Over the weekend, the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, announced his interest in running for the office of the Presidency next year. Given his political stature and standing within the PDP and Nigeria’s political configuration, his declaration was a noteworthy development that caused ripples felt in virtually all parts of the country.
Naturally too, the announcement has provoked a flurry of reactions, with members of Nigeria’s political class and the masses taking turns and utilizing available platforms to offer their opinions on the development and attest to Governor Wike’s capacity for the office, based on his leadership antecedents and outstanding success as CEO of Rivers State.
Perhaps the most moving one yet came from a leader who played host to the event in Makurdi, Benue State, where the declaration was made.
In the expression of his support for Governor Wike’s declared ambition and the reasons why, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State told a 2018 story that foregrounded a theme common in the testimonies offered so far about Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike’s numerous deeds and interventions: that he has always acted Presidential, particularly in areas where President Muhammadu Buhari and his APC failed to provide leadership.
With genuineness and sincerity that revealed his heartfelt gratitude alongside the fact that his speech transcended the usual polispeak, Governor Ortom recounted how the contributions of Governor Wike made the difference for the survival of his people and his when in 2018, Benue State came under attack from violent invaders who sacked farms and communities, leaving behind a trail of blood and destruction.
The incident which caught international attention wounded President Buhari’s image, perhaps beyond repair. Instead of rising to the occasion and offering relief to victims of a senseless attack, he and his APC apparatchik reduced the tragedy to politics and placed Governor Ortom’s partisan leanings over and above the primary and greater concern of protecting lives and properties as expressed in the constitution.
Governor Ortom himself would not be spared in the violent chaos. His repeated cries for help and repudiation of the observed institutional partisan bias led to a widely reported assassination plot. He was to be isolated and silenced. Not many Governor colleagues intervened. The situation, from a political point of view, proved too ‘delicate’. But such considerations do not matter to Governor Wike when lives are involved.
Not only did he call the attention of the nation to the tragedy and threats facing a state housing millions of Nigerians, he put himself on the line with a personal visit to the state for first-hand assessments and made a sizable donation that went to resettling displaced residents in camps and providing medical care and food supplies to the injured.
“In 2018, when Benue State came under attack, when we were killed, raped, maimed, with our homes destroyed, when farmers responsible for Benue’s appellation as the food basket of Nigeria were chased from their communities, Governor Wike stood with us,” Ortom said.
He continued: “Governor Wike did not just stay in Port Harcourt to send messages, he came himself and donated huge sums of money to help us support the IDPs. And since then you have not stopped. Periodically, you have been sending help to our people. Words are not enough to convey our inestimable appreciation to you.”
Similar testimonies abound, firmly establishing Wike’s long-held status and perception amongst a number of his colleagues and the political class as Nigeria’s unofficial President. Many want him to formalize the status. His run has excited Nigerians who have profited from his magnanimity, pan-Nigerian outlook, and leadership across the country, whether in the north or in the south.
If the PDP wishes to heed the popular call for Nigeria’s next President to emerge from the South (as it must do if it intends to stand any chances of victory), and the party is in search of a candidate with the required appeal in Nigeria’s crucial political zones such as the middle-belt, then it must look no further than Nyesom Ezenwo Wike who has announced his mission to renew Nigeria.