Wike, Rivers State And Fubara’s Pseudo Heroism

Many people have been hailing and supporting the Rivers state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, as he apparently moves against his predecessor and estranged godfather, Nyesom Wike. The governor has indicated his resolve to initiate an investigation into the activities of the previous administration led by Wike. At the swearing-in of the new attorney general of the state, Dagogo Iboroma, SAN, Fubara left no one in doubt as to the direction he has chosen to go in the war of attrition going on between him and his former boss.

“You have a big task. As it is today in the local parlance, they say the jungle has matured. We will be setting up a panel of inquiry to investigate the affair of governance,” Fubara told the incoming attorney general.

Many Nigerians, myself inclusive, have been pleased by Fubara’s decision to call the bluff of Wike, who, for obviously selfish reasons, has refused to exit the scene almost one year since completing his tenure as governor. Wike’s overbearing moves have justifiably annoyed many of us, and we may therefore be justified in our animosity towards him.

However, it is also the truth that Fubara’s most recent steps ought to be brought under close scrutiny if our desire is to have a progressive nation and not just a defeated and humbled Wike. Yes, Wike should be taught some lesson, but the entire circumstances of what is unfolding in Rivers point more to a personal vendetta on the part of Fubara than to a real intention to sanitise the public space. This is evident in the governor’s own words; “If we disagree, no matter how bad it is, it should be resolved. But it has become very clear that this disagreement there is no headway to it, and for many reasons, there is very visible evidence that there is sabotage, a deliberate attempt to sabotage this administration.”

What becomes obvious here is that Fubara wouldn’t have bothered probing anyone if Wike had simply given him the space and peace to work instead of constituting himself into a vexatious meddlesome interloper. For all he cares, the former governor can go scot-free as long as he behaves himself and allows him (Fubara) be in charge of his government. Fubara left no one in doubt about this when he declared; “I have said that I don’t want to talk. I didn’t want to talk because I was part of that system. But, when you keep pushing me to talk, I will say it so that the people will know the true situation of things and be properly informed.” He was in effect saying that being a member of Wike’s inner caucus, he was prepared to respect the unholy secrets of that coven if not that its leader had chosen not to behave well.

This is exactly how not to run a nation. It is a clear symptom of our perennial societal ailment where governance is not by institutional objectivity but by the whims of the man wielding power. It is a most unfortunate negation of democratic accountability which prescribes that the rule of law, as against caprice, should drive actions. In a truly democratic space where the supremacy of institutions imposes accountability, it would not be entirely in the hands of Fubara to decide whether to shield Wike or bring him to justice if he truly has questions to answer. Rather the all-powerful machinery of law and institutions will take its course. Not even Fubara would go free if he is equally implicated in Wike’s alleged transgressions. You may ask President Joe Biden how, despite his enormous executive powers, he hasn’t been able to help his son, Hunter Biden, out in his current battles with the law. You may equally ask President Barack Obama how he could not shield his former Secretary of State and preferred successor, Hilary Clinton, from FBI investigation which constituted a threat to her presidential ambition.

Now we must all have understood what former US president, John Adams, meant when he declared that “ours is a government of laws and not of men.” In other words, the government of his country is such that is driven by laws and not human whims. Can the same be said of Nigeria where the law is subjected to the whims of men? Surely not, and the implication is that we are far from being set on a path to true growth. The law is meant to be a levelling force that makes everyone equally accountable to a common set of rules of engagement. Thus, no society grows without the law prevailing over human caprice. For example, unless the rule of law prevails over the rule of men, corruption will only become a crime if the perpetrator is not a friend to the ruler.

Unfortunately, with rule of law subjected to rule of men in Nigeria, what has prevailed over the years is government by vendetta. Wike’s last days as governor fully typified this reality. His vengeful stopping of the pension of Celestine Omehia and removal from the government house of his portrait as a former governor was one laughable case considering that Omehia who was in office for barely five months was receiving no pensions until Wike became governor and accorded him that favour. However, it was only when Omehia started supporting Wike’s enemy, Atiku Abubakar, that the governor suddenly “realised” that it was a “mistake” to pay pensions to a man whose occupancy of the office of the Rivers state governor was declared null by the court. The same fate befell former Rivers lawmakers, Dr. Chinyere Igwe and Jones Ogbonda, whose filling station and hotel were respectively sealed, apparently for being Atiku’s supporters. Whatever infractions constituted by Ogbonda’s property were suddenly “discovered” by Wike as soon as it became clear that the owner was supporting Atiku. The same obtained for Dr. Igwe’s alleged illegal oil bunkering activities that warranted the sealing of her filling station.

As would be expected, Fubara has, last two weeks, reopened the two facilities. Of course, he wouldn’t have done that if Wike had not become hostile to him. In other words, his action was not based on the legality or illegality of the closure by Wike, but on caprice. If Wike had behaved well, the governor might not have reversed his actions.

Fubara’s moves against his overbearing and cantankerous predecessor might make him appear to be a hero in the eyes of all of us that are irritated by Wike’s conduct. But then this heroism is not a true one; at best it is PSEUDO HEROISM because it is not rooted in the law but in caprice. He would have been a hero if his intention was to enthrone rule of law and not to exact vengeance. On the contrary, his acts are in the same league and will have the same damaging effect on our institutions as notoriously familiar acts like use of the EFCC for pursuing political vendetta, manipulating party primaries to favour friends or spite foes, influencing contract bidding process to favour cronies or scupper enemies etc.

We are where we are today as a nation largely because many decisions taken by those occupying public offices at all levels are informed by caprice and not institutional objectivity. Job recruitment, contract award, disciplinary process, election management etc. are continuously affected by this damaging culture. The recent reconstitution of the governing councils of higher institutions by the federal government following ASUU ‘s threat of industrial action once again calls to mind the unfortunate culture of dissolution of boards of parastatals by any incoming regime in Nigeria, not because the law or institutional exigency has made it necessary, but merely for the purpose of creating jobs for the boys. A cursory scrutiny of Tinubu’s list of new governing council members would say this much. Such decisions deliberately ignore the place of continuity in successful public administration. In many cases, office holders reverse decisions of their predecessors just for reasons that are selfish. This is what you see when caprice prevails over rule of law and institutional imperative.

This is the time we are most direly in need of real heroes in this country. Fubara would do well to become one of them by working to reverse the perennial lawlessness in Rivers state rather than being a mere vengeful pseudo hero taking accolades he barely deserves.

Henry Chigozie Duru, PhD, teaches journalism and mass communication at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.