By Uche Amunike
River State Governor, Nyesom Wike seems to be swimming in troubled waters, following recent events that has trailed his person, first being the mockery made of him by This Day Publisher, Nduka Obiagbena over the weekend, at his home in Delta State.
Wike, who had gone to commiserate with Obiagbena, over the death of his mother, Margaret Obiagbena was seen in a video that went viral, being publicly ridiculed by his host, Obiagbena.
Alongside Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state, Sir Shina Peters and some others, Obiagbena was seen in the viral video, throwing jabs at Nyesom Wike, with the words, ‘O lu le’.
‘O lu le’ means ‘He fell flat’ in the English language. It was long adopted in the Nigerian political dictionary from the APC Presidential flag bearer, Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu, after her muttered it in reference to President Muhammadu Buhari, while addressing APC delegates in Abeokuta, the Ogun State Capital, just before the party’s primary election.
Obiagbena’s words to Wike were: ‘Governor of Sokoto Tambuwal; Future president; Chairman of PDP Governors Forum; Presidential candidate Tambuwal; Tambuwal! Wike ‘lule’, Tambuwal! Wike ‘lule’, Tambuwal! Wike ‘lule’, Tambuwal!’
Recall that Governor Nyesom Wike is still smarting from losing the presidential primary election of the PDP to Atiku Abubakar in May, leaving the party in a web of crisis since then.
Tambuwal withdrew from the race and pushed his supporters to Atiku, giving him instant victory at the polls. The worst happened when Atiku chose Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as running mate. That apparently became the beginning of Wike’s woes as he was clearly the choice of a majority of members of the National Working Committee.
Much as party leadership and stakeholders tried getting the two men to make peace, especially as the 2023 election is almost at hand, they made no headway.
As it stands, WIke and Obiagbena are still in court over libelous accusations.
As if this isn’t enough, Rivers State youths already threatened to carry out a protest by occupying the Government house, Port Harcourt if Wike does not unseal the business places he sealed up in the state as it has put residents out of their jobs.
Governor Wike sealed up a hotel, fuel station, lounge, as well as the office of the Nigerian Labour Congress. An action, which the youths see as a witch-hunt of people he believes are his political enemies, making life unbearable for residents in the process.
These youths, who identified themselves as SouthSouth Youths Initiative (SSYI), in reaction to Governor Nyesom Wike’s reported threat to ‘crush anyone working for people in Abuja ahead of the 2023 presidential election’, had this to say, through their National President , Mr Saviour Imeabe: ‘We condemn the political witch-hunt of some Rivers sons by Governor Wike. This act is not in the interest and development of the state. We, hereby, call for an end to every attempt by the governor to destroy the peace that the state is enjoying at the moment.’
