Sunday, August 31, 2025
  • Who’sWho Africa AWARDS
  • About Time Africa Magazine
  • Contact Us
Time Africa Magazine
  • Home
  • Magazine
  • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
  • News
  • World News
    • US
    • UAE
    • Europe
    • UK
    • Israel-Hamas
    • Russia-Ukraine
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Column
  • Interviews
  • Special Report
No Result
View All Result
Time Africa Magazine
  • Home
  • Magazine
  • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
  • News
  • World News
    • US
    • UAE
    • Europe
    • UK
    • Israel-Hamas
    • Russia-Ukraine
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Column
  • Interviews
  • Special Report
No Result
View All Result
Time Africa Magazine
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
  • News
  • Magazine
  • World News

Home » Column » Tinubu’s end game on Fubara

Tinubu’s end game on Fubara

By Pius Mordi

July 4, 2025
in Column
0
548
SHARES
4.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Sometime in 1962, late Chief George Sodeinde Sowemimo struggled with the constraints of the law in the treasonable felony trial against then opposition leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in a highly charged political tension, made the famous statement often quoted not just in legal circles. “My hands are tied”, he said in his legal pronouncement.

After President Bola Tinubu announced that he has “reconciled” suspended Rivers State governor, Mr. Sim Fubara and his political godfather, Nyesom Wike, a number of people felt Fubara had betrayed the cause of combating and reining in the power and influence of godfathers in leadership selection. When he sought to assert himself having been wholly packaged by Wike himself to succeed him, not a few Nigerians applauded Fubara when the fight began. The political elites in Rivers State seemed to have backed him. But when Wike worked for Tinubu to emerge president in 2023, he knew the decision will be pivotal going forward. Even though the House of Assembly remained unflinching in being Wike’s boys, Fubara banked on the support of the senior political leaders to dislodge the iroko and chart a new trajectory for the political class in the state.

Unfortunately, in the calculations of Team Fubara, the depth of the relationship between Wike and Tinubu was not taken into reckoning. Although the terms of the settlement has not been revealed and may never be let out official, the buzz from political circles elicited intense and intriguing debate on the WhatsApp platform of the core ex-editorial staff of The Guardian when it was truly the flagship of the Nigerian press. According to reports, the truce reached during a closed-door meeting the duo and Tinubu affirmed that Fubara will not get a second term. Equally important for the truce, Wike will nominate all the chairpersons across the 23 Local Government Areas in the forthcoming council election.

In the robust, but largely dispassionate exchange on the platform of alumnus of The Guardian, my friend who has often championed causes associated with justice, Wale Adeoye, was unsparing of Team Fubara. “If Fubara had planned his strategy very well, he won’t be in the situation he finds himself. He went into the battle without a long term plan and without sustainable strategy driven by the people that elected him. I had a lot of interaction with our friends in the Niger Delta, the groups that rule the creeks. If he had secured their real support, he probably may have been able to fight back decisively. Our politicians often seek alliance with individuals, instead of building alliances with the social and cultural forces, and the electorate that elected them. It becomes so easy for such individuals to pull the rug off their legs. Very soon, just watch, the two may appear in a joint press conference blaming the media for the dispute between them,” Adeoye said.

ReadAlso

How Wike Secretly Bought $2Million U.S. Mansion In Wife, Children’s Names

Opinion | Okonjo-Iweala: Saleswoman Of Bad Products

Ogbodo Abraham, a former editor of The Guardian titles, is vociferous in his criticism of presidential and legislative overreach from Aso Rock. He does not pull punches on Niger Delta issues. The only thing he has not done is to join the boys in the creek! “To retreat is not to surrender,” he said of Fubara. “There is no wisdom in pushing when danger outweighs hope. Wise men save a little for tomorrow and not risk all in one wrong move.”

