victory in Rivers was a ruse. They are not falling for the tales, or for the rainbow mathematics, because it fetched Tinubu no genuine votes. They know how the party was declared winner in Rivers. And now that they have fuller control of INEC, they no longer need an outsider’s genius for forging outcomes.
Back to Rivers. So the state is not Wike’s ranch after all. The electorate is not his herd. If thugs and policemen had not gone through Obio/Akpor and other places snatching ballot boxes and writing fake results, Wike would not be talking about G5 strategy and rainbow arithmetic today. The poor masses have done their bit. The people of Rivers are fed up with state capture. That was why, when Fubara showed even a flicker of manliness, they rallied round him—though they knew he had the spine of a puppet. The freedom did not last. The state and its institutions failed them. The powers in Abuja would rather keep Rivers in the pocket of a political merchant.
If elections could be guaranteed free, fair and credible, Wike would not even bother campaigning. The problem is not the ignorance of the electorate. Last time , they didn’t even sell their votes. The votes were stolen . The people know they are in bondage. The bondage Fubara sketched when he dared to yelp. Wike may treat the people like cattle and speak of their mandate as if they were his bondservants, but it wont be for long . The stranglehold is not magic. It is facilitated by a compromised INEC and a pliant judiciary. Add a reputation for ruthlessness. That is still not all. The ultimate enabler is elite apathy.
Rivers is not alone in this affliction. Most states across the country have fallen into the hands of cowboys who, with public funds and state’s coercive force, can buy or bully almost anyone into submission.
The situation is only thrown into bold relief here because Wike is as cunning as he is brutal, and because Rivers has a ton of cash. Without moral stamina, in an atmosphere where all that matters is the short-term calculation, the elite who should be the bulwark against the nonsense queue behind him to swallow his droppings. Filled with those droppings, they brag about belonging. All hail the leader.
All hail the leader . Every month, journalists sit at his feet to gulp gibberish and, gossiping, ask him inane questions. At their next outing, they will let him lie about how he gifted Obi Edo, Delta and Cross River, and they will smile knowingly in admiration of another wonder . The elite are culpable. The only public corrective jolt he has ever received was from a young soldier. The political landscape is full of charlatans , but this man’s growing influence is bound to leave a lasting disastrous impact on the political culture .
Hear him again: in Rivers we said No. We stopped him. Because it would send the wrong message. We gave it to Tinubu.
All hail the leader. The riverine god of small things.
The post Is Rivers State Wike’s Cattle Ranch? By Ugoji Egbujo appeared first on Vanguard News.