If not Wike, who?

BY FRANCIS EWHERIDO

Let me start by saying that I have never met the minister of the federal capital territory, Nyesom Wike, personally. I took an interest in him when he became the governor of Rivers state. While some governors of the neighbouring states in the Niger Delta were slumbering, he was transforming Rivers, especially Port Harcourt. I did my youth service in Port Harcourt in the 80s. Port Harcourt has always been ahead of other cities in the Niger Delta, but Wike took Port Harcourt to another level. 

I fell in love with Abuja the first time I set my eyes on the city. I wanted to relocate from Lagos to Abuja thereafter, but it did not work out. Abuja then was mainly a civil servant city and a few rich people. I have seen Abuja evolve. I saw the bastardisation of the Abuja master plan. When Mallam Nasir el-Rufai became the minister of the FCT, he went about the restoration of the master plan in a ruthless and single-minded manner. There were abuses, blackmails, and name-calling, but he was not deterred. He had the backing of his boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Remember, Obasanjo was one of the architects of a new federal capital city when he was second in command to the late military head of state, General Murtala Mohammed. The thinking then was that Lagos was congested. It was also a coastal city and was thought to be vulnerable in the face of external attack. 

Of course, Obasanjo is a Yoruba man and Yoruba land was going to lose Nigerian capital with this plan. He could have truncated the plan after the sudden death of Mohammed. Rather, another Yoruba man, Justice Akinola Aguda, played a crucial role in choosing Abuja as the FCT because “it is central location (viewed as neutral both ethnically and religiously, where culture and religion meet), easy accessibility, pleasant climate, low population density, and the availability of land for future expansion.” Subsequent governments continued work on Abuja, until the government of General Ibrahim Babangida, fast-tracked the movement of the seat of power to Abuja. The government was shaken to its foundation by the failed Gideon Orkah coup of 1991. 

After el-Rufai, Abuja lost traction. Abuja lost its orderliness. It was at an all-time low in the time of Mallam Mohammed Bello. The covers of virtually all the underground drains were stolen. Streetlights were not working well in some areas. There was filth in some parts of Abuja. I saw cow dung in Maitama, around the federal secretariat, the road leading to the national assembly, Jabi and other highbrow areas. 

This is the FCT Wike met. I suspect the mandate President Bola Tinubu gave to him is not different from the mandate Obasanjo gave to el-Rufai. So the opposition and uproar are understandable. El-Rufai experienced the same opposition and blackmail. What I do not understand is calling Wike an infidel and other names with religious and ethnic connotations because he is trying to bring sanity, orderliness and more developments to Abuja. Infidel is a strange word in the Niger Delta where Wike comes from because everyone expresses his beliefs without let or hindrance in line with the Nigerian constitution which defines Nigeria as a secular country. I do not see how Wike receiving the Israeli ambassador to Nigeria amounts to him being an infidel. Israel has an ambassador in Nigeria because Nigeria has diplomatic relations with Israel. Wike had no hand in establishing this relation. 

For the records. Israel is NOT a Christian country. The average Israeli laughs at Christians. Christianity is founded on Christ, his birth, short life on earth, death and resurrection. Take these away and there will be no basis for Christianity. That is why Christmas (commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ), death of Christ (marked on Good Friday) and Easter (the resurrection of Christ) are the three most important events in Christianity. Meanwhile, Israelis (Jews) are still waiting for the coming of their Messiah (Jesus Christ). They only tolerate Christian pilgrims because of tourism and the income they generate from it. They do not believe in what Christians go to Jerusalem to do. We have seen videos of Israeli police stopping Christians from preaching in Israel, so why bring religion into Wike’s meeting with the Israeli Ambassador? 

Everybody now has camera phones, so everyone can shoot videos and post. The original inhabitants of Abuja are the Gbagyi, Nupe, Tiv, Bassa, Ebira, Koro, Gwandara, Gade, Dibo, Bassa and Dibo. To the young man who was talking nonsense in a viral video, which of these ethnic groups do you come from? Posting videos saying Wike as FCT minister is a misnomer is actually a misnomer to many of us going by what they told us when Abuja was conceived. We were told that Abuja is going to be a city for all Nigerians and a symbol of national unity, neutral both ethnically and religiously. I can therefore not understand Abuja being a “northern city for Muslims,” as the vociferous young man was emphasising in the video. Is the North for Muslims only?

Has a Muslim ever been a civilian governor of Plateau, Benue and Taraba states since 1999? Was retired Gen. Jeremiah Useni, a Christian from Plateau state, not FCT minister at a time? Sokoto, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Kaduna (Kaduna shares a border with Abuja), like Rivers, do not share a common boundary or ethnicity with the indigenous Abuja tribes. So what is the basis for someone from these states to question Wike’s appointment as the minister of the FCT? The north, with at least 150 ethnic groups, is more ethnically diversified than the south, so who is laying sole ownership of the whole of the north? Some people with shallow knowledge just go in front of cameras and social media to spew ignorance.

From the time of the commencement of the building of Abuja till date, a chunk of Nigerian revenue comes from oil. Rivers, where Wike comes from, is currently the second-highest producer of oil. At a time it was number one. So, if Wike cannot be FCT minister, who can? The fact that all previous FCT ministers are from the north is just a coincidence and the prerogative of the heads of state who appointed them, as far as I am concerned.

The Nigerian constitution only stipulates that at least one minister should come from one of the 36 states. It does not stipulate the ministry the ministers should be assigned. That is the prerogative of the president. Wike can only be judged based on his performance in office as FCT minister. He has done well in Rivers state and he will do well in Abuja. His mandate, for me, is to make Abuja the most beautiful city in Africa and one of the best in the world. Wike, Engr. David Umahi and Barr. Festus Keyamo were among the ministers whose appointments gladdened my heart. Some others I did not really know before are already proving their mettle. There is no action Wike has taken so far in the FCT that raises suspicion or violates the constitution. 

Hitherto, the indigenous people of the FCT were relegated to the background. But he is giving them attention. He has given vehicles to traditional rulers within FCT and promised indigenous communities within the FCT quota in employment in FCT agencies. He has secured approval for the establishment of the FCT Civil Service Commission. This will make FCT civil servants rise to the pinnacle of their careers. He is about to commence construction of roads in satellite towns within the FCT. He is campaigning for better welfare for judicial officers in the FCT. He has many other good plans for the FCT. 

Of course, those whose plots of land were revoked and those whose properties were demolished have every reason to feel bad. It is natural, but Wike has not been subjective. Even plots of land belonging to government agencies were revoked. Customs officials went to see him and he told them that those who want their land back should repurchase them at current value and pay all necessary fees. The rumour about Wike demolishing a part of the National Mosque is a wicked lie no normal person should talk about. The mosque is one of the iconic places in Abuja. Many tourists, no matter their religious affiliations, want to visit the Abuja Mosque. Wike’s traducers have not told us their real grouse. Maybe they are used to indolence, inertia, and ineptitude. That is not Wike. You might accuse Wike of being brash, but he is well-educated, experienced in governance, and a goal-getter.

The Niger Delta is currently observing graveyard silence. Christians and other objective Nigerians are also watching with keen interest the battles between Wike and his detractors. They must be based on issues that will uplift Abuja, not religious or ethnic sentiments. We must be guided by the Nigerian constitution, as defective as it is until we (the Nigerian people) amend it.

Francis Ewherido, a worried lover of Nigeria, wrote from Lagos.