Opinion
The Obidients, the Jagaban and the Icarus Syndrome by Femi Fani-Kayode
Published
3 years agoon
By
Eric
I admire and respect the energy and passion of the Obidients and like I said in an earlier write-up titled “Who Are These Obidients?”, I believe that they wish to effect a social and political revolution which those of us in the larger political parties have to be very wary of.
I also believe that if they stay together and don’t run out of steam and if properly harnessed and managed over the next few years they may present a formidable challenge to us somewhere down the line.
Yet the truth is that like a rough and uncut diamond they are still very far from their mark, they still have a long way to go from achieving perfection and they still have much to learn.
They are a formidable movement as I said in my earlier write up and I, unlike many others, take them seriously.
I am glad that they have ventured into the dark and murky waters of Nigerian politics and it is my prayer that they survive it and last, even if they don’t make an appreciable impact at the polls next year.
Yet if the truth be told, as at today, they are more like a loose canon than a guided missile.
Anger alone cannot fuel a revolution: there must be purpose.
And that clear purpose is something that they seem to lack and which their leader, other than just wanting to be President of a so-called New Nigeria, clearly is incapable of providing.
Worst still, hubris, which always leads to nemesis, is beginning to creep into their ranks.
They remind me of the Greek mythological figure known as Icarus who overeached himself by flying too close to the sun with his wax wings, challenging the gods and boasting that he could touch the heavens.
Needless to say the wings melted and he came down crashing.
What worries me the most for them is, given their high expectations, the rude shock and sense of despair that will engulf them and the suffering and mental trauma they will experience after they receive a crushing defeat in next years presidential election. And receive it they will.
I doubt that they will win one Senatorial district or one seat in the House of Representatives let alone a Governorship election or the Presidential election.
It is after they have tasted and suffered that defeat that their resolve will be truly tested.
It is at that time that we shall find out whether they are the men and women they claim to be or that they are mere children, venting on social media and expressing their frustrations at any and every public event.
I had argued in my earlier contribution that they have vision and potential and that what makes them so dangerous is their revolutionary zeal and ideas and their desire to establish a new cadre of Nigerian leaders and sweep away the old.
I maintain this position but one thing is clear: the old political order will not allow this to happen without a good fight.
And even if it were to ever happen it would take a good number of years and much struggle.
After 2023 comes the real test for them.
After they suffer their first defeat next year they will either loose their nerve, freak out, crack up, break ranks, fall into disssaray, whine like neophytes, sulk to heaven and back, suck their little thumbs and insult the entire world on social media or they will accept their lot, pull themselves together, establish a new and firm resolve e to fight on regardless, consolidate their ranks, organise themselves into a new and formidable force and functional political party and prepare for the next election in four years time.
Sadly I suspect they are incapable of the latter simply because their leader lacks that level of focus, strength, commitment, fortitude or gravitas and I am not sure that there is anyone else within their ranks that can rise up and harness their remarkable energy and strength.
None of their leaders have the energy, charisma and strength of Yahaya Bello, the White Lion.
None has the wisdom, patience, knowledge and firm resolve of Mai Mala Buni or the commitment to hard work and dedication to duty, excellence and enterprise of Babagana Zulum.
None has the gentle, kind, accommodating, alluring and incisive disposition of Sani Bello (Abu Lolo) or the faith, steadfastness and loyalty of Bello Matawalle.
None has the vision, courage and firepower of Nasir El-Rufai, the profound and calculating disposition and utter genius of Sani Musa (313) or the depth of knowledge and brilliance in oratory of Kashim Shettima.
None has the calm resolve and iron will of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Gburugburu), the calculating, tenacious and tactical disposition of Rahman Abdul Rasaq, the zeal, confidence, enterprise, experience and byzantine cunning of Orji Uzor Kalu or the irresistible charisma and pugnacious spirit of Nyesom Wike.
None has the intellectual depth of Kayode Fayemi, the lion heart of Dapo Abiodun, the scholarly insight of Ben Ayaade or the focus, determination and creativity of David Umahi.
I look into the ranks of their leaders and all I see is weakness.
The only exception is my older brother and dear friend Doyin Okupe who, as a highly experienced old war horse and veteran politican, is capable of holding his own in any fight but who, deep down, is a die-hard conservative, a product of the ruling class and a man that can hardly be described as a revolutionary.
I will say little about my brother Datti Ahmed, Obi’s running mate, who I happen to have a soft spot for and who has done a great job in the education sector other than to say that no true progressive or revolutionary would ever publicly proclaim that homosexuals and lesbians should “be killed” simply for being different.
And even if they believed that should be the case, fewer would have the temerity and sheer indiscretion to blurt it out on the floor of the Nigerian Senate for the entire world to see and hear.
Is that what the Obidients have in store for us? A world that is so intolerant of those that do not conform with their thoughts, vision, views, way of life, values and sexual preferences?
Are they really prepared to kill those that do not share their views or that are gays and lesbians?
I hope not because that would be heartless, fascistic, unjust, ungodly and simply barbaric and that is not the Datti Ahmed that I know and respect.
Yet say it he did and I repeat, all I see in the ranks of their leaders is weakness. I do not see any strength. I do not see any fire. I do not see any strong resolve. I do not see any passion or zeal and I do not see any fortitude to see the fight through to the end, no matter the cost.
Simply put they have no Achilles of the Mermidans in their battle ranks, no Hector of Troy, no Sir Arthur Dayne (the Sword of the Morning) and no Khaleed Ibn Waheed (the Sword of God).
They have no Aragorn of Gondor on their front line, no Alexander the Great, no Salahudeen Ayubi, no Ragnar Lothbrook, no Uthred of Bebbanberg and no William Wallace of the Mcregor’s.
They have no Robert the Bruce in their formations, no Bonny Prince Charlie, no Khaleesi, Mother of Dragons, no Beowulf son of Ecgtheow and no Daemon Targaryan, Prince of the Seven Kingdoms.
They have no Kahl Drogo of the Dothraki in their forces, no Jehu son of Nimshi, no Maximus Meridius of Rome, no David son of Jesse, no Grey Worm of the Unsullied, no Legolas of the Elves and no John Snow of the Targaryan’s.
They have no Gideon son of Joash in their vanguard, no Abner son of Ner, no Jeptha son of Gilead, no Eleazar son of Dodo, no Shammah son of Agee and
no Ishbaal the Tachmonite.
They have no Joab, Abishai and Asahel sons of Zeruel and strong men of David in their assault team.
Without a strong and courageous leader who is prepared to loose everything including his or her liberty or life, their revolution and bid for power will amount to nothing.
Consequently I believe that we may hear little about them after 2023.
They will simply vanish and be gone with the wind. The combined forces of APC and PDP will overwhelm them and blow them away.
When the fight starts they will run for cover and leave the field and boxing ring for the big boys to slug it out.
They will be nowhere to be found and as the noose gets tighter and tighter, they will get weaker and weaker until they slowly disappear and melt away like an iceberg approaching the tropics.
I pray I am wrong but this is my suspicion given the fact that, according to unconfirmed reports, Obi is already negotiating a deal with the PDP and looking to form an alliance with them in order to acquire himself a soft landing in the unlikely event of them winning.
So much for his commitment to his young fanatical supporters and loyalty to his new party.
The truth is that he is simply using them both and whichever way, even if he gets back into bed with Atiku Abubakar and the PDP in some kind of overt or covert alliance, the APC and our presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Jagaban Borgu, will thrash them all like the winter wheat.
Atiku particularly cannot possibly see, fathom or comprehend what is coming.
He will be served a crushing blow and a humiliating defeat and he will be utterly devastated.
He will be subjected to what the American military forces that invaded Iraq in 2003 under the command of General Tommy Franks famously described as “shock and awe”.
He will be subjected to what the German Army referred to as “blitzkrieg” during World War II.
He will be utterly routed, roundly defeated, thoroughly demystified and ingloriously evicted out of the political space and from his olympian heights in precisely the same way that Lucifer, Son of the Dawn, was overpowered, overwhelmed and thrown out of Heaven.
After that he will retire from politics permanently and go back to Dubai from whence he came.
And that is precisely what he deserves. This is the same Atiku who in 2014 happily proclaimed that “PDP is dead” and that “this country is moving in the wrong direction because of PDP”.
In that same year he left the party with the then Speaker of the House, five Governors and a number of Senators, House members, former Governors, former Ministers and other notable party leaders on the grounds that it was time for a Northerner to be the flagbearer of the party.
He, Senator Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal, Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, Governor Abdul Fatah Ahmed and a number of others turned their backs on President Goodluck Jonathan and destroyed their own party’s chances at the polls in 2015 by leaving it a year earlier and joining the then opposition APC.
Now, 7 years later, they are shamelessly back in the same PDP that they collectively demonised and murdered and they would want us to believe that it has suddenly resurrected and is alive again.
Thankfully God has given us the opportunity to prove to them by next year that the PDP is still as dead as a dodo and during the course of the election we shall finally bury it before the entire world.
It is just a question of time.
Yet aside from all this what I find the most irritating and objectionable about the Obidients is not their unadulterated aggression and abusive tendencies but rather their insistence on comparing their leader Peter Obi to Tinubu.
I consider this to be deeply insulting.
It is like comparing Don Perignon to ogogoro.
It is like comparing Cristal champagne to what the people of the Niger Delta call ‘sepe’.
It is like comparing the finest red wine from the vineyards of Bordeaux to what the Ghanaians call ‘akpeteshie’.
It is like comparing chalk and cheese.
It is like comparing a Rolls Royce to a Volkswagon Beetle, a Porsche Carrera to a three-wheeled scooter, a Ferrari to a broken down mini or a Gulf Stream jet to an Aba-made helicopter.
When Obi was still in kindergarten Bola Ahmed Tinubu was already a very wealthy and successful business man who had worked and invested massively in the oil, gas, hi-tech and communications sector.
At that time he was already a dollar millionaire and he invested much of his wealth into politics and the lives of others that were less fortunate than he was.
When Obi was still in secondary school Bola Ahmed Tinubu was already an integral part of the massive political network and a key figure in the late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’adua’s formidable political family which was known as the People’s Front (PF) together with other notable and seasoned leaders like Babagana Kingibe and Atiku Abubakar.
They were of course to later join the SDP as a group and they, more than any other, ensured the emergence of Chief MKO Abiola as the presidential flagbearer of that party at their Jos Convention in 1993.
When Obi was still at University Bola Ahmed Tinubu was in the trenches, fighting military Governments, leading NADECO and risking his life and liberty for the restoration of MKO Abiola’s June 12th mandate, which had been annuled by the military, and for democracy.
Many of today’s Obidients were not born at that time but they should go and ask their parents or grandparents about what happened and the role that Bola Tinubu played.
Those of us that were around and very vocal and active at the time can testify to his efforts and we were amongst those that were then described as NADECO footsoldiers.
Bola Tinubu inspired us and millions of other Nigerians and democrats all over the world with his courage and efforts and he encouraged us to keep up the struggle and rise up for June 12th. And we did!
Many of our people were killed, incarcerated and driven into exile (including yours truly) and had it not been for the leadership of the following heroes we would still be under the yoke of military rule today.
I will make this a full and comprehensive list for the benefit of those young Obidients who have no knowledge of our nation’s history and who know nothing about the June 12th struggle.
They include Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, Wole Soyinka, Anthony Enahoro, Alani Akinrinade, Kudirat Abiola, Kunle Ajasin, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Lam Adesina, Frederick Fasheun, Bola Ige, Ayo Adebanjo, Abraham Adesanya and Gani Fawenhimi.
