Reno Omokri to Atiku: “By responding to Wike, you are diminishing yourself. It is like a lion chasing after a rat”
The war of words between former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who was, also, the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 Presidential Election, and Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, the immediate past Governor of Rivers State, is still raging.
The two have been at each other’s neck from the months running to the PDP Presidential Primaries. It worsened when Atiku defeated Wike to pick the ticket, and rose to high heavens when he rejected Wike as his running mate and picked then Wike’s Governor-colleague, Delta State’s Dr Ifeanyi Okowa. That prompted Wike and his loyalists and supporters to work against Atiku in the Presidential election. They openly worked for the then Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, now President Bola Tinubu.
The sour relationship between the two also affected the PDP badly. The Party is literally in disarray. Wike is a serving Minister under the APC Government, has refused to quit the PDP and, no thanks to a number of Court orders, tied PDP’s hands from either suspending or expelling him.
A few days ago, both men crossed each other’s path after Atiku hailed Rivers people for ignoring threats to participate in the State’s Local Government Elections held on October 5, won by loyalists of the Governor, who contested under an otherwise unknown Party, Action Peoples Party, APP. The PDP and APC factions, controlled by Wike, citing a Federal High Court Order, refused to participate.
Atiku: “It has now been revealed that the citizens of Rivers are astute and resolute, unwavering in their rejection of any form of political oppression, harassment, or the machinations of self-serving godfathers.”
Apparently, the, “godfathers” being referred to here by Atiku are Wike and co., especially Wike. He was the political godfather of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State and, almost, single-handedly, installed him as a the Governor of Rivers State.
So, Wike, not one to be outdone, took on Atiku on Saturday when he hosted members of the Rivers State. He mocked Atiku for the number of times he contested for the Presidential seat of Nigeria and failed. Having been rejected by Nigerians, Wike told Atiku, he should pack and go home.
Wike to Atiku: “If you say for an election we did not contest, never participated in, that it shows Nigerians have rejected us, fine. You that contested and failed woefully, Nigerians have rejected you. So, pack up and go.”
Atiku has contested for the Presidential seat three times and failed.
Stung, Atiku, through his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, dismissed Wike as one very comfortable in the gutters and said he wouldn’t descend to Wike’s level. Wike, Atiku said, is selfish and only interested in himself, not the people. The former Vice President also dismissed Wike as one full of bile and bitterness over his defeat in the PDP Presidential Primaries.
Atiku to Wike:
“Mr Wike’s comments are nothing more than a string of inanities, lacking substance and driven by personal grievances. If he truly believes that Nigerians are content with the current state of affairs under the Government he serves, it reveals a deeper truth: his priorities lie not with the people but with himself.
“This self-absorption is evident in his preoccupation with domestic affairs in Rivers rather than his Ministerial responsibilities.
“While he may seek to divert attention with his baseless rants, we remain focused on the genuine issues affecting Nigerians. It is clear that Mr Wike is more concerned with self-interest than addressing the real challenges faced by the nation. In contrast, our commitment remains unwavering, centered on the welfare and progress of the people.
“Mr Wike appears to delight in conjuring fantasies indulging in his imagination, and paying for live TV coverage to launch tirades against whomever he pleases. However, we shall not descend into the gutters where he feels at home. Instead, we prefer to rise above, maintaining our dignity while others revel in the mud.
“His recent remarks are another of his theatrical outbursts. Nigerians are well acquainted with his antics, a lingering symptom of the bitterness he habours from his defeat to the Wazirin Adamawa at the 2022 Party Presidential Primaries.”
But weighing in, Reno Omokri, controversial Socio-political and a former Presidential aide under former President Goodluck Jonathan, chided Atiku for descending to Wike’s level. He said it is like a “lion chasing after rats.” He said Wike was just a Local Council Chairman when Atiku was Nigeria’s Vice President.
Omokri: “If I were Waziri, I would allow Wike to say whatever he wants about me and absorb it. It does not diminish Waziri. What diminishes Waziri and gives Wike muscles is Atiku responding to him or attacking him.
“If Atiku engages in a media exchange with Wike, it is a promotional advert for Wike and a demotion for him. Even if there must be a response, Waziri could consider delegating it to his running mate in the 2023 election, former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. And if Ifeanyi is unwilling, then he should request another surrogate to do so.
“But to personally throw jibes at Wike, or respond to Wike’s own quips should be considered a low-hanging fruit by Waziri. Even Governor Simi Fubara does not respond directly to Wike, how much the former Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“If a lion chased after rats, it may be mistaken for a domestic cat.”
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