NYESOM WIKE AND THE END OF DECORUM

By Austen Akhagbeme

Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the FCT, is becoming a dangerous example of how not to be a public servant.

His penchant for open altercations and anyhowness is becoming unbecoming of a federal officer of the status of a minister and a former governor.

That no one can rein him in anytime he desecrates public etiquette and orally defecates on propriety, speaks volumes to the calibre of leadership we presently have as a nation.

Wike’s most recent public brawl with a young naval officer, in the full glare of his retinue of bodyguards and hangers-on has already gone viral on the World Wide Web, bringing shame and sham to the exalted office of the honourable minister.

From the rude and empty boastfulness in the name of media chats, Nyesom Wike has elevated his reckless infamy to that of harassing an officer on duty and under instruction, calling him a fool such as he has done to the young military officer now trending on social media.

Wike’s braggadocio seems to be heavily backed by the state as he seems to have his hands in every pie since the inception of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

The incident at plot 1946 in the Gaduwa district of Abuja, is a metaphor depicting the rudeness and impunity of power of the governing elite over the governed. Wike took a gamble that could have gone dangerously sideways but for the emotionally cool and calm officer who saved the day.

Whatever the underlying reason may be, the Minister’s open denigration of a commissioned officer was quite demeaning. As a lawyer and a life bencher, the minister should have known that Land matters are civil cases usually settled in the Courts and not by brawn.

One expects that Nyesom Wike, by now, should be busy with the EFCC following the viral news of his alleged acquisition of properties abroad, which were not captured in his assets declaration as a public servant. How about the many accusations of the alleged allocation of plots of land to his cronies and the alleged blatant land-grabbing style of administration in the federal capital?

In Nigeria, that is how we roll: we become reckless and play demi-god when we’re entrusted with power. Moreso, decency and decorum end when we have the right people drumming for us from the top. It is all about proximity to the powers that be. It is a pity!