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.

By Chief Akinwumi Akinfenwa

Let us stop pretending.

Nigeria’s economic crisis is no longer about policy mistakes or reform pains. It is about official dishonesty — the deliberate promotion of a success story that millions of starving citizens know to be false.

This government is not merely out of touch.
It is talking down to a suffering population.

THE BIG CON: WHEN STATISTICS BECOME A WEAPON

Nigerians are told the economy is improving.

Who exactly is improving?

Certainly not the trader who can no longer restock goods.
Not the civil servant whose salary is dead on arrival.
Not the graduate roaming the streets jobless.
Not the family skipping meals.

Yet, government spokespersons speak with confidence — GDP growth, easing inflation, fiscal discipline — as if numbers alone can cancel hunger.

This is not leadership.
It is economic propaganda.

LET US BE CLEAR: POVERTY IS EXPLODING

The World Bank estimates that over 130 million Nigerians now live in poverty. That is more people than the population of many African countries combined.

The government’s response?
Denial. Dismissal. Deflection.

Instead of emergency action, Nigerians are given excuses.

Instead of accountability, they are given lectures about patience.

This is moral failure at scale.

REFORMS WITHOUT RELIEF ARE REFORMS AGAINST THE PEOPLE

Fuel subsidy removal.
Currency float.
New taxes.

All implemented with brutal speed — without safety nets, without wage protection, without food security.

The result?

Transport costs exploded

Food prices went out of control

Small businesses collapsed

Purchasing power evaporated

Yet government officials still have the audacity to say “the worst is over.”

Over for who?

For politicians on allowances?
For contractors paid in dollars?
For elites insulated from market prices?

TAXING POVERTY IS NOT GOVERNANCE — IT IS VIOLENCE

Only a government detached from reality would increase tax pressure in an economy where:

Real incomes are falling

Unemployment is endemic

Informal businesses are barely breathing

Taxation without prosperity is state-sanctioned extortion.

No serious nation taxes its way out of mass poverty.
You grow production.
You create jobs.
You protect citizens.

Nigeria is doing the opposite.

THE MOST DANGEROUS LIE: “SUFFERING IS NECESSARY”

Nigerians are told suffering is inevitable — that pain today guarantees prosperity tomorrow.

History disagrees.

There is no economic law that says reforms must destroy lives. There is no justification for policy brutality. There is no excuse for indifference to hunger.

When leaders ask citizens to suffer while they remain comfortable, the social contract is broken.

And broken contracts do not heal with speeches.

THIS IS WHY PEOPLE ARE ANGRY

Not because Nigerians “don’t understand economics.”

But because they understand injustice.

They understand when:

Markets say one thing

Kitchens say another

Government insists everyone is wrong except itself

Anger grows when truth is denied.

Silence should not be mistaken for acceptance.

A WARNING, NOT A THREAT

No society survives indefinitely on denial and deprivation.

When governments ignore hunger, hunger eventually speaks. When leaders dismiss pain, pain eventually organizes. When legitimacy collapses, statistics cannot save it.

Nigeria is approaching that edge.

THE BOTTOM LINE

An economy that looks good only in official narratives is not recovering.

A government that argues with poverty data instead of fighting poverty has lost moral authority.

A leadership that demands sacrifice without protection is unfit for trust.

Nigerians are not asking for miracles.
They are asking for honesty, empathy, and relief.

Until then, every talk of “turnaround” is an insult – and Nigerians are no longer in the mood to be insulted.

©️Chief Akinwumi Akinfenwa, Political Scientist, Public Policy Analyst, Social Commentator, and Advocate for Constitutional Decency lives in Ibadan

PETER OBI wasted time claiming to wait and campaign for his candidate in the last Anambra Guber election. After wasting time and campaign which ended like wailing, nothing came out of the time leveraged him by ADC.

