Abeni Aso-Oke

Loyalty: A Virtue or, an Act of Servitude – The Study of Wike and Fubara. By Olushola Omogbehin

Loyalty: A Virtue or, an Act of Servitude – The Study of Wike and Fubara

Abeni Aso-Oke
One important patronage a writer enjoys which I hugely appreciate and enjoy too, is the comment he gets from his piece. As in criticism in literature which helps your craft to come out refined, every comment helps to improve my work. I was therefore thrilled to the heaven on high when the following WhatsApp conversation ensued between me and a lawyer friend of mine while in church on 13th October, 2024:

Abeni Aso-Oke

Yinka:LOYALTY: A VIRTUE OR, AN ACT OF SERVITUDE – A CASE STUDY OF FUBARA AND WIKE
Yinka: Please, do an article on this
Yinka: Good morning and happy Sunday Sir
Me: Ki lo ba de?
Yinka: Nothing, I have just been enjoying your articles ni…
Yinka: And I will like to read you on this since it is current

This, being evidence that people are reading us, is a great encouragement to contribute more (through writing) to the development of my natal origin. Thanks so much Prince Adeyinka Bajowa. I promise to write more for your reading delight.

Abeni Aso-Oke

Back to the business of this work, the question of loyalty is ageless because of its momentary import in daily leadership manifestation world over. As leadership is a moral endeavour, philosophers disagree on what can be the object of loyalty. As some are of the opinion that loyalty should only be interpersonal, meaning that human being can only be the object of loyalty, law and political science define loyalty as the fidelity of an individual to a nation. This means that loyalty should be towards a nation.

Describing loyalty using modern technique, Josiah Royce in his book, The Philosophy of Loyalty opines that loyalty is a virtue. He sees loyalty as a primary virtue, the heart of all virtues and the central duty amongst all duties. He also defines loyalty as the basic moral principle from which all other principles can be derived. Conversely, Erich Vieth posits that loyalty can only be a virtue when we are dealing with pet dogs because we want our dog to be loyal and do what we want it to do. He therefore concluded that loyalty is not necessarily a virtue. But as you know that virtue talks about moral excellence or a behaviour showing moral standard’, it is not what you acquire with force or force somebody to give you.

Servitude on the other hand, is a condition in which one lacks liberty to determine one’s course of action or state of completely subject to someone more powerful. A clear example of servitude can be seen at a time in the United State of America after 1865 when thousands of African Americans were forced to perform forced labour for their masters. Another example is the era of slave trade in the fifteenth century when Portugal became the first European nation to take important part of Africa and transport innocent Africans for slave labour. The Portuguese acquired slave for labour on African island plantation, plantations in Brazil, the Caribbean and later to Europe where many worked in sugar plantation with their mouth padlocked. Loyalty as a servitude is absolutely a state of subjection to an owner or master.

Being peculiar with politics in Nigeria, the battle between Wike and Fubara can best be described as a battle of supremacy between a self acclaimed godfather and a supposedly disloyal godson or the battle of freedom from servitude. It officially began in 2023 after the assumption of office of the latter as the number one man in the oil rich state and the list of commissioners, special advisers and other key political aids that will work with him was given to him by his then godfather, Nyesom Wike with snippet of input from himself. This decision being the result of the rumour that Wike bankrolled the election of most of the political officeholders in the state including the governor, was obeyed by the governor for at least four months which was the only period of relative peace so far in the state since Fubara took over on 29th May, 2023.

Being the basic moral principle from which all other principles can be derived, Fubara demonstrated loyalty as a virtue in the first four months in office as well as established himself as a student of power through the application of law 21 of Robert Greene The 48 Laws of Power which demands that you make your victim feel smarter than you are because once convinced of this, he will never suspect that you may have ulterior motive. Fubara used this law to appear not to know anything at the beginning of his administration and allowed himself to be seen by all as a fool that cannot spin any surprise. By this action, I am sure many people within and outside the state will see Wike as the boss and Fubara as a learner who would easily be crushed.

He also used Law 21 to achieve Law 3 which demands that you conceal your intention. By this, you are required to keep your opponent off-balance about your intention so they won’t be able to prepare any defense. Fubara also deployed this law until the night of Sunday October 29, 2023 when an inferno engulfed the state’s assembly complex that in less than 24 hours led to the commencement of impeachment process against the governor. It was at this stage which was like stepping on a viper’s tail that governor Fubara could not take it any longer and heaven was let loosed.

This is where the demarcation should be drawn between loyalty being a virtue or being servitude. Politicians in Nigeria who always prefer to play God by their godfatherism mantra should come and learn. Loyalty as a virtue is taking a willing decision without being forced to do so because if you are being forced to take a decision, it will bring a forced loyalty which is not loyalty at all. This means that loyalty as demanded by political godfathers of their political godson in Nigeria is far from the proper definition of loyalty. It can best be described as servitude which is a condition where you lack liberty to determine what happens to you or a state of completely subject to someone more powerful.

This is why there is always war between godfathers and their godsons in Nigeria because with the power a governor carries in Nigeria, it is practically impossible to make him a toothless bulldog in his own state in the name of forced loyalty. This is because having been elected as a governor by the people, his allegiance should naturally be to the people who have elected him and vice-versa because loyalty is a two way thing. A governor cannot be loyal to the people and also be loyal to a godfather and be sharing the resources that should be used for the people with a godfather. This will result into crisis. Lamidi Adedibu told the public that he fell out with Ladoja because he reneged on the 50% security vote he agreed to be paying to him every month which would definitely affect the security of the state.

Responding to a revelation from a close aid of Governor Fubara published in Punch Newspaper of 16th December 2023 that the governor had no input in the first appointments of his administration; Wike had responded that all political office holders in the state (including the governor) did not buy nomination form from their pocket but were bankrolled by himself in the 2023 elections. One is therefore tempted to ask here, where did the governor get the money from? Can his salary cater for that going by the cost of both nomination and expression of interest forms across political parties in Nigeria? Even at that, how can Wike expect to simultaneously control the politics of the Treasure Base of the Nation and that of the Centre of Unity?

Again, Governor Fubara said he has kept all the understanding he had with Wike but many Nigerians are wondering what these understandings are. Why has both of them failed to reveal these understandings to the good people of the state who deserve to know? As Lamidi Adedibu revealed the stoppage of the payment of 50% security vote agreement between him and Ladoja as the genesis of the trouble between them, so did Obaseki revealed that the state burial giving to Chief Tony Anenih which Oshiomhole was against as the source of the war between them. Even if more, no one between Wike and Fubara has come to the public to state the reason for the war between them. All we have heard from Fubara is that it is a tussle over power control. He further said that “I don’t think there is any understanding we had that I haven’t kept”. He went further to say that “Like I said, I won’t want to discuss those issues.” The public certainly deserve to know what these issues are because it is the tax payers’ money that would be used to settle them in the long run.

As no one can force a horse in a midstream, the concept of kingmaker is an essential part of African culture. It is a person or group of persons that have great influence on a royal or political succession without themselves being a viable candidate. It is also a vital part of the architecture of political ascendancy in many parts of the world but that does not mean the loyalty of the king is for the kingmaker but rather his subjects. As the story of how Bola Tinubu contributed to making Muhammadu Buhari president is a well known one, it is also a known fact that he did not lord or impose anything on him. In fact, he was barely silent throughout the administration and didn’t use it to achieve any self glorification. I recently stumbled on a document where Obasanjo was asked why he distanced himself from the administration of late President Yar’Adua who was supposed to be his political godson. In his reply, he said he would never be carried away by the appellation of kingmaker because history was replete with the scalp of kingmakers whose heads were harvested by the king to signpost his authority.

Without playing God, Wike once warned in a viral video, those who may want to look down on Fubara as a small boy thus: “What this small boy will do to you, you will understand that the power both from heaven and earth is with him. When he descends on you, you will know that khaki no be leather. So those of us who understand what power is all about will respect his authority. It is not our power, it is how God has made it. If God says you will not be, you will not be, if he says you will be, you will be.” Has Wike suddenly forgotten what power is all about and that heaven and earth are with Fubara as a governor? I am sure, nobody dare fight heaven and earth.

Come to think of it, did Wike become governor by his own power? If No, where are the people that assisted him such as Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and his wife and the former governor of the state, Peter Odili, who was solidly behind him before the war between him and Fubara broke out? This is a sign that no godfather can successfully fight a governor and win. He should come down from his high horse now because there are definitely more surprises in Fubara’s sleeve that are yet to be unfurl.

What we refer to as loyalty in Nigeria politics is a pure servitude that has no virtue at all. This is because as leadership is a moral behaviour, moral leaders are loyal leaders who seek to do what is right because it is right. Loyalty is a characteristic trait in human that cannot be forced by another. Loyalty is earned and a follower can only be loyal to a leader who earns it and not otherwise. It is therefore a great quality that should not be missed with servitude which entails one to answer to a master like a servant.

So, in loyalty is a virtue that naturally and willingly compels obedience. There is no virtue in servitude where you have to force compliance to instruction. No governor in Nigeria with the power the office carries will ever agree to be slave of anyone, no matter how highly placed. As well, godfather hardly ever defeats godson in Nigeria because the sympathy of the masses is always with him. As seen in the case between Ladoja and Lamidi Adedibu where the former was sacked as a governor for some months but later reinstated, there may be temporary or partial victory for a godfather but lasting victory is always with the godson.

The demolition of Rivers State House of Assembly complex, burning of different local government council secretariats in the state and the disruption of other government properties that the current political bickering has cost the state are enough reasons for the two gladiators to sheath their swords for the growth of the state. Nyesom Wike who is currently doing well as a minister of the Federal Capital Territory should leave Rivers State for Fubara and face his political career. If he believes he can still pull some strings within the PDP, let him continue and if he wants to continue with the ruling party that is currently feeding him, let him decide now and allow governance to take place in the oil rich state. His victory lies in doing his job within his prefer party and anoint another candidate that will dislodge Fubara in 2027 (if he can).

Olushola Omogbehin writes from Abuja FCT Nigeria

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