A cantankerous wife may be misconstrued as troublesome, always attacking her husband and family at the slightest provocation. However, if the causes of her anger are critically analysed, the root cause of her anger will be identified, and the necessary solution to her complaints will be proffered.
In all of the above, a cantankerous wife has one useful advantage – the shouts of her voice will always scare away thieves from burgling her husband’s home, thereby protecting everybody in the family.
Like or hate Governor Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State governor, he has been consistent in his cries for the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to fix the lopsided distribution of party positions in the PDP, immediately after the PDP presidential primaries were concluded. It is now history that Atiku Abubakar won the primaries and chose Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his presidential running mate. Wike came second at the primaries.
Proverbially, Wike fits the description of a cantankerous wife. He has consistently led calls for the resignation of Senator Iyorchia Ayu as the PDP chairman, especially as promised by Ayu before the PDP presidential primaries, “I will resign as chairman if a Northern candidate emerge as the party’s presidential candidate.”
The promise of Ayu to resign as chairman is the foundation of the demand of Governors Wike, Seyi Makinde, Samuel Ortom and Ikpeazu. The South-West leader of the PDP, Chief Bode George has also added his voice to the calls for Ayu to resign.
In the build-up to various peace meetings held with Wike, perhaps deliberately, Sule Lamido, Aliyu Wammako, former Niger State governor, Babangida Aliyu, etcetera, had consistently told Atiku to ‘dump’ Wike out of his permutations of winning the 2023 presidential election. And as a clever politician, Atiku has deliberately refrained from directly of indirectly attacking Wike. Also, he diplomatically ‘warned’ his supporters not to attack Wike. Trust Wike, he labeled those that attacked him as dogs of Atiku.
Penultimate Thursday, Atiku visited South-West members of the PDP in Ibadan. Governor Seyi Makinde, as host, demanded for the resignation of Ayu as chairman and for his replacement from the South-West.
In a strategic move, immediately after Atiku’s visit to Ibadan, the PDP constituted her presidential campaign organisation. It named Cross River state governor as chairman and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal as DG. Makinde and Wike were also appointed as members of the PDP presidential campaign council.
It is also interesting that PDP State chairmen in Osun, Ogun and Ondo States distanced themselves from the demand of Governor Makinde for Ayu to resign.
In all of the above situations, it is clear that Atiku has deployed his henchmen to clandestinely work to reduce the influence of Governor Seyi Makinde in the demands for calls of Ayu’s resignation and also whittle down whatever role that he will have on his presidential result in Oyo State.
Unlike a cantankerous wife, Wike has suddenly kept quiet in the past five days – he has remained tight lipped to comment on the formation of the activities in the PDP and the formation of its campaign council. Now, that is a very strategic body language by Wike.
Also very interesting is the quietness of Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, a supporter of Wike, has deliberately kept himself from making any statement on the demand for the resignation of Ayu. Ortom is running for Senate in the 2023 elections and may have been ‘persuaded’ to move over to the Atiku camp.
As our elders say, the neck of a baby cannot be placed wrongly on its mother’s back in the presence of an elder. Chief Bode George’s elderly counsel to the PDP NWC to correct imbalance of party positions and the resignation of Ayu has been ignored. Chief George has clearly reiterated the implications of Ayu’s stay in office ahead of the 2023 elections. As an elder, Bode George’s wise counsel can only be ignored at great peril to the party’s 2023 presidential election.
Recall that the APC had sent emissaries to woo Wike because of his ‘beautiful bride’ status, especially with his disagreement on the outcome of the PDP presidential primaries. The fears of Wike playing the PDP hand at day and the APC hand at night may have encouraged Atiku to implement the advise of Sule Lamido to dump Wike.
Wike is not unaware of ‘diplomatic’ moves by Atiku to ‘infiltrate’ and take over the leadership of Rivers State PDP from him while he (Atiku) is posturing appearance of peace and reconciliation moves on one hand, and on the other hand making underground moves to work with those who are perceived to be against Wike’s strong grip on Rivers State PDP.
The formation of the PDP presidential campaign council, the position of South-West PDP State party chairmen on Ayu’s resignation, appointment of Aminu Tambuwal as Atiku’s campaign DG, the PDP National Working Commission, NWC, Atiku Abubakar may have diplomatically, again this word, decided to render Wike redundant in the build up to its campaign in the 2023 general elections.
If the decision of the PDP and Atiku Abubakar to ignore the demands of Wike and his group on the resignation of Ayu as chairman is anything to go by, Wike, like the proverbial cantankerous wife, may be forced to keep quiet and gravitate towards the APC whose hands are wide open to receive him for his political value. Would this development augur well for the presidential aspiration of Atiku?
Will Atiku Abubakar, PDP and its NWC take note of the positive advantages of a cantankerous wife characteristics of Governor Wike? Wike’s shouts are about driving away ‘predators’ from grabbing the PDP’s presidential victory in the 2023 election. Will the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the NWC of the PDP listen to Wike’s cries for the resignation of Ayu as chairman and the balancing of all party positions to reflect justice? Only time will tell.