Five Things Simi Fubara Miscalculated…

AZUH ARINZE 

First off – I am not a fan of the FCT minister and former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, even though I like two things about him. No. 1 is that he’s a performer and usually delivers on assignments given to him and No. 2 are his unforgettable songs (eg enye ndi ebaa) which he usually synchronizes very well with his unusual dance steps. And that’s where it ends.

Wike, for me, is arguably the most controversial and garrulous politician that this political dispensation has witnessed. He has also continued to fight both necessary and unnecessary battles – PDP, Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, Uche Secondus, Siminalayi Fubara…

I will, however, narrow this down to his raging battle with Siminalayi Fubara, the troubled governor of Rivers State and his anointed successor. Wike has legally boxed Fubara into a very tight corner. And from the look of things, only the Almighty God and maybe President Bola Ahmed Tinubu can deliver him.

Back then, at Encomium Weekly, which I was privileged to serve as the editor for eight uninterrupted years, we once went to interview Prof. Wole Soyinka somewhere on Victoria Island, Lagos. In the course of the interview, we asked the Nobel Laureate what could have prompted General Ibrahim Babangida to annul the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Bashorun MKO Abiola. Off the cuff, he had quipped “miscalculation”!

Which brings me to what may have emboldened Fubara to also take on his godfather barely months into office. Same miscalculation, if you ask me. It was the same way IBB thought he had things under control until they got out of hand. Just like impeachment is now staring Fubara in the face.

Otherwise he should have first consolidated his grip on the state, politically and otherwise, before engaging his rambunctious godfather in any battle. Secondly, it should have occurred to him that you don’t ride with a tiger and not end up in its belly. Thirdly, no matter how bulging your biceps are, you must learn to pick your battles so that you don’t make fatal mistakes. Fourthly, you don’t go into certain businesses without ensuring that the terms are properly spelt out and well understood. This, no doubt, may have inadvertently inspired one of Wike’s classic compositions – Agreement is agreement o! And finally, to always have it at the back of our minds that today’s friends could become tomorrow’s worst enemies.

In all, the two of them should find a way of resolving this matter so that the people of Rivers State can enjoy peace, progress and prosperity.

Wike and Fubara should quench their political war. Biko!