They also include Beko Ransome Kuti, Alao Aka Bashorun, Omo Omoruyi, Balarabe Musa, Kayode Fayemi, Tokunboh Afikuyomi, Pascal Bafyau, Olu Omotehinwa and Kunle Ajibade.
They also include, Adesegun Banjo, Festus Iyayi, Bisi Akande, Bisi Durojaiye, Abubakar ‘Dangiwa’ Umar, Alfred Rewane, Babatunde Edu, Suliat Adedeji, Bolanle Gbonigi, Kola Animashaun, Sam Omatseye, Pius O. Akinyeleru and Gbolabo Ogunsanwo.
They also include Adebayo Williams, Nosa Igiebor, Dare Babarinsa, Segun Osoba, Olu Falae, Akin Osuntokun, Reuben Abati, Dele Momodu, Dan Suleiman, Bagudu Kaltho, Rauf Aregbesola, Dele Alake, Augustine Sam, Seye Kehinde, Tunde Elegbede and Odia Ofeimun.
They also include Olisa Agbakoba, Ayo Obe, Amos Akingba, Ndubuisi Kanu, Patrick Koshoni, Bayo Onanuga, Femi Ojudu, Ralph Obioha, Oluwatoyin Onaguruwa, Kola Ilori, Onome Osifo-Whiskey and Bobo Nwosisi.
They also include Wale Okuniyi, Frank Kokori, Tony Nyiam, Femi Falana, Shehu Sani, Tony Uranta, Ogaga Ifowodo, Chima Ubani, Fred Agbeyegbe, Soji Omotunde and Chris Anyanwu.
And finally they include Mohammed Adamu, Shola Omatsola, Bisoye Tejuosho, Olusegun Adeniyi, George Mbah, Ben Charles Obi and so many others.
Many of these names will be strange or unknown to the young Obidients and probably to their leader Peter Obi as well.
And that is why I decided to mention each and everyone of them.
I suggest they read up on them and find out the role each of these great and selfless individuals played in securing the democracy and free speech that they are enjoying today.
They, together with the Nigerian people, were the ones that drove the military out of power and consequently, after seven years of murderous violence, subjugation, tyranny, tribulation and a hard struggle against the military, democracy was restored to our country in 1999 with the pardon, release from prison and election of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Some of those on the list were martyred and many were locked up and suffered badly whilst others were driven into a lonely and oftentimes challenging and depressing exile.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu was not just amongst them but he was one of those that led them, inspired them and fuelled and financed the resistance.
He was charged with treason, detained, his home was bombed and he was terrorised, traumatised and persecuted till the time that he, his wife, Oluremi Tinubu (who is a ranking member of the Nigerian Senate today) and children were smuggled out of the country into a long and harrowing exile.
Outside of that and before the struggle even began
Tinubu had been elected as a Senator during the 3rd Republic in 1992 on the platform of the SDP, recording the highest number of votes for a Senate seat in the entire country!
Whilst at the Senate he excelled and was appointed Chairman of the Senate Commitee on Banking and Finance.
This was just short of a decade before he became Governor of Lagos state in 1999 after the murder of MKO Abiola and the then Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, after returning home from exile and after the military were driven away and pushed out of office.
From 1990 up until today Tinubu has been an active and key player in the political firmament of Nigeria and he has always fought against injustice and tyranny.
Whilst Obi was still a trader selling tomatoe ketchup and Bournvita in 1999 Bola Ahmed Tinubu had already paid his dues, made his mark and was already running for the Governorship of Lagos state.
The elders of the South West and Afenifere supported him and rewarded him by ensuring that he won simply because of the noble and dramatic role he played during the June 12th struggle and his role in ensuring that the military left power.
From 1999 till 2007 he stood firm against a hostile Federal Governmrnt led by President Olusegun Obasanjo (which I proudly served) and not only did he survive it but he went on to ensure that his boys were elected as Governor of that state in every subsequent election for the next 15 years and up until today.
Over that period of time he also ensured that his boys were elected Governor of virtually all the South West states, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Yemi Osinbajo), Speaker of the House of Representatives (Femi Gbajabiamila) and so much more.
Others were appointed as prominent and powerful Traditional Rulers all over the South West and have ascended to the throne of their reverred and distinguished ancestors.
Finally others were given Ministerial appointments from 2015 to date in President Muhammadu Buhari’s Government such as Lai Mohammed, Babatunde Raji Fashola and Sunday Dare who were once his loyal aides and who served him for many years whilst others, who were his political associates and trusted friends like Boss Mustapha and Babachir Lawal, were appointed as Secretary to the Federal Government respectively.
He also cultivated and groomed a small group of utterly brilliant professionals and technocrats, including bankers, lawyers, economists, businessmen and other leading members of the private sector like Wale Edun, Yemi Cardoso, Folarin Coker, Babatunde Fowler and James Faleke into the political arena where they shone and continue to shine like the bright stars that they are.
I was in the then ruling PDP in 2015 and during the campaign for the presidential election I played a key role for President Goodluck Jonathan and led the media campaign and charge against President Buhari’s election bid.
It was a tough fight and a very hard, vicious, aggressive and oftentimes dirty campaign and both sides gave as good as they got.
I can tell you that had it not been for the unequivocal support that Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his faction of the APC gave President Buhari at the time, he would NEVER have won that election.
The same thing happened again in 2019 though by that rime the campaign was far less colourful, less eventful, less contentious, less dramatic and less aggressive and, though still in PDP, I was not in any way involved in Atiku Abubakar’s election bid or campaign organisation.
Yet once again Tinubu and his machinery ensured that Buhari won.
There is no APC Governor in the South West today that can say he got there without the tacit support and approval of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He is father to all of them and he has also extended his support base to the entire country with his boys, followers and political associates everywhere, including the core North, the Middle Belt, the South South and the South East.
