Understanding Wike's politics

Observers are enveloped in an ambivalence of emotion. It may be due to the fact that politically, Wike is a man of a contrasting personality, with an eagerness to manifest a feature of situational adaptability. He understands perfectly the grammar of politics, and the right type of alliance that can sustain partisan interests, ensure relevance and guarantee survival. He is loyal to the cherished value of friendship. But his tolerance level in the face of betrayal and partisan adversity is obviously low. He never spares his rivals or foes, with his caustic tongue oozing out reactions akin to venom.

His friends, particularly those he rescued during difficult times, have a different view. Wike, relying on an incumbency power and immunity, was fond of standing in the gap for associates in distress of false impeachment, like Ayo Fayose, and he has also oiled the governorship and senatorial campaign machinery of acquaintances across the federation, especially those who remain indebted to him for a resounding victory. Whenever the beneficiaries of his largeness of heart turn their backs on him, he is understandably bitter and seeks a pound of flesh.

In the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the FCT minister is the apple of the President's eye because he parades an intimidating scorecard. As governor of the nation's capital, he is the landlord and host to the Federal Government.

But Wike is also the National Leader of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is divided on his proposed support for the Commander-in-Chief in next year's poll. Although he is not the architect of the protracted crisis rocking the party, he is at the centre of the controversy.

In Rivers, his main political base, Wike is both a unifying and divisive factor. His arguments are often lucid, logical, and persuasive. A lawyer, he knows how to rehearse his points before any public presentation to the extent that faulting his explanations often becomes difficult. He is a communicator endowed with adequate verbal facility and a great deal of acumen.

The minister has exhibited the qualities of a goal getter in politics. At his disposal are the weapons of incisive wit, fidelity to a cause, determination to succeed on a cause and fearlessness in the face of obstacles.

The hallmark of his political life is the achievement orientation. Ever confident of his ability to make impacts, he is full of vigour and zest; he is skilled in negotiation, persuasion, social rebellion and strategic vengeance.

If psychologists are privileged to unravel his upbringing, starting from the premise that childhood experiences often shape adult behaviour, a combination of hereditary, parental guidance and immediate environmental influences may have led to the acquisition of his rare resilience.

Since he put his hands on the plough, he has not looked back. His toughness and tenacity have led to persistence, buoyed by a positive mindset, capacity for optimism, efficient task delivery, personal responsibility and public accountability, and utilisation of success as a prelude to more breakthroughs.

Unlike many politicians, Wike has a second address. He is a lawyer and, despite his long 'career' in politics, he reminds himself that political involvement can only be a vocation, not an occupation of economic and social value. The law is always to his advantage because he leans on it as the ultimate regulator of political relationships in the face of a dispute. He is always careful to operate within the legal boundaries, which tends to account for his multiple and consistent triumphs in the temple of justice.

He chose politics, in exercise of his fundamental rights, and started paying his dues as a faithful follower. Before becoming a leader, he was a follower learning the ropes. He began, not from the top but at the grassroots, identifying with his cradle, which later found him suitable for the position of chairman of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.

He hit the ground running from the first day. One of the lessons of his political career is that Wike, from the outset, has been a lover of infrastructural development. By the time he was completing his tenure, he was already a household name, not only in Rivers but throughout the country. He became a reference point in the judicious use of the funds for grassroots development.

It was at that stage that Wike also started building networks. He recognised very early the primacy of intra-party structure that is critical to the solidification of presence and relevance. He also presented himself as a risk taker in the business of seeking political power, never afraid of stumbling but always rising after a critical fall on the slippery field.

Wike became the face of the struggle for power in Rivers when outgoing Governor Peter Odili's succession plan was about to crumble. While Odili, who had groomed his boy, Rotimi Amaechi, for succession, met a brick wall in OBJ, who preferred Celestine Omehia, the onus was on Wike to coordinate both offensive and defensive onslaughts in and out of the courtroom on behalf of the governorship candidate who ran to Ghana for refuge. The ambition of Amaechi got a K-leg that had to be straightened. The rest, as it is said, is history.

Afterwards, no active participant merited the portfolio of Chief of Staff in Amaechi's government more than Wike, the consummate politician who has honed his skills as a stabiliser. He was effective, firm, and calculating. Wike played that important role loyally for four years until fate catapulted him to the FEC as Minister of State for Education, and much later as Acting Minister.

In 2015, he was clearly the most outstanding politician to succeed Amaechi. In those days, Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State and Amaechi of Rivers were highly rated as models. Wike vowed to surpass his predecessor's achievements. Having parted ways with Amaechi, the coast was clear for him to become his own man. No trick could rob him of victory on poll day, being an insider and a home boy. Indeed, while in the saddle for eight years, he became a governor of infrastructural development and left many completed signature projects as legacies.

Then, clearly, he became the godfather, whose endorsement of Siminalayi Fubara proved an incalculable mistake and an albatross. Cracks appeared on the wall within six months, and up to now, they have not been fully mended. The state became polarised. Accusations and counter-accusations filled the air.

Wike's critics  forgot his stand on equity, fairness, and justice when he stood his ground, against all odds, that power should rotate from the upland to the lowland of Rivers.

Yet, he could not get the PDP to adopt presidential zoning from the North to the South in 2023 when northern PDP chieftains bullied their southern counterparts with delegates' numerical strength at the controversial convention. Although he was promised the vice presidential slot, it was not fulfilled. As the North produced the candidate, Atiku Abubakar, the national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, and the campaign manager, Aminu Tambuwal, the South was left in the cold. That singular mistake marked the beginning of the protracted crisis in the party. While not calling it quits with the PDP, Wike tilted support, not really to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but to its candidate, Asiwaju Tinubu, during the 2023 poll. That commitment to zoning is part of the reasons he is still supporting the President's re-election bid.

Outside power, Wike would have become vulnerable, his saving grace being the President. If the former governor had not been appointed a minister, he may have been run out of town and left to fight fruitlessly for space and relevance in a state he governed for eight years.

Another lesson is that the minister has managed to keep his followers intact, despite the onslaught against his structure. He faces a huge battle at home, big hurdles in Abuja and a real war in the PDP. He is unmovable in Rivers. In Abuja, he controls the swinging of the pendulum. In the PDP, he is the undisputed Leader.

Now in Rivers, he is curiously acknowledged, not only as the towering political leader but as the leader of the PDP and APC. That underscores Wike's exceptionality as a political warrior.

Ahead of the 2027 general election, Wike is poised to play a significant role for the ruling party and the main opposition. He has the clout, and he does not appear fatigued to rally support and fight hard, wherever and whenever necessary. This ability to open his arms for camaraderie and throw the jabs against aggression makes Wike a unique figure in today's national polity.