Ogbodo disagreed with Wale Adeoye on his stance that Fubara should have treaded the path of integrity by resigning rather accept the terms of the peace. “We are not in normal times. We are in the worst kind of dictatorship ever known to Nigerians. How do you explain this character of the military under a democracy? It was much better under the military. You clearly understand better the issues playing out in Rivers State.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Besides, Fubara would have been appropriately advised by the same elders in the state who had always stood by him. He couldn’t have acted alone. It is a matter of going for the safest option in the short run. In the long run, the building dialectics may peacefully or violently enthrone a new state of affairs in Rivers State.
“My only concern is the effective management of the burgeoning issues to stop them from growing into a conflagration that could consume more than it is currently consuming,” Ogbodo concluded.

I think it goes well beyond integrity and honour for Fubara. What we have always had is a successor successfully wresting power and control from his former godfather. It happened in Enugu, Kano, Anambra and Akwa Ibom states. Those that tried in Lagos never had a fighting chance. In the case of Rivers, Fubara was actually up against Tinubu who saw in Wike a tool for guaranteeing a hold on the state. Come to think of it, was Fubara weak? No.

He squared up against his former boss almost from day one. The old guard of the political elites in the state teamed up with him and he was on the way to a decisive win. But Aso Rock played the ace. After simulating an attack on crude oil infrastructure, it was a fait accompli when Tinubu declared a state of emergency. The reference to how Obasanjo was previously fought by some governors during his failed third term bid is in order. The key difference was in the fairly responsive National Assembly leadership at the time. It showed how Obasanjo’s bid was shot down. Tinubu learnt from that and scripted the subversion of the voting process in the senate. Ken Nnamani as Senate President asked every senator to “answer his father’s name” when the third term issue had to be voted on. But Akpabio orchestrated a voice vote when the Rivers State of Emergency was to be voted on. If there was the Nnamani option, it would have been voted down.

Tinubu is a political genius, not necessarily of the saintly hue. Nobody has called him the evil genius yet. But even the one that gave himself that description now knows he himself is a learner.

If Fubara had not accepted what was tabled before him and opted to resign ‘honourably’, it would have been a fast track to a long term jail for him. Remember Prof. Tam David West as Minister of Petroleum under Ibrahim Babangida’s regime? They wanted to get him and he was tried and jailed for drinking tea and accepting a wrist watch as gift from an oil industry chief.

The political rift between Fubara and Wike, his predecessor, has largely centred on control of the political structure in the oil-rich state. Fubara’s hands are tied. He first has to survive, then look forward to fighting better another day. I agree with the view that Wike is the real winner here and, by extension, Tinubu. By controlling the local government chairmen, he retains significant influence over the state’s political machinery, which will be crucial for 2027.

Tags: Ahmed Bola TinubuNyesom WikeSiminalaye Fubara
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

The Sheikh Who Conquered Soccer and Coddles Warlords

Next Post

Ex-Arsenal star Thomas Partey charged with five counts of rape

You MayAlso Like

Column

Congo Has Astronomical Rates of Sexual Violence. Now Victims Have Lost Access to Care

August 25, 2025
African and Chinese leaders meet to talk about Belt and Road Initiative cooperation on the sidelines of the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing. GETTY IMAGES
Column

China Uses Think Tank Diplomacy to Shape Africa Policy to Its Advantage

August 31, 2025
Column

Canada’s Redefinition of Terrorism

August 22, 2025
Column

Opinion | Okonjo-Iweala: Saleswoman Of Bad Products

August 19, 2025
Column

The Resilience of World Trade | Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

August 18, 2025
Column

When Nudity Attracts Fortune And Excellence Attracts Silence —The Collapse Of Our Values

August 19, 2025
Next Post

Ex-Arsenal star Thomas Partey charged with five counts of rape

British tourist among two women killed by elephant in Zambian national park 

Discussion about this post

Inside the Battle for Ownership of Madonna University

Stolen Soil, Land Grabbing: Mburubu Community Sends SOS to Enugu Govt

Kemi Badenoch reveals ‘hysterical’ level of personal attacks faced as a black woman

NYSC Member Shares Harrowing Experience with Anambra Vigilantes

Six beers that are good for your gut health – and the ones to avoid

Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country is facing backlash over US migrant deal

  • British government apologizes to Peter Obi, as hired impostors, master manipulators on rampage abroad

    1240 shares
    Share 496 Tweet 310
  • Maids trafficked and sold to wealthy Saudis on black market

    1066 shares
    Share 426 Tweet 267
  • Flight Attendant Sees Late Husband On Plane

    972 shares
    Share 389 Tweet 243
  • ‘Céline Dion Dead 2023’: Singer killed By Internet Death Hoax

    904 shares
    Share 361 Tweet 226
  • Crisis echoes, fears grow in Amechi Awkunanaw in Enugu State

    735 shares
    Share 294 Tweet 184
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

British government apologizes to Peter Obi, as hired impostors, master manipulators on rampage abroad

April 13, 2023

Maids trafficked and sold to wealthy Saudis on black market

December 27, 2022
Flight Attendant Sees Late Husband On Plane

Flight Attendant Sees Late Husband On Plane

September 22, 2023
‘Céline Dion Dead 2023’: Singer killed By Internet Death Hoax

‘Céline Dion Dead 2023’: Singer killed By Internet Death Hoax

March 21, 2023
Chief Mrs Ebelechukwu, wife of Willie Obiano, former governor of Anambra state

NIGERIA: No, wife of Biafran warlord, Bianca Ojukwu lied – Ebele Obiano:

0

SOUTH AFRICA: TO LEAVE OR NOT TO LEAVE?

0
kelechi iheanacho

TOP SCORER: IHEANACHA

0
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

WHAT CAN’TBE TAKEN AWAY FROM JONATHAN

0
The mountainous northern tip of Somalia’s Puntland State has become the base of operations of the Islamic State group’s al-Karrar office, which coordinates financing for the group’s terrorist operations across African, the Middle East and Central Asia. GETTY IMAGES/THE WASHINGTON POST

Terrorists Killed 150,000 Across Africa in Past Decade, Study Finds

August 31, 2025

Prince Harry ‘to meet with King Charles’ when he returns to UK for anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death

August 29, 2025

Relics From an Ancient Egyptian ‘Party Town’ Are Pulled Out of the Sea

August 29, 2025

Get your children the chickenpox jab to stop the anti-vaxxers, minister tells parents

August 29, 2025

ABOUT US

Time Africa Magazine

TIME AFRICA MAGAZINE is an African Magazine with a culture of excellence; a magazine without peer. Nearly a third of its readers hold advanced degrees and include novelists, … READ MORE >>

SECTIONS

  • Aviation
  • Column
  • Crime
  • Europe
  • Featured
  • Gallery
  • Health
  • Interviews
  • Israel-Hamas
  • Lifestyle
  • Magazine
  • Middle-East
  • News
  • Politics
  • Press Release
  • Russia-Ukraine
  • Science
  • Special Report
  • Sports
  • TV/Radio
  • UAE
  • UK
  • US
  • World News

Useful Links

  • AllAfrica
  • Channel Africa
  • El Khabar
  • The Guardian
  • Cairo Live
  • Le Republicain
  • Magazine: 9771144975608
  • Subscribe to TIME AFRICA biweekly news magazine

    Enjoy handpicked stories from around African continent,
    delivered anywhere in the world

    Subscribe

    • About Time Africa Magazine
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • WHO’SWHO AWARDS

    © 2025 Time Africa Magazine - All Right Reserved. Time Africa is a trademark of Times Associates, registered in the U.S, & Nigeria. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service.

    No Result
    View All Result
    • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
    • Politics
    • Column
    • Interviews
    • Gallery
    • Lifestyle
    • Special Report
    • Sports
    • TV/Radio
    • Aviation
    • Health
    • Science
    • World News

    © 2025 Time Africa Magazine - All Right Reserved. Time Africa is a trademark of Times Associates, registered in the U.S, & Nigeria. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service.

    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.