By
Justice Osai Ahiakwo
The concluded 17-day tour embarked upon by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, widely reported in the media, was presented as a tour of appreciation to supporters from the 2023 general elections. While gratitude in politics is not objectionable and often a precursor to renewed ambition, the timing and context of this exercise make its underlying intent impossible to ignore.
Politics, by Nyesome Wike’s estimation resumed in January 2026, and the tour coincided with renewed and ill-advised attempts to politically arm-twist the Governor of Rivers State.
What should have been a benign political engagement instead assumed a confrontational posture.
Most troubling was the Minister’s public remark likening political developments in Rivers State to the capture of a Venezuelan President through a United States military operation. That analogy is deeply flawed and intellectually careless.
The U.S. action in Venezuela, whether justified or not, was executed by a sovereign state exercising international power under a specific geopolitical framework.
It bears no resemblance whatsoever to the crude attempt by a political actor to impose a so-called “gentleman’s agreement” or force a single-term agenda on an elected Governor.
Rivers State indeed is not Venezuela. The powers exercised by U.S. President cannot, by any stretch of logic, be equated with the deployment of raw political intimidation to unseat Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
One is a matter of state sovereignty; the other is political coercion masquerading as influence.
This comparison exposes a deeper problem: a fixation on power devoid of democratic restraint. What is on display is not political sophistication but a troubling erosion of democratic values.
Incivility, arrogance, and intolerance blur the sanctity of democracy and create space for uncultured political conduct to dominate public life.
Good governance thrives only where power is exercised with restraint. Democracy suffers when politicians become obsessed with absolute control rather than service.
The moral lesson is simple but profound: restraint is indispensable in leadership. Pride, arrogance, and unchecked ambition corrode institutions and damage society. Family upbringing, social values, and communal norms all play a role in shaping political character, because society ultimately mirrors the values it tolerates.
Rivers State must not descend into political chaos driven by ego and entitlement. Greed, avarice, and acrimony have no place in modern democratic politics. The enduring lesson remains—live and let live.
