By Philip Yatai
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has urged Nigerians to reject opportunistic politicians who rely on deceit and performative stunts to secure public office.
Wike made the call at the inaugural Idoma Hall of Fame Induction, organised in collaboration with Ochetoha K’Idoma, as part of the Idoma Centenary Plus celebration in Abuja on Thursday.
Delivering the keynote address titled “People, Politics and Power Play in Nigeria: The Agitation for Equity and Fairness”, Wike urged citizens to prioritise competence, accountability and track records over ethnic loyalty and political entitlement.
He argued that the country’s political future depended on citizens’ ability to distinguish between genuine public servants and those seeking power for personal or sectional advantage.
According to him, Nigeria’s quest for fairness will remain unresolved if political actors focused only on which ethnic group or region controlled power without addressing the conditions under which it was exercised.
“If one group replaces another at the table while the benefits remain fundamentally exclusionary, the occupants have changed, but the injustice has not.
“If we complain about marginalisation only when our own people are excluded, but become silent when others are marginalised after our people gain power, we are not opposing injustice; we are seeking access to its privileges.
“The true test of fairness was the willingness to defend justice even when it did not favour one’s ethnic group or political interests.”
He warned against converting public power into personal wealth or sectional dominance and urged Nigerians to reject politicians who exploit grievances over marginalisation to advance personal interests.
While affirming support for constitutional provisions like the federal character principle, the FCT minister emphasised that equitable representation must not compromise competence.
He noted that the federal character principle enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, as amended, was designed to promote national unity and prevent the domination of public institutions by a few states or sectional groups.
According to him, Nigeria needs a political culture in which public office is regarded as a trust rather than an entitlement.
He added that the country’s diversity should be a source of strength rather than a basis for exclusion.
He argued that true political inclusion is measured by tangible governance outcomes—such as jobs, healthcare, security, and infrastructure, rather than the ethnic background of officeholders.
“A Nigerian should not be excluded from public office because of where he or she comes from; neither should competence become irrelevant once a candidate’s identity satisfies a representational expectation,” he said.
Wike further argued that the performance of political leaders should be measured by the tangible benefits their decisions delivered to citizens, rather than the identities of those occupying positions of authority.
He said political inclusion would remain incomplete without access to jobs, quality education, healthcare, infrastructure, electricity, security and economic opportunities.
He argued that the appointment of a prominent political office-holder from a particular community would mean little to residents who continued to face unemployment, inadequate public services and economic hardship.
The minister noted that Nigeria had adopted several mechanisms to accommodate its diversity, including federalism, state creation, revenue allocation, zoning and rotational presidency.
He, however, stressed that such arrangements alone could not guarantee fairness.
He called for a political system that prioritised the common good and ensured that every Nigerian had a reasonable opportunity to participate in national life, irrespective of background. (NAN)
Edited by Deji Abdulwahab
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