THE G-9, a group of political heavy weights made up of the late Alex Ekwueme, late Senator Francis Ellah, late Bola Ige, Prof Jerry Gana, late Solomon Lar, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, late Abubakar Rimi, Sule Lamido and late Malam Adamu Ciroma, facilitated the formation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which used to pride itself as the largest party in Africa.
Nyesome Wike, a knife-below-the-abdomen strategist, is a new-breed politician with a deep war chest, who fights political godfathers, godsons, peers, etc, sparing no enemy, big or small, regarded as obstacles to his political goals. His failure to get the vice-presidential ticket in 2023, and the refusal of the party organs to kick out Dr Ayu as PDP chair, deeply divided the party between Atiku loyalists and Wike minions. Without leaving the party, and its blessing to pick a ministerial post, Wike joined the APC government.
Muhammad Buhari, who was up to April 2015 a no-nonsense general, ventured into politics to make a difference, exploited the cluelessness of the PDP administration, and welded an array of forces into a powerful opposition party which became PDP’s Waterloo, and cut short by 44 years its projection to interruptedly rule for 60 years. Displaying a higher ineptness than the PDP it displaced, the APC was set for defeat in 2023. But an interplay of factors made the APC to (triumph) in the presidential election.
First, the Igbo pull-out from the party, due to indications that Peter Obi wouldn’t get PDP’s presidential ticket, marred its chances in the South East, a traditional PDP hotspot.
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Secondly, the emergence of Turks in the party led by Mr Nyesome Wike, who plunged into a political conflict with the old brigades and their minions in the party, reinforced the impact of the Igbo pull out.
Thirdly, the deployment of massive resources by the APC candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the electoral processes compromised critical institutions, which paved the way, and sealed the (victory) of the APC in the election.
By 2023, out of the G9 members who formed the PDP, only the trio of Prof Jerry Gana, Alhaji Sule Lamido, and Dr Iyorchia were alive to partake in politics, with the latter as a former PDP Chairman, whose voices individually and severally are weighty in the party.
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Rather than strengthening institutions, Nigeria’s democracy has, regretfully, made a few individuals as powerful, if not more powerful, than institutions. Year in, year out, weakened institutions neutralise peoples votes, and reproduce prebendal politicians into power, who divert public funds to amass fortunes to lubricate political empires. This is the background to the phenomenon which has immobilised Africa’s largest political party.
Wike shocks are the fallouts of the non-fulfilment of a heightened sense of entitlement (emilokun) to a political role which compromised a section of the leadership of a political party to immobilise and emasculate it.
Nyesome Wike, a knife-below-the-abdomen strategist, is a new-breed politician with a deep war chest, who fights political godfathers, godsons, peers, etc, sparing no enemy, big or small, regarded as obstacles to his political goals. His failure to get the vice-presidential ticket in 2023, and the refusal of the party organs to kick out Dr Ayu as PDP chair, deeply divided the party between Atiku loyalists and Wike minions. Without leaving the party, and its blessing to pick a ministerial post, Wike joined the APC government.
What are the features of Wike shocks?
1. Imposing one’s minions in critical party organs to indirectly control it;
2. Destabilising a party with difficult to fulfil conditionalities;
3. Aiding the defeat of one’s party in an election to settle personal scores;
4. Picking up a cabinet appointment in a government of an opposition party;
5. Deploying governmental powers to further cripple one’s party;
6. And a Plan B to unfold later.
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The Wike phenomenon and shocks have exposed the dangers of prebendal politics. First, it has turned democracy into plutocracy in which only the rich can partake in politics as significant actors. Secondly, it has bred politicians who have amassed big fortunes in public office, enabling them to play larger than life roles in politics; and thirdly, Nigerians are worse off, because funds which should have been used to improve their lives, have been stolen by prebendal public officers, who regard politics as an enterprise.
The decision of the party not to zone its presidential ticket to any region or zone, had Wike imprimatur over it. Wike wanted to contest, and the only way he could do so, after his zone produced the last president, was to compromise critical party officials, to leave the presidential ticket unzoned, without which he couldn’t have contested for the party’s presidential ticket.
As the runner up in the presidential primaries, who was prevented by eleventh hour political horse trading from (victory); and having indicated an interest in the running mate, the party ought to have imposed him on Atiku Abubakar to enhance party cohesion. Glossing over the Wike matter had the imprimatur of even-without-them-we-would-succeed trajectory of the G9 members in the party, which was costly to the party.
The conundrum for the PDP is that despite being loathed by a section of the party leaders, Mr Wike is beyond reproach in the party. And as much as the party wanted to retain Rivers State under its orbit, it must put up with his impunity and shocks. What does Mr Wike wish to achieve by running with the hare and hunting with the dogs? How long would this last? It would most likely end when he deploys his Plan B which he keeps to his chest, after which the PDP would either overcome his onslaught, or would be further weakened by it.
What could be Mr Wike’s Plan B, which could weaken the PDP? Most likely, he wants to desperately have the party under the control of his minions to contest its presidential ticket in 2027. Or, he could be an implant of his principal to make sure that the party emerges from the primaries divided and weakened; or, he may sponsor a dark horse to spoil the chances of his enemies in the primaries, so that it could hardly lead an effective opposition front against the APC in 2027.
It is baffling why the G9 trio couldn’t have prevented the 2023 tragedy which robbed the party of victory in the 2023 election. Were they powerless against the emergent Turks and their minions in the highest party organs? Or, were they confident that even without Wike and Peter Obi they would navigate the party to victory, that they were a political nuisance which would fizzle away? If they were powerless against the emergent Turks, then they had less clout in the party than assumed. And if they had much clout, then their decision had negatively impacted on the party.
The trio of the G9 and other party leaders have the onerous responsibility to save the party by containing the Wike challenge once and for all, even if that would entail the loss of Rivers state from its orbit; and thereafter zone its presidential ticket to an exclusive zone which would neutralise its losses of Rivers and Edo states, and highly bolster its chances in 2027.
The Wike phenomenon and shocks have exposed the dangers of prebendal politics. First, it has turned democracy into plutocracy in which only the rich can partake in politics as significant actors. Secondly, it has bred politicians who have amassed big fortunes in public office, enabling them to play larger than life roles in politics; and thirdly, Nigerians are worse off, because funds which should have been used to improve their lives, have been stolen by prebendal public officers, who regard politics as an enterprise.
These dangers underscore the necessity of forging a strong people-centred political model, which prioritises selfless public service, rather than the reigning model which regards politics as an avenue to amassing wealth to dominate the system.
Jahun is a commentator on public affairs. His column, The Other Perspective, comes up every Wednesday. He can be reached via email@ aminuhabibu58@gmail.com, or WhatsApp on +237 39038088.