Speculations filled everywhere as to whether PETER OBI was looking for alternative platform outside the coalition, until PDP and LP were Obliterated beyond recognition before PETER OBI resolved to join the ADC on 31/12/2025. Despite the funfare that accompanied his picking ADC membership card, it wasn’t quite a week before some of his Elites IGBO brothers and sisters started threatening the ADC that if PETER OBI fails to clinch the ticket of the party, and he accepts to be running mate to whoever wins, they will not support him. This implies that they are on pursuit of three 3RRRs (Ethno) RELIGIOUS AND REGIONAL REGIMENTATION.

The most unethical behavior of some of PETER OBI’S SUPPORTERS I observed, is that, some leaders of the Obidients just like the rowdy lots, aren’t interested in building a movement as the coalition is committed to, but simply the ego of Peter Obi.

This behavior and character is not only inimical to the progress of the party but dangerous to both Peter Obi and ADC. Unfortunately they didn’t know that Peter will be worse hit, because it will obliterate his ambition and equally truncate the shortest possible route for the South East’s dream of clinching the Presidency.

My fear for ADC is this, the risks of entrusting an unpatriotic elements with sensitive responsibility in this delicate and complex political war to saving Nigeria from the APC and its dictatorial tendencies. PETER OBI’S SUPPORTERS and their leaders shouting ” it is either Peter Obi or nothing or if Peter Obi accepts to be running mate we will not support him” , can sabotage the party ADC and its Presidential candidate, leading up to the campaign and during the election.

These people have made their decisions and positions clear, implying that if PETER OBI failed to win the Primary election of ADC, to be the Presidential candidate, they will not support the party to win the general election.

In such circumstances, their best bet will be to want to prove to Nigerians their delusional beliefs that only PETER OBI can beat TINUBU, by remaining in the party and playing the role of a mole and sabotaging the efforts of Nigerians determined to chase APC and their Government out of ASO ROCK. Where the Party lost election, they will say “we told you”.

ADC leadership should avoid complacency and be eagle eyed, to be able to separate fake loyalty from patriotic loyal party members when assigning a crucial responsibilities.

ADC should stick to its constitution and follow democratic principles of picking candidates for elective offices. The leadership shouldn’t be bullied or submit to intimidation by any of the three known aspirants, ATIKU ABUBAKAR, ROTIMI AMEACHI OR PETER OBI OR ANY OTHER INTERESTED PARTY.

All the aspirants must commit to working for the party and support whoever comes top. The second runner up can be the running mate, if he desires to, and where he declines, the leadership in conjunction with the candidate can agree to another person.
In a situation where the contestants decline to be running mate, as the case may be, as a political party, ADC and the Candidate can look outside of the contestants, but the Party must make sure, as a condition Loyalty to Country, Constitution of Nigeria and the Party a COMPULSORY requirement.

This requirement must be met before screening any aspirant to participate in its Primary election at all levels.
This requirement should be extended to all delegates expected to vote in primary election, and should also include those officiating the primary election.
These requirements are necessary to minimize INFILTRATION by sabotuers. Sabotuers can be identified by their uterences and actions.

Any utterances or actions that are shrouded in ambiguity must be seen to be suspect and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Clarity, open and committed loyalty is not difficult to identify.

So right from picking ADC ELECTORAL OFFICERS, intended to supervise all congresses should be mindful of who constitute the teams.

There are people who especially from PETER OBI’S SUPPORTERS who have made open declarations that they will support PETER OBI on the condition that he is the Presidential candidate, implying that they are not going to be loyal to the Party.
As they do not believe in blind loyalty, so also ADC should not believe in vague loyalty.
Such people Professor Pat Utomi, Dr Obi Ekwesilieze, Dr Sam Amadi etc are clearly expected to be LEADERS in ADC if they have registered their membership, but their utterances betray their loyalty to the Party, if any.

So it is clear that their tendency to betray the party if PETER OBI fails to clinch the ticket is absolute.

These are people that ADC must be careful in dealing with them, if it must.

In fact they should stay far away from party activities, until Peter Obi wins or vamoose where he fails to get the ticket.