2027: Say No to Political Gamblers, Wike Tells Nigerians

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike, has urged Nigerians to reject those he called political gamblers, who are using deceit as a means of gaining access to public office, wondering how someone who was not celebrating his birthdays with the downtrodden when he was Governor should now be taken seriously just because he now goes to IDP camps to celebrate his birthday because he wants to be president.

Wike said Nigerians must look beyond ethnic sentiments, political calculations and the struggle for power to demand leadership that prioritises competence, fairness, accountability and service delivery.

The minister, who spoke on Thursday, at the inaugural Idoma Hall of Fame induction ceremony, held as part of the Idoma Centenary Plus celebration, warned against politicians who exploit grievances over marginalisation to advance personal interests.

Delivering a keynote address on the theme, ‘People, Politics and Power Play in Nigeria: The Agitation for Equity and Fairness’, Wike argued that the country’s political future depended on citizens’ ability to distinguish between genuine public servants and those seeking power for personal or sectional advantage.

He urged Nigerians to scrutinise the intentions and records of political leaders rather than allow ethnic loyalty and the politics of entitlement to determine their choices.

According to him, the persistent agitation for equity and fairness should not become an avenue for political opportunism or the redistribution of privileges among competing groups.

“One of the enduring difficulties of our political life is the tendency to convert public power into private possession,” Wike said.

He added that when political office became a means of personal accumulation, public resources were turned into instruments of private enrichment, while sectional domination alienated citizens who felt excluded from governance.

The minister warned that Nigeria’s quest for fairness would remain unresolved if political actors focused only on which ethnic group or region controlled power without addressing the conditions under which it was exercised.

“If one group replaces another at the table while the benefits remain fundamentally exclusionary, the occupants have changed, but the injustice has not,” he said.

Wike also challenged Nigerians to examine their commitment to fairness, warning against demanding justice only when their own communities were disadvantaged.

“If we complain about marginalisation only when our own people are excluded, but become silent when others are marginalised after our people gain power, we are not opposing injustice; we are seeking access to its privileges,” he said.

He maintained that the true test of fairness was the willingness to defend justice even when it did not favour one’s ethnic group or political interests.

The FCT minister said Nigeria needed a political culture in which public office was regarded as a trust rather than an entitlement, adding that the country’s diversity should be a source of strength rather than a basis for exclusion.

He noted that the federal character principle enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, as amended, was designed to promote national unity and prevent the domination of public institutions by a few states or sectional groups.

However, he cautioned that the pursuit of equitable representation should not come at the expense of competence.

“A Nigerian should not be excluded from public office because of where he or she comes from; neither should competence become irrelevant once a candidate’s identity satisfies a representational expectation,” he said.

Wike further argued that the performance of political leaders should be measured by the tangible benefits their decisions delivered to citizens, rather than the identities of those occupying positions of authority.

He said political inclusion would remain incomplete without access to jobs, quality education, healthcare, infrastructure, electricity, security and economic opportunities.

According to him, the appointment of a prominent political office-holder from a particular community would mean little to residents who continued to face unemployment, inadequate public services and economic hardship.

“The real measure of political inclusion is therefore not simply who occupies office, but what the exercise of that office produces for the people,” he said.

The minister observed that Nigeria had adopted several mechanisms to accommodate its diversity, including federalism, state creation, revenue allocation, zoning and rotational presidency, but stressed that such arrangements alone could not guarantee fairness.

He called for a political system that prioritised the common good and ensured that every Nigerian had a reasonable opportunity to participate in national life, irrespective of background.

Wike also warned against a zero-sum approach to politics in which the advancement of one community was interpreted as the defeat of another, saying such a mindset undermined the foundations of national unity.

He urged political leaders to focus on building institutions that serve the entire country, rather than pursuing arrangements that benefit only their supporters or ethnic constituencies.

The event was organised in collaboration with Och’Idoma as part of the Idoma Centenary Plus celebration.

Wike commended the organisers for establishing the Idoma Hall of Fame to recognise distinguished sons and daughters of the community, preserve its history and inspire future generations.