OKWUTE, BEWARE OF “WIKE”
An Open Letter to Mr Peter Obi
Dear Mr Peter Obi,
I write this open letter not as an adversary, but as a compatriot, a believer in your capacity, and one who sincerely desires a peaceful, united, and progressive Nigeria. History has placed you at a critical junction, and like all moments of destiny, this one demands cold realism, strategic humility, and broad-based coalition building rather than emotional slogans or romantic idealism.
1. Beware of “WIKE” — A Concept, Not a Person
Let me be clear from the outset: “WIKE” in this context does not refer to His Excellency Nyesom Wike, former Governor of Rivers State. It is used here as a political concept—a strategy—and it manifests in two dangerous forms.
First Category of “WIKE”:
These are individuals and interests who support the Asiwaju-led APC, but who pursue their objectives by encouraging multiple opposition candidates, knowing fully well that a divided opposition is a defeated opposition.
Second Category of “WIKE”:
These are actors who do not want Atiku Abubakar to be President, not necessarily because of ideology or competence, but due to personal ambition, historical grievances, or elite rivalry. Included here are Northern political interests who know they cannot defeat Atiku today and therefore seek to delay power until time naturally removes him from contention.
Mr Obi, these two streams converge at one point: they profit when the opposition is fragmented.
2. Clarification of My Position
I am genuinely shocked that some people have chosen to interpret my position as that of Atiku Abubakar, or to label me as an aide, surrogate, or emissary of Atiku. Never. I am not, and have never been, an aide to Atiku Abubakar. Rather, my political history places me firmly among those who stood with Peter Obi in 2018, when Ndi Igbo collectively met with Atiku Abubakar in good faith. Everything that was said on that historic occasion—including the tears shed by Professor Ben Nwabueze in the pursuit of justice, equity, and national balance—cannot and must not be in vain.
Today, many justify their political positions on the simplistic ground of “the turn of the South,” including the very “WIKES” who wished to become Atiku’s Vice-Presidential candidate in 2023. For my part, I have not seen, and I still do not see, anything “Southern” about the current Asiwaju-led APC Federal Government, either in composition, philosophy, or practice. More fundamentally, no one so far has clearly, credibly, or convincingly explained the strategy for winning the North, nor identified the political partner capable of delivering the North, so as to avoid the dangerous illusion of “NOTHING” as an alternative.
3. On Conviction, Reality, and Electoral Truths
My views may be unpopular among some of my brothers, but those who truly know me know this much: I stand by what I believe in, even if I must stand alone. I do not play emotional games, and no one can successfully play such games on me. I do not wish to be part of a political project that could single out Ndi Igbo, especially in Lagos, for humiliation, economic victimisation, or even loss of lives.
Partnership with the North has always been our most realistic option. That is precisely why I could not support a Goodluck Jonathan presidency that already enjoyed a constitutional advantage of a statutory single term. When I insist on a Northern partner, I am not asking for a symbolic or goodwill-dependent partner. In Nigeria, rigging, vote-buying, and other electoral malpractices are fair game to a ruling party like the APC, and I do not wish to return in 2027 to recycle well-rehearsed excuses.
We must build the kind of momentum that will oust the APC and defeat it decisively on all fronts. I have repeatedly referenced a trending video of a woman in Anambra who went to vote for the ADC candidate during the Onitsha North House of Assembly by-election but, at the polling unit, collected money and voted for APGA—while still claiming she prayed for ADC to win. APGA got her vote; ADC got her prayers. INEC counted votes, and APGA won. These are not theories. These are the realities of our time.
4. Nobody Gambles with Elections
Elections are not sermons. They are not social-media movements. They are not moral protests. Elections are cold, mathematical, coalition-driven contests for power. Nobody gambles with elections—certainly not those who understand Nigeria.
5. The 2018 Agreement and the Northern Question
Mr Obi, you are widely regarded as a credible former governor. That is not in dispute. But credibility alone has never won a Nigerian presidential election. To become President, you require a solid, organic, and strategic partnership with the North—not symbolic endorsements or isolated defections, but a real political alliance.
This is why I urge you to revisit the spirit and logic of the 2018 arrangement and similar strategic understandings. Leadership sometimes demands patience, sequencing, and statesmanship rather than immediacy.
6. Vice Presidency Is Not a Demotion
In mature democracies, becoming Vice President is not a downgrade; it is political capital accumulation. The national exposure, executive depth, pan-Nigerian legitimacy, and institutional familiarity that come with it provide an unrivalled platform for future leadership.
7. On the One-Term Promise
With respect, personal promises of one term are weak instruments of reform. Nigeria’s challenges are too deep to depend on the will of one individual. Instead, insistence should be placed on:
a party-backed constitutional amendment agenda,
a single, non-renewable six-year term, and
constitutional rotation of power among the six geopolitical zones.
That is how durable reform is achieved—through institutions, not personalities.
8. Beware of Empty Slogans
“Peter Obi or Nothing” did not arise organically. It was seeded and amplified—initially by APC-aligned voices. But let us be honest: there is no such thing as “NOTHING” in the presidency. In practical terms, it translates to Peter Obi or Asiwaju. No honest Obidient can sincerely accept Asiwaju as an alternative.
9. Final Word
Mr Peter Obi, Nigeria needs you—but Nigeria also needs wisdom, timing, alliances, and realism. Do not allow the many faces of “WIKE” to push you into a political cul-de-sac that serves interests other than yours and the nation’s.
History does not reward stubbornness.
It rewards strategy.
Obunike Ohaegbu
National Coordinator, South East Patriots (SEP)
Writes from his village in Anambra Stat
