Rivers and politics of godfatherism

The ongoing political impasse in Rivers State between the immediate past governor of the state and current minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, and his political godson, Governor Similayina Fubara, is a mockery of our constitutional democracy.   However, Wike’s cold war with Governor Fubara did not come to many Nigerians as a surprise. Since the return […]

The ongoing political impasse in Rivers State between the immediate past governor of the state and current minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, and his political godson, Governor Similayina Fubara, is a mockery of our constitutional democracy.  

However, Wike’s cold war with Governor Fubara did not come to many Nigerians as a surprise. Since the return of democracy in 1999, Nigeria’s elite armed with financial wherewithal have constituted themselves as kingmakers. They heavily invest and use their political connections to sponsor politicians to power in anticipation of lucrative contracts and other financial patronages. But these politicians, mostly powerful state governors, after amassing stupendous wealth suddenly, abandon their benefactors and become kingmakers themselves.

These powerful governors deploy state resources and ensure their anointed candidates win elections at all costs. The reason for supporting their anointed candidates is not far-fetched. They want to continue ruling their states by proxy. In the last two decades of our democratic journey, the politics of godfatherism have been deeply entrenched and nurtured beyond redemption. 

The ongoing crises which rocked Rivers State are the dangerous effects of the politics of godfatherism.  

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Governor Fubara who hardly enjoyed his honeymoon like his colleagues, is waging a survival war with his political godfather, Wike.

Sadly, the battle of supremacy between the duo is not for the benefit or development of the oil-rich state. It is purely for the control of the state’s politics and resources. Did Wike and Fubara sign a deal or an agreement before the last general elections? Did Governor Fubara in the early days of his administration breached or reneged on the agreement he entered with his godfather (Wike)?

The bone of contention or genesis of the political tension has remained unknown.  

When the crises broke, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, called the dramatists personae to an emergency meeting and brokered a peace deal. The governor later apologised to the good people of Rivers State and Wike.

With the intervention from Mr President, many had thought that Fubara and Wike had sheathed their swords and allowed peace to reign in the volatile state. Alas, it has not been so.  

The decision of 27 pro-Wike lawmakers to decamp to the opposition APC in order to impeach the governor added fuel to the flame of the crisis. Though the lawmakers have cited crises in PDP as the reason for their decamping, this is far from the truth.

The National leadership of PDP and Rivers State chapter have neither been enmeshed in any crisis nor are they factionalised to constitutionally warrant their cross-carpeting. To blame crises within the rank and file of their former party is baseless and a figment of their imagination.  

If Governor Fubara is removed, what will happen to the peace of Rivers State? And, if Wike after serving as a governor for a good eight years, without any godfather’s interference can have his way, what will happen to our constitutional democracy? The absurdity in Rivers State will set a bad precedence and elevate the politics of godfatherism in the country to a dangerous level. It is high we dismantled it. 

 

Ibrahim Mustapha wrote from Pambegua, Kaduna State