Here is the tale of the tape;
1. Method of Emergence: Wike emerged out of an internal democratic process or what appeared to be one. Peterside on the other hand, was a product of a mysterious nominative process, in other words, he was handpicked by his master, the sitting Governor. By design and necessity, Wike was conditioned to hit the campaign trails, talked and wooed potential swing voters in all the Local Governments Areas in Rivers State, and in the process had familiarized himself with potential promises and problems that need making adjustments to. In contrast, Peterside has just embarked on this journey, and without the benefits of hindsights, and with less room to wriggle and limited time to maneuver, he is going to have a tougher time selling himself to the electorate.
2. The Ogoni Factor: the good people of Ogoni, a majority ethnic nationality in Rivers State with the combined voting strength of over 400,000 will vote overwhelmingly in favor of Nyesome Wike in the upcoming general elections. The wounds of betrayal inflicted by Gov. Amaechi on the Ogoni family by the dashing of the gubernatorial aspiration of their son, Senator Magnus Abe, will turn the Ogonis away from any Amaechi sponsored candidate . The Ogoni people will not vote to extend the de facto reign of the man who never thought they were worthy of a shot at the the Brick House. The Ogoni people feel less slighted by Wike who never lied to them, and who, all along, has expressed his desire to keep the ticket to himself as opposed to Amaechi who tricked and deceived the Ogoni people into believing that he was going to give it to their son, Senator Abe, only to pull the plug on him in the 11th hour. Whether Peterside had a hand in the demise of Senator Abe’s governorship longing or not, this singular act isn’t going to add up on the credit side of his Ogoni account.
3. Baggage: Wike is going into the upcoming general elections carrying his own political baggage, but Peterside does not have that same luxury, since, unfortunately, he is going to have to carry both his political baggage and that of his master’s, Governor Amaechi, and his master’s master, Gen. Buhari. The combined weight will prove too heavy for his young shoulders. Hon. Peterside has got no way out of this quagmire ; if President Jonathan is reelected, the people of Rivers State will fall over themselves to vote and rid themselves of anything APC, and if Buhari wins, the people will be livid, and will register their displeasure by voting against Hon. Peterside whose stubborn government is perceived to be nothing but a mere extension of his vilified master, Gov. Amaechi.
4. The First Lady Angle: There is no misgivings who the First Lady wants for the next governor of Rivers State. And taking into consideration that she is, unarguably, the most aggressive First Lady Nigeria has ever seen, there is no gainsaying the huge political dividends Wike stands to gain from her sociopolitical capital.
5. The Regional Sentiment Card: a greater majority of the Rivers people are sympathetic to the second term presidential bid of President Goodluck Jonathan. Wike is an avid supporter of the President, while the master handler of Peterside, Gov. Amaechi, is at daggers drawn with President Jonathan, a fellow son of the Niger Delta. In fairness to Peterside there hasn’t been anything he has done or said that has demonstrated a sustained effort at antagonizing the President as has been evident in the case of his master, Amaechi. But, just as the saying goes, show me your friends, and I will tell you who you are.
6. Personality Traits; self-made man vs. man-made man: Nyesome Wike is his own man, while Dakuku Peterside is another man’s boy. Governor Rotimi Amaechi openly labels Peter side as his boy, and Peterside gladly wears that “badge of honor” with pride – at least publicly. Ordinarily, this ought not to serve as an indictment against Peterside as it doesn’t highlight or speak to an absence of intellectual aptness, but when the leadership expected from the First Citizen of Rivers State is what is under discussion, then, naturally, the greater majority of Rivers people would rather dance with the man who marches to the sound of his own drum as opposed to the boy whose dance steps are in time to the beats of the drum of his master hidden somewhere far away.
7. Party Affiliation: Wike is running on the platform of PDP, a party that has deep roots and has dominated Rivers political scene for close to 20 years. Peterside is the torch bearer of APC, a party that was hastily put together about 3 years ago to challenge the supremacy of PDP. In all honesty, APC has done nothing to convince anyone that it is more of a contender than a pretender. The APC party hopefuls have talked the talk, but no one has seen them walk the walk. The big deal is, PDP is known to the Riverians, APC isn’t. And just like the saying goes; the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know.
8. Political Work History: Nyesome Wike was the Chairman of Obio/Akpo, the second richest Local Government Area in Nigeria, for 8 long years, while Dakuku Peterside was the Chairman of Opobo/Nkono Local Government Area for 1 single year.
Interestingly, given the political trajectories of both of these candidates, it’s worthy of a mention that even Governor Amaechi, himself, had always picked Wike over Peterside in terms of strategic political positioning. He had consistently elevated Wike into positions of higher responsibility and guardianship over any other person when he sensed trouble waters ahead.
In the most crucial months leading up to Amaechi’s emergence as governor, he trusted none more than Wike to take him to the “Promised Land”. This explains why Amaechi made Wike his Campaign Manager, and why in Governor Amaechi’s first term, Wike served as the Chief of General Staffs, while Peterside was one of many commissioners in the same administration. Immediately past, and with Amaechi’s blessings, Wike was made the one and only federal Minister for Education in the country. Peterside, on the other hand, was made one of the 360 members of the House of Representatives.
It sure appeared the governor, himself, trusted and believed in Wike’s political stewardship more than that of Peterside’s.
9. Political Leadership: Wike is the unquestioned leader of the PDP party today just as he has always been even before Amaechi jumped ship. Peterside is not, and never been the leader of his party, from PDP to APC. And since this a battle for leadership, Wike has the edge as he is more practiced in this respect than Peterside.
10. One Man, One Vote: Wike also edges out Peterside in this aspect. The emergence of Peterside was arguably an attempt to pacify the Riverine people’s clamor for the governorship shot. Now, it must be put in perspective for folks to know that this call was made by the Riverine people. The Upland folks of Rivers State are not exactly falling over themselves to give away the governorship seat. As a matter of fact, the Ogoni people rightfully made a strong push of their own for the governorship slot. Unfortunately, they were passed over by Gov. Amaechi. So here is how the game is going to play out; Wike is definitely going to win out in the 4 Ogoni LGAs, and the 4 Ikwerre LGAs both of which are the Upland majority ethnic nationalities. The First Lady, and the National Vice Chairman of PDP, are going to put their respective LGA in the Riverine part of the State out of play for Peterside. Meaning, the Uplanders will vote for Wike, while only a fraction of the Riverines will vote for Peterside.
In summation, this is an uneven match up. Peterside may be a bright young mind, and a fledging political up-comer with certain upsides, but he is not yet in the same political weight class as Wike who made his bones a long time ago. Wike is just too much of a champion heavyweight to be caught in the ring with. Even Peterside’s master, Gov. Amaechi, himself, couldn’t go the distance with Wike. Too bad he has sent his boy to do his job.
Yes, President Barrack Obama was an underdog, too, just like Peterside, but, let me be very clear on this, with all due respects, Rivers State is no USA, and Dakuku Peterside is no Barack Obama.
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