Monday Column By Hameed M. Bello, PhD
Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, the Governor of Rivers State comes across as a relatively blunt man, even though I have never met him in person, or had any dealing with him. I encounter him only in the media. He seldom pretends especially when things go out of his control, much unlike the typical Nigerian politician always trying to speak nicely to be politically correct. Wike’s utterances usually sound aggressive, but that is his linguistic stylistic, or his communicative idiosyncrