I hate straddling both sides of a conversation. Whenever I take a position on sociopolitical issues, it’s not just because I feel strongly about it, but because I have compelling reasons that inform my stance. I acknowledge that sociopolitical and even religious issues are not always as binary as we’d like to think, but I always take a side and this has helped me navigate conversations with ease.
Take political godfatherism, for instance—I despise it with passion. However, my hatred for the practice does not mean I automatically support devious politicians who, after securing the anointment of their benefactors, turn around to betray them in the most egregious manner. Call it what you may, but it’s simply a betrayal trust. Nigerian politics is littered with such characters. I believe that successors and their predecessors can disagree without being disagreeable.
One of the best-handled fallouts in Nigerian politics was between Babatunde Raji Fashola and Bola Tinubu. Many people didn’t even realise they had issues because they managed their differences with maturity. Then came Akinwunmi Ambode, who saw his name in lights and decided not only to go against the political landlord of Lagos but to take on the entire coven of witches. He was easily eased out. Yet, despite all this, Ambode has remained humble. Who knows? He may yet get another shot at the governorship.
Then there was the battle royale between Godwin Obaseki and Adams Oshiomhole—the beginning of the real rofo-rofo fight between a successor and his benefactor. This one even threw a new slogan “Edo no be Lagos”. It didn’t take long after Obaseki succeeded Adam for them to start accusing each other of every crime under the sun. But, while Obaseki secured re-election despite Oshiomole’s best efforts to deny him, the most recent Edo election proved that Obaseki had lost his bid to unseat Oshiomhole as the strongman of Edo politics. His falling out with Philip Shaibu certainly won’t help his cause, but this is politics—only interests are permanent.
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso versus Abdullahi Ganduje served up some mouth watering lessons on how politicians could bide their time, even stoop to conquer. Ganduje, ever so dutiful followed Kwankwaso everywhere in his political journey. So, no one ever expected the possibility of a fallout between the duo. As it turned out, Ganduje was played a long con and the moment it paid off, he dumped his benefactor with the speed of light. I think it is understandable that Kwankwaso continues to relish the bitter taste of that encounter.
Ah yes, there’s the issue of Nasir El-Rufai versus Uba Sani. That too didn’t take long to sour. Yet, that battle—if we could really call it one—was easy because El-Rufai, it will appear had stepped on too many toes. It therefore didn’t need any serious push for members of the Kaduna state house of assembly to dump him like a bad habit. So, Uba Sani got it easy and is now on a crusade to reverse virtually every of El-Rufai’s policies perceived to be anti-people. This is helping him completely wash off any stain of El-Rufai on him.
No surprise that El-Rufai himself has ermmmm, taken a dignified leave of the All Progressive Congress (APC). In his recent outburst, El-Rufai cuts the figure of a politician desperately gasping for air. I have always loved him, but I think he had no strategy whatsoever in place for maintaining some influence in Kaduna besides the childish social media outbursts of his son. And for someone of his brilliance, that was the height of naiveté.
And now, to the blockbuster case of Nyesom Wike versus Siminalayi Fubara. That relationship soured with record speed, which clearly suggests that Fubara always had plans to ditch Wike the moment he got elected. Rivers State has always been an interesting place for political power play. Peter Odili was bogged down by corruption allegations and legal troubles abroad, so we may never know if he had plans to hold the state under his grip as a godfather.
Rotimi Amaechi, on the other hand, tried and failed. He was himself strong-armed by federal might. Although he later got his pound of flesh by helping to form the alliance that ousted Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, I’m sure he would have preferred the title of godfather of Rivers politics.
Wike, however, is a different breed altogether—feisty and relentless. He doesn’t understand the concept of letting go. In that sense, Fubara, for all his political cunning—assuming he was truly cunning not just unassuming, could never have anticipated the level of pushback he’s facing from the current FCT minister. Wike has a solid advantage—he commands the loyalty of the majority of the Rivers State House of Assembly members. Virtually all of them have refused to abandon him, despite immense pressure and even threats to their lives. This is Fubara’s greatest undoing.
This is why, in my view, Fubara is not a victim in the ongoing power struggle. He’s simply playing poker with someone far more adept at the game than he is. His decisions since the fallout have been rash and reactionary at best. I can’t help but laugh at those lamenting that Fubara was denied entry into the Assembly quarters. This is the same man who, in a fit of desperation, ordered the demolition of the state assembly building—a whole government structure! Such knee-jerk decisions have predictably failed him in court. You can’t fight fire with fire when you lack the resources to sustain the battle.
Had Fubara surrounded himself with the right advisers—not social media cheerleaders like Dr. Ugoji Egbujo—he might have navigated his godfather usurpation plan with caution and diplomacy. I believe if he had simply bided his time, gradually winning over at least half of the Assembly members as Obaseki did in Edo which gave him some leverage over Oshiomole, Sim wouldn’t have found himself in this mess.
In all of these, it’s the reaction of many Nigerians that surprise. We are truly an interesting people. I mean, where do we get off defending a man who bombed and demolished a public building because of politics. Me? I have no sympathy for Fubara. And it’s not because I support godfatherism—it’s because he has handled the situation so poorly. From what’s happening in Rivers, it’s obvious that Fubara wants to unseat Wike as the political godfather of the state. Sadly, he’s just too nice for the game—apologies to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Even Chief Lamidi Ariyibi Akanji Adedibu, the late godfather aka strongman of Ibadan politics—crude and ruthless as he was—could be reasoned with. What more of Wike? Pa Adedibu for all his bravado, never stormed the Ibadan Assembly to demand the immediate impeachment of a sitting governor and Wike too could never have pulled something so audacious off. Governors who survived Adedibu like Rasheed Ladoja did so with diplomacy. Fubara, too, could have survived and eventually weaned himself off Wike’s grip.
This Wike-Fubara faceoff has been riddled with falsehoods and misinformation. For instance, many Nigerians believed the fallout between Wike and Fubara was because the latter wanted half of Rivers state budget. I wonder where they got this impression. Tell me, has Fubara himself had the guts to corroborate this claim? Needless to say this is an allegation Wike has outrightly denied and no one, to my knowledge, from Rivers has come out to challenge him. Then they said Wike wanted to corner all the appointments. How many Wike allies did Fubara fire or who resigned before he was asked to reinstate them as part of the peace deal brokered by President Tinubu?
Meanwhile, in Lokoja, Governor Usman Ododo is quietly going about his business, governing Kogi State. Many people have called him spineless for sticking with his benefactor—for now at least. But the truth is, he is not distracted. The time that could have been wasted fighting Yahaya Bello is being channelled into delivering on his campaign promises.
Fubara’s story is a lesson in political miscalculation. It’s not enough to want to break free from a godfather—you need strategy, patience, and the right alliances. Instead, he chose a fight he wasn’t prepared for, against a man who knows every trick in the book. And in my view, that is why he’s losing.
Yahaya writes from Kana of Nassarawa LGA in Nasarawa State and can be reached on: kanaismail@yahoo.com