A final point on the June 12th struggle and Tinubu’s contribution to democracy and the peace and unity of Nigeria.
June 12th brought our nation closer to the brink of a second civil war than any other political event in the course of our history. It literally tore us apart. Yet thankfully 29 years later the wounds have finally healed and our nation has moved on.
I submit that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the architect of that healing process and was the key reason why the matter was finally brought to closure and what the Holy Bible describes as an “expected end” and I shall explain how and why.
Perhaps the greatest testimony that we can cite as an example of his sense of patriotism is the fact that long after the passing of Chief MKO Abiola and even in the midst of the rise of a mainly new, naive, skeptical, unbelieving, antagonistic and historically-ignorant generation of Gen-Z and Millenial youths who know absolutely nothing about the sacrifices made for the restoration of democracy during June 12th, he kept faith with the memory and the heroes of that struggle.
He achieved this by ensuring that MKO Abiola was not only recognised but also honored by the Buhari administration who not only named June 12th as our Democracy Day but also named the National Stadium in Abuja after MKO and formally recognised him and his erstwhile running mate, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, as a former President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria respectively.
With these laudable actions they finally set aside all doubt and acknowledged the fact that, though these two great men were never sworn in, they actually won the June 12th 1993 presidential election: a fact that a handful of key players in the political space had disputed for many years and a course of action that a number of post-1999 democratically-elected Presidents and Governments had inexplicably and wickedly refused to do.
This singular act by the Buhari administration has finally killed the ghost of June 12th, brought about national reconciliation and cemented the unity and future of Nigeria more than any other.
It has also brought to an end the deep suspicion that had hitherto existed between the people of the South West and the North.
Commendation for all this must go to primarily two people.
Firstly President Muhammadu Buhari who displayed remarkable courage and sensitivity by taking this monumental step and noble course of action and secondly Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who lobbied morning day and night to ensure that he did it.
For this alone and so much more Bola Tinubu deserves to be elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in next years election.
Can any of these things be said of Peter Obi?
Of course not: unless you are deluded!
There are many former Governors, former Presidents, former Vice Presidents and former Ministers in this country whose names barely get a mention anymore in the public space but Tinubu is and has always been a constant factor for the last 32 years!
All this and much more and some have the sheer effontry to be comparing one Peter Obi who was Governor of Anambra state just a few years ago to the mighty Jagaban.
This is a big insult and frankly reflects nothing other than the ignorance of those making the comparison.
Take it or leave it, that is the bitter truth.
To compare a strong-willed, resilient, industrious, tried and tested, exposed, gifted, blessed, wily, wise, enigmatic, courageous, intelligent and great man like Bola Ahmed Tinubu who God has used to better the lives of millions and who transformed our very own Lagos from a chaotic, ugly, dirty, congested, over-populated, poor, crime-ridden, depressing, ghetto-filled city and festering slum with a dwindling economy, a tiny income and a negligible and pitiful IGR of 700 million naira per month in 1999 to the most modern, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, secure, orderly, powerful, dynamic, clean, beautiful, inspiring, prestigious, booming, business-friendly, commercially-gratifying, inspiring, happy, modern and prosperous city and industrial hub on the African continent with by far the largest population, an IGR of 44.5 billion naira per month, a massive income and the largest economy compared to any other CITY in Africa, the 3rd largest economy compared to any NATION in Africa (with a GDP of $76 billion) and a larger economy than over 95% of NATIONS on the African continent all as a consequence of his efforts and that of his political sons that succeeded him as Governor and established a joint and combined legacy of excellence with him over the last 23 years to a man who is so far down the ladder like Peter Obi is uncharitable.
This is the same Obi who, as Governor of his Anambra state just a few years ago, did NOTHING in terms of infrastructural development, was incapable of building up the state’s IGR, spent all his time fighting the workers and unions and oppressing his perceived enemies and instead of providing good governance and hope for his people, was busy persecuting non-indigenes and particularly Northerners and throwing them out of his state.
This is the same Obi who, as Governor of Anambra state, instead of providing inspirational leadership for his people was busy fighting the world and claiming that Lagos was no longer part of the West but now a “no-man’s land” and that took pleasure in stoking the embers of tribalism, religious intolerance, sectarian conflict and ethnic nationalism.
This is the same Obi who, as Governor of Anambra state, instead of doing something tangible and bringing the dividends of democracy to his people was, as Dele Alake the former Commissioner of Information of Lagos state rightly said, was too busy “saving money” whilst his people were dying of hunger and starvation.
Again this is a man who, as Governor of Anambra state, boldly and publicly proclaimed that “education is not for the poor” and not only increased the school fees of students to an exorbitant and unattainable figure but also wickedly insisted that they must pay their fees for three terms in advance as opposed to one, causing many students to drop out of school and forfeit their dream of getting a good education.
Again this is a man who is essentially a commodities broker and trader that imports virtually everything from toilet paper, tomatoe puree and toothpaste to biscuits, soap and Bournvita into our country and who has done nothing to support or encourage our local industries, local industrial growth or agricultural production.
This prompted a prominent social media public commentator by the name of Ayekooto Akindele to say that “Peter Obi IMPORTS into the country what Aliko Dangote PRODUCES in the country”.
Ayekooto is right.
And the implications of the activities of international traders and commodity merchants like Obi on our economy and the value of our currency and their contribution to the high unemployment rate in our country as a consequence of their line of work and desire to make a quick buck at the expense of our local farmers and producers are legion.
People like Obi are assisting foreign farmers and industrialists to make vast sums of money at the expense of their Nigerian counterparts by providing a vast market for them to dump their luxury items and consumner products at usually unreasonable and extortionate prices and killing local production of similar goods because our farmers and producers simply cannot compete with them.
Worse still they have done nothing to open any of the lucrative foreign markets to the few products that our farmers and industrialists can actually produce.
The direct consequence of this is poverty for the Nigerian farmer and producer and prosperity for the foreign ones and their agents and middle men like Obi.
This is unfair, unacceptable and unconciable.
And making the bulk of your money from such a nebulous and iniquitous endeavour regardless of the damaging effect and negative impact it has on your country’s economy, farmers and producers raises a lot of questions about your sense of patriotism.
That is the problem with the Obi’s of this world.
Comparing such a man to an enigma like Tinubu who has made massive investments in different sectors of our economy and who is the employer of hundreds of thousands of our people in various local enterprises and industries is absurd.
It is like comparing a gold-plated treasure chest filled with the world’s finest and largest emralds, topaz’s and diamonds to a worthless plastic bucket filled with sand, pebbles and a sprinkling of fools gold.
It is like comparing Miss Universe or Miss World to an ugly, shifty, smelly, well-worne and well-used Mumbai lady of easy virtue.
It is like comparing Elon Musk and Bill Gates to Hushpuppi and Al Capone.
It is like comparing a beautiful blue-blooded Turkish Sultana or Hatun with a fading, ageing, crude and vulgar 18th century Parisian streetwalker.
It is a shameful and shameless comparison.
It is a tactless, tasteless and nauseating joke.
It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing!
It is an exercise in futility and a pointless and profit less endeavour.
Permit me to end this contribution with the following assertions.
Let the foundations of the earth rumble, let the demons scream, let the lions roar, let the wolves howl and let the sharks run riot.
Let the wailers wail, let the bulls of Bashan charge, let the mortals plot and plan, let the orcs shriek, let the goblins grumble and let our adversaries and oppressors “cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war”.
Let the forces of hell gather, let the creatures of darkness hiss and writhe, let the spoilers bellow and spoil, let the haters hate, let the liars lie and let the accusers accuse.
Let the hordes of hell, the wizards, the sorcerers, the witches, the voodoo-merchants, the witch-doctors, the spiritualists, the sharmans, the occultists, the deceivers and the agents of satan invoke their powers, chant their chants, spin their deceitful and ugly tales, cast their spells and do their worst.
it changes nothing and their counsel shall NOT stand because the Lord, whose name is MIGHTY and FAITHFUL, is with us!
Come rain, come shine, by His grace and the will of the Nigerian people, we shall prevail in next year’s presidential election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu will win and on his mandate WE SHALL STAND!
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Opinion
Reimagining the African Leadership Paradigm: A Comprehensive Blueprint
Published
3 days agoon
January 10, 2026By
Eric
By Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD
“To lead Africa forward is to move from transactional authority to transformational stewardship—where institutions outlive individuals, data informs vision, and service is the only valid currency of governance” – Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD
The narrative of African leadership in the 21st century stands at a critical intersection of profound potential and persistent paradox. The continent, pulsating with the world’s youngest demographic and endowed with immense natural wealth, nonetheless contends with systemic challenges that stifle its ascent. This divergence between capacity and outcome signals not merely a failure of policy, but a deeper crisis of leadership philosophy and practice. As the global order undergoes seismic shifts, the imperative for African nations to fundamentally re-strategize their approach to governance has transitioned from an intellectual exercise to an existential necessity. Nigeria, by virtue of its demographic heft, economic scale, and cultural influence, serves as the continent’s most significant crucible for this transformation. The journey of Nigerian leadership from its current state to its potential apex offers a blueprint not only for its own 200 million citizens but for an entire continent in search of a new compass.
Deconstructing the Legacy Model: A Diagnosis of Systemic Failure
To construct a resilient future, we must first undertake an unflinching diagnosis of the present. The prevailing leadership archetype across much of Africa, with clear manifestations in Nigeria’s political economy, is built upon a foundation that has proven tragically unfit for purpose. This model is characterized by several interlocking dysfunctions:
· The Primacy of Transactional Politics Over Transformational Vision: Governance has too often been reduced to a complex system of transactions—votes exchanged for short-term patronage, positions awarded for loyalty over competence, and resource allocation serving political expediency rather than national strategy. This erodes public trust and makes long-term, cohesive planning impossible.
· The Tyranny of the Short-Term Electoral Cycle: Leadership decisions are frequently held hostage to the next election, sacrificing strategic investments in education, infrastructure, and industrialization on the altar of immediate, visible—yet fleeting—gains. This creates a perpetual cycle of reactive governance, preventing the execution of decade-spanning national projects.
· Administrative Silos and Bureaucratic Inertia: Government ministries and agencies often operate as isolated fiefdoms, with limited inter-departmental collaboration. This siloed approach fragments policy implementation, leads to contradictory initiatives, and renders the state apparatus inefficient and unresponsive to complex, cross-sectoral challenges like climate change, public health, and national security.
· The Demographic Disconnect: Africa’s most potent asset is its youth. Yet, a vast governance gap separates a dynamic, digitally-native, and globally-aware generation from political structures that remain opaque, paternalistic, and slow to adapt. This disconnect fuels alienation, brain drain, and social unrest.
· The Weakness of Institutions and the Cult of Personality: When the strength of a state is vested in individuals rather than institutions, it creates systemic vulnerability. Independent judiciaries, professional civil services, and credible electoral commissions are weakened, leading to arbitrariness in the application of law, erosion of meritocracy, and a deep-seated crisis of public confidence.
The tangible outcomes of this flawed model are the headlines that define the continent’s challenges: infrastructure deficits that strangle commerce, public education and healthcare systems in states of distress, jobless economic growth, multifaceted security threats, and the chronic hemorrhage of human capital. To re-strategize leadership is to directly address these outputs by redesigning the very system that produces them.
Pillars of a Reformed Leadership Architecture: A Holistic Framework
The new leadership paradigm must be constructed not as a minor adjustment, but as a holistic architectural endeavor. It requires foundational pillars that are interdependent, mutually reinforcing, and built to endure beyond political transitions.
1. The Philosophical Core: Embracing Servant-Leadership and Ethical Stewardship
The most profound change must be internal—a recalibration of the leader’s fundamental purpose. The concept of the leader as a benevolent “strongman” must give way to the model of the servant-leader. This philosophy, rooted in both timeless African communal values (ubuntu) and modern ethical governance, posits that the true leader exists to serve the people, not vice versa. It is characterized by deep empathy, radical accountability, active listening, and a commitment to empowering others. Success is measured not by the leader’s personal accumulation of power or wealth, but by the tangible flourishing, security, and expanded opportunities of the citizenry. This ethos fosters trust, the essential currency of effective governance.
2. Strategic Foresight and Evidence-Based Governance
Leadership must be an exercise in building the future, not just administering the present. This requires the collaborative development of a clear, compelling, and inclusive national vision—a strategic narrative that aligns the energies of government, private sector, and civil society. For Nigeria, frameworks like Nigeria’s Agenda 2050 and the National Development Plan must be de-politicized and treated as binding national covenants. Furthermore, in the age of big data, governance must transition from intuition-driven to evidence-based. This necessitates significant investment in data collection, analytics, and policy-informing research. Whether designing social safety nets, deploying security resources, or planning agricultural subsidies, decisions must be illuminated by rigorous data, ensuring efficiency, transparency, and measurable impact.
3. Institutional Fortification: Building the Enduring Pillars of State
A nation’s longevity and stability are directly proportional to the strength and independence of its institutions. Re-strategizing leadership demands an unwavering commitment to institutional architecture:
· An Impervious Judiciary: The rule of law must be absolute, with a judicial system insulated from political and financial influence, guaranteeing justice for the powerful and the marginalized alike.
· Electoral Integrity as Sacred Trust: Democratic legitimacy springs from credible elections. Investing in independent electoral commissions, transparent technology, and robust legal frameworks is non-negotiable for political stability.
· A Re-professionalized Civil Service: The bureaucracy must be transformed into a merit-driven, technologically adept, and well-remunerated engine of state, shielded from the spoils system and empowered to implement policy effectively.
· Robust, Transparent Accountability Ecosystems: Anti-corruption agencies require genuine operational independence, adequate funding, and protection. Complementing this, transparent public procurement platforms and mandatory asset declarations for public officials must become normalized practice.
4. Collaborative and Distributed Leadership: The Power of the Collective
The monolithic state cannot solve wicked problems alone. The modern leader must be a convener-in-chief, architecting platforms for sustained collaboration. This involves actively fostering a triple-helix partnership:
· The Public Sector sets the vision, regulates, and provides enabling infrastructure.
· The Private Sector drives investment, innovation, scale, and job creation.
· Academia and Civil Society contribute research, grassroots intelligence, independent oversight, and specialized implementation capacity.
This model distributes responsibility, leverages diverse expertise, and fosters innovative solutions—from public-private partnerships in infrastructure to tech-driven civic engagement platforms.
5. Human Capital Supremacy: The Ultimate Strategic Investment
A nation’s most valuable asset walks on two feet. Re-strategized leadership places a supreme, non-negotiable priority on developing human potential. For Nigeria and Africa, this demands a generational project:
· Revolutionizing Education: Curricula must be overhauled to foster critical thinking, digital literacy, STEM proficiency, and entrepreneurial mindset—skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Investment in teacher training and educational infrastructure is paramount.
· Building a Preventive, Resilient Health System: Focus must shift from curative care in central hospitals to robust, accessible primary healthcare. A healthy population is a productive population, forming the basis of economic resilience.
· Creating an Enabling Environment for Talent: Beyond education and health, leadership must provide the ecosystem where talent can thrive: reliable electricity, ubiquitous broadband, access to venture capital, and a regulatory environment that encourages innovation and protects intellectual property. The goal is to make the domestic environment more attractive than the diaspora for the continent’s best minds.
6. Assertive, Strategic Engagement in Global Affairs
African leadership must shed any vestiges of a supplicant mentality and adopt a posture of strategic agency. This means actively shaping continental and global agendas:
· Leveraging the AfCFTA: Moving beyond signing agreements to actively dismantling non-tariff barriers, harmonizing standards, and investing in cross-border infrastructure to turn the agreement into a real engine of intra-African trade and industrialization.
· Diplomacy for Value Creation: Foreign policy should be strategically deployed to attract sustainable foreign direct investment, secure technology transfer agreements, and build partnerships based on mutual benefit, not aid dependency.
· Advocacy for Structural Reform: African leaders must collectively and persistently advocate for reforms in global financial institutions and multilateral forums to ensure a more equitable international system.
The Nigerian Imperative: From National Challenges to a National Charter
Applying this framework to Nigeria requires translating universal principles into specific, context-driven actions:
· Integrated Security as a Foundational Priority: Security strategy must be comprehensive, blending advanced intelligence capabilities, professionalized security forces, with parallel investments in community policing, youth employment programs in high-risk areas, and accelerated development to address the root causes of instability.
· A Determined Pursuit of Economic Complexity: Leadership must orchestrate a decisive shift from rent-seeking in the oil sector to value creation across diversified sectors: commercialized agriculture, light and advanced manufacturing, a thriving creative industry, and a dominant digital services sector.
· Constitutional and Governance Re-engineering: To harness its diversity, Nigeria requires a sincere national conversation on restructuring. This likely entails moving towards a more authentic federalism with greater fiscal autonomy for states, devolution of powers, and mechanisms that ensure equitable resource distribution and inclusive political representation.
· Pioneering a Just Energy Transition: Nigeria must craft a unique energy pathway—strategically utilizing its gas resources for domestic industrialization and power generation, while simultaneously positioning itself as a regional hub for renewable energy technology, investment, and innovation.
Conclusion: A Collective Endeavor of Audacious Hope
Re-strategizing leadership in Africa and in Nigeria is not an event, but a generational process. It is not the abandonment of culture but its evolution—melding the deep African traditions of community, consensus, and elder wisdom with the modern imperatives of transparency, innovation, and individual rights. This task extends far beyond the political class. It is a summons to a new generation of leaders in every sphere: the tech entrepreneur in Yaba, the reform-minded civil servant in Abuja, the agri-preneur in Kebbi, the investigative journalist in Lagos, and the community activist in the Niger Delta.
Ultimately, this is an endeavor of audacious hope. It is the conscious choice to build systems stronger than individuals, institutions more enduring than terms of office, and a national identity richer than our ethnic sum. Nigeria possesses all the requisite raw materials for greatness: human brilliance, cultural richness, and natural bounty. The final, indispensable ingredient is a leadership strategy worthy of its people. The blueprint is now detailed; the call to action is urgent. The future awaits not our complaints, but our constructive and courageous labor. Let the work begin in earnest.
Dr. Tolulope A. Adegoke is a globally recognized scholar-practitioner and thought leader at the nexus of security, governance, and strategic leadership. His work addresses complex institutional challenges, with a specialized focus on West African security dynamics, conflict resolution, and sustainable development.
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Opinion
Rivers State: Two Monkeys Burn the Village to Prove They Are Loyal to Jagaban
Published
6 days agoon
January 7, 2026By
Eric
By Sly Edaghese
Teaser
Rivers State is not collapsing by accident. It is being offered as a sacrifice. Two men, driven by fear of irrelevance and hunger for protection, have chosen spectacle over stewardship—setting fire to a whole people’s future just to prove who kneels better before power.
There comes a point when a political tragedy degenerates into farce, and the farce mutates into a curse. Rivers State has crossed that point. What is unfolding there is not governance, not even conflict—it is ritual madness, a grotesque contest in which two men are willing to burn an entire state just to be noticed by one man sitting far away in Abuja.
This is not ambition.
This is desperation wearing designer jacket.
At the center of this inferno stand two performers who have mistaken power for immortality and loyalty for slavery. One is a former god. The other is a former servant. Both are now reduced to naked dancers in a marketplace, grinding their teeth and tearing flesh to entertain Jagaban.
The first is Nyesom Wike—once feared, once untouchable, now frantic. A man whose political identity has collapsed into noise, threats, and recycled bravado. His ministerial appointment was never a validation of statesmanship; it was a severance package for betrayal. Tinubu did not elevate Wike because he admired him—he tolerated him because he was useful. And usefulness, in politics, is key, but it has an expiry date.
Wike governed Rivers State not as a public trust but as a private estate. He did not build institutions; he built dependencies. He did not groom leaders; he bred loyalists. Before leaving office, he salted the land with his men—lawmakers, commissioners, council chairmen—so that even in absence, Rivers State would still answer to his shadow. His obsession was simple and sick: if I cannot rule it, no one else must.
Enter Siminalayi Fubara—a man selected, not tested; installed, not trusted by the people but trusted by his maker. Fubara was meant to be an invisible power in a visible office—a breathing signature, a ceremonial governor whose only real duty was obedience.
But power has a way of awakening even the most timid occupant.
Fubara wanted to act like a governor. That single desire triggered a full-scale political assassination attempt—not with bullets, but with institutions twisted into weapons. A state of emergency was declared with obscene haste. The governor was suspended like a naughty schoolboy. His budget was butchered. His local government elections were annulled and replaced with a pre-arranged outcome favorable to his tormentor. Lawmakers who defected and lost their seats by constitutional law were resurrected like political zombies and crowned legitimate.
This was not law.
This was organized humiliation.
And when degradation alone failed, Wike went further—dragging Fubara into a room to sign an agreement that belonged more to a slave plantation than a democratic republic.
One clause alone exposed the rot:
👉 Fubara must never seek a second term.
In plain language: you may warm the chair, but you will never own it.
Then came the most revealing act of all—Wike leaked the agreement himself. A man so intoxicated by dominance that he thought publicizing oppression would strengthen his grip.
That leak was not strategy; it was confession. It told Nigerians that this was never about peace, order, or party discipline—it was about absolute control over another human being.
But history has a cruel sense of humor.
While Wike strutted like a victorious warlord and his loyal lawmakers sharpened new knives, Fubara did something dangerous: he adapted. He studied power where it truly resides. He learned Tinubu’s language—the language of survival, alignment, and betrayal without apology. Then he did what Nigerian politics rewards most:
He crossed over.
Not quietly. Not shamefully. But theatrically. He defected to the APC, raised a party card numbered 001 and crowned himself leader of the party in Rivers State. He pledged to deliver the same Rivers people to Tinubu just as Wike also has pledged.
That moment was not boldness.
It was cold-blooded realism.
And in one stroke, Wike’s myth collapsed.
The once-feared enforcer became a shouting relic—touring local governments like a prophet nobody believes anymore, issuing warnings that land on deaf ears, reminding Nigerians of favors that no longer matter. He threatened APC officials, cursed betrayal, and swore eternal vengeance. But vengeance without access is just noise.
Today, the humiliation is complete.
Fubara enters rooms Wike waits outside.
Presidential aides shake hands with the new alignment.
The old king rants in press conferences, sounding increasingly like a man arguing with a locked door.
And yet, the darkest truth remains: neither of these men cares about Rivers State.
One is fighting to remain relevant.
The other is fighting to remain protected.
The people—the markets, the schools, the roads, the civil servants—are expendable extras in a drama scripted far above their heads.
Some say Tinubu designed this blood sport—unable to discard Wike outright, he simply unleashed his creation against him. Whether genius or negligence, the effect is the same: Rivers State is being eaten alive by ambition.
This is what happens when politics loses shame.
This is what happens when loyalty replaces competence.
This is what happens when leaders treat states like bargaining chips and citizens like ashes.
Two monkeys are burning the village—not to save it, not to rule it—but to prove who can scream loudest while it burns.
And Jagaban watches, hands folded.
But when the fire dies down, when the music stops, when the applause fades, there will be nothing left to govern—only ruins, regret, and two exhausted dancers staring at the ashes, finally realizing that power does not clap forever.
Sly Edaghese sent in this piece from Wisconsin, USA.
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By Pelumi Olajengbesi Esq.
Every student of politics should now be interested in what will be the end of Wike. Wike is one of those names that mean different things to different people within Nigeria’s political culture. To his admirers, he is courage and capacity, to his critics, he is disruption and excess, and to neutral observers like me, he is simply a fascinating case study in the mechanics of power.
In many ways, he was instrumental to the emergence of President Tinubu, and he has long sat like a lord over the politics of Rivers, having pushed aside nearly every person who once mattered in that space. He waged war against his party, the PDP, and drove it to the edge. Wike waged war against his successor and reduced him to submission. He fights anyone who stands in his way.
He is powerful, loved by many, and deeply irritating to many others. Yet for all his strength, one suspects that Wike does not enjoy peace of mind, because before he is done with one fight, another fight is already forming. From Rivers to Ibadan, Abuja to Imo, and across the country, he is the only right man in his own way. He is constantly in motion, constantly in battle, and constantly singing “agreement is agreement,” while forgetting that politics is merely negotiation and renegotiation.
To his credit, Wike may often be the smartest political planner in every room. He reads everybody’s next move and still creates a countermove. In that self image, Governor Fubara was meant to remain on a leash, manageable through pressure, inducement, and the suggestion that any disobedience would be framed as betrayal of the President and the new federal order.
But politics has a way of punishing anyone who believes control is permanent. The moment Fubara joined the APC, the battlefield shifted, and old tricks began to lose their edge. Whether by real alignment, perceived alignment, or even the mere possibility of a different alignment, once Fubara was no longer boxed into the corner Wike designed for him, Wike’s entire method required review. The fight may remain, but the terrain has changed. When terrain changes, power must either adapt or harden into miscalculation.
It is within this context that the gradually brewing crisis deserves careful attention, because what is emerging is not merely another loud exchange, but a visible clash with vital stakeholders within the Tinubu government and the wider ruling party environment. There is now a fixed showdown with the APC National Secretary, a man who is himself not allergic to confrontation, and who understands that a fight, if properly timed, can yield political advantage, institutional relevance, and bargaining power. When such a figure publicly demands that Nyesom Wike should resign as a minister in Tinubu’s cabinet, it is not a joke, It is about who is permitted to exercise influence, in what space, and on what terms. It is also about the anxiety that follows every coalition built on convenience rather than shared identity, because convenience has no constitution and gratitude is not a structure.
Wike embodies that anxiety in its most dramatic form. He is a man inside government, but not fully inside the party that controls government. He is a man whose usefulness to a winning project is undeniable, yet whose political style constantly reminds the winners that he is not naturally theirs. In every ruling party, there is a crucial difference between allies and stakeholders. Allies help you win, and stakeholders own the structure that decides who gets what after victory. Wike’s problem is that he has operated like both. His support for Tinubu, and his capacity to complicate the opposition’s arithmetic, gave him relevance at the centre. That relevance always tempts a man to behave like a co-owner.
Wike has built his political life on the logic of territorial command. He defines the space, polices the gate, punishes disloyalty, rewards submission, and keeps opponents permanently uncertain. That method is brutally effective when a man truly owns and controls the structure, because it produces fear, and fear produces compliance. This is why Wike insists on controlling the Rivers equation, even when that insistence conflicts with the preferences of the national centre.
The APC leadership is not reacting only to words. It is reacting to what the words represent. When a minister speaks as though a state chapter of the ruling party should be treated like a guest in that state’s politics, the party reads it as an attempt to subordinate its internal structure to an external will. Even where the party has tolerated Wike because of what he helped deliver, it cannot tolerate a situation where its own officials begin to look over their shoulders for permission from a man who is not formally one of them. Once a party believes its chain of command is being bypassed, it will choose institutional survival over interpersonal loyalty every time.
Wike’s predicament is the classic risk of power without full institutional belonging. Informal influence can be louder than formal power, but it is also more fragile because it depends on continuous tolerance from those who control formal instruments. These instruments include party hierarchy, candidate selection, and the legitimacy that comes with membership.
An outsider ally can be celebrated while he is useful, but the coalition that celebrates him can begin to step away the moment his methods create more cost than value. The cost is not only electoral, it can also be organisational. A ruling party approaching the next political cycle becomes sensitive to discipline, structure, and coherence. If the leadership suspects that one person’s shadow is creating factions, confusing loyalties, or humiliating party officials, it will attempt to cut that shadow down. It may not do so because it hates the person, but because it fears the disorder and the precedent.
So the question returns with greater urgency, what will be the end of Wike? If it comes, it may not come with fireworks. Strongmen often do not fall through one decisive attack. They are slowly redesigned out of relevance. The end can look like isolation, with quiet withdrawal of access, gradual loss of influence over appointments, and the emergence of new centres of power within the same territory he once treated as private estate. It can look like neutralisation, with Wike remaining in office, but watching the political value of the office drain because the presidency and the party no longer need his battles. It can look like forced realignment, with him compelled to fully submit to the ruling party structure, sacrificing the freedom of being an independent ally, or losing the cover that federal power provides.
Yet it is also possible that his story does not end in collapse, because Wike is not a novice. The same instinct that made him influential can also help him survive if he adapts. But adaptation would require a difficult shift. It would require a move from territorial warfare to coalition management. It would require a move from ruling by fear to ruling by accommodation. It would require a move from being merely feared to being structurally useful without becoming structurally threatening. Wike may be running out of time.
Pelumi Olajengbesi is a Legal Practitioner and Senior Partner at Law Corridor
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