The Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike recently in Makurdi, Benue State capital declared his intention to join the presidential race in 2023 which has generated reactions in Zamfara State.
According to some people who spoke in Gusau, the State capital, the declaration was described as a new paradigm, noting that his presidential ambition is a symbolic declaration that have been long expected even before now.
They said that Governor Wike has performed excellently in Rivers State where he is currently governing, pointing out that he can equally pilot the entire country out of all these economic and insecurity mess that are bedeviling Nigeria presently.
Commenting on Wike’s presidential ambition, a political analyst, Mallam Alhasan Nasir said that what Nigeria needs now is the new breed politicians like Wike who can salvage the country from economic doldrums, insurgency, poverty, hunger and starvation which he noted that the old brigade politicians have been treating the issues of insecurity and massive poverty with a mere wave of hand.
Speaking further, he said that the issue of tribe, religion and ethnicity is immaterial at the level of serious mess that Nigerians found themselves due to lack of commitment by the leaders of the acclaimed most populated African country.
“For a long time, Nigerians have been believing in these old brigade politicians even before Nigeria regained democracy from the Khaki men in 1999 and they have always been disappointing us and I feel that these old brigades should go and give chance for the young blood to try their best”, he added.
“After decades of independence, the country is still walloping in abject poverty, insecurity, now searching for a reliable formula to solve the myriad of problems ravaging the entire country which is very much unacceptable”, he said.
He explained that the old brigades have turned politics into a gold mine for some overzealous politicians who want to hit it big through fraudulent means, saying that this system would not serve as a solution to the numerous problems of the country.
“Many members of the ruling class break the law because there is no punishment for that. It is the masses that want change, because they want to suffer no more. But how comes criminals in high places do not think that change is what they need most in order to have a sound sleep”.
“Politics have been turned to a deceit by which politicians hide under the name ” chief servant of the people to get what they want. That makes our form of democracy laughable that the so-called representatives of the people can even be asking for extraordinary enjoyment and comfort in a manner that is seriously affecting the people they claim to be representing”, he submitted.
It is however, a bad orientation for people to think that their representatives who they honour as relevant and sincere honorable are being and determined by the jumbo pay and lavished lifestyle without any consideration to the people that voted them into power”.
“They want to utilize the chance to get wealth to secure their future at the expense of the common masses who voted them into power under rain and sun amid numerous opposition’s intimidations”
“Are we then practicing democracy or demo crazy? But that is bad for a country that claims to be the giant of Africa. I think intervention is however needed from the executive arm of the government since even the National Assembly cannot control itself.
Statistics have clearly shown that Nigeria is one of the most corrupt countries in the world where it was alleged that the passed immediate minister of petroleum resources, Mrs Deizani Allison Madueke embezzled over 80 million dollars.
But the former administration led by Dr. Ebele Good Lock Jonathan argued that his administration left a US 30 billion dollars in its foreign reserve, in the excess crude account, we left a total of US2 billion as at May 2015, so how does the question of leaving empty treasury arrives, asks Mr. Jonathan’s administration.
Wike has clearly stated that he understands the need to share in the aspirations and challenges of traumatized people of Nigeria who have been suffering in the leadership of All Progressive Congress (APC)’s underperformance.
“From one project to another, Governor Wike has deepened governance in Rivers State and deserves to lead Nigeria at a time of national calamity and rudderless leadership”.
Mallam Nadir lamented that these old brigade politicians have looted the nation’s treasury dry, thereby making Nigeria to become a failed State, stressing that Nigerians cannot continue to allow them feed fat but to revolt against them through the ballot box.
Commenting, another political observer in Zamfara State, Alhaji Umar Gumi said that the old brigades know very well that they have failed Nigerians woefully but they pretend that all is well with the country.
Mallam Nadir said that what Nigeria needs now is to give the new breed politicians the chance to pilot the affairs of the entire country, saying that Wike is a new breed politician with enough experience, since he could pilot Rivers State to the promised land.
“Right from 1999 when Nigeria recovered democracy from the military cabals, there is nothing to show that Nigeria is practicing a democratic system of government”, he lamented.
“I Stand to be corrected because I don’t know whether the country is practicing democracy or demo crazy”
“Even the Naira which is our symbol of nationhood has continued to face constant devaluations due to monumental corruption which has been legalized by these old brigade politicians claiming to be the glorified messengers of the people”.
“Nigeria has become one of the highest debtor nations in the world, always borrowing here, yet all the borrowed monies would be consumed by monumental corruption of the highest order”.
Another, Ikechukwu Nmaduka said that he would throw his weight behind Governor Wike because he is still a young man and can restructure and salvage the damaged Nigeria, pointing out that there is no doubt that the old brigades have failed woefully.
“If continue to experience monumental corruption, insecurity, poverty, hunger and starvation amongst others, then how can the Nigeria accounts for the huge amount of money being paid to political office holders in the name of salaries, allowances, grants and cash allocations amounting to several billions of Naira.
“If it is a business enterprise, then Nigeria is operating at a very huge lost as there is no need paying our security agencies, ant graft agencies who are constitutionally mandated to secure the country and fight against corruption”.
“A country where even the lawmakers become lawbreakers, the ant graft agents identified to be more corrupt than the politicians they claim to be chasing for corrupt practices, then what are we talking about? he queried.
But another critic said that even though he was not against Governor Wike’s joining the presidential race said that the problem remains that the powers that be may not give him the opportunity to salvage the country because he would end up in exposing them if the Wike we know would remain intact.
He further expressed fear that Wike would inherit unknown liabilities which he did not understand, saying that the Buhari’s administration would leave untold liabilities to the incoming government because there is no government in Nigeria that had secured national and international loans like Buhari’s administration.
“But I am very much sure that when president Buhari leaves office in 2023, many secrets would be exposed about his government. Now many Nigerians are still ignorantly believing that president Muhamnadu Buhari’s is innocent of corruption but let us wait and see when he leaves power because many secrets will begin to be unveiled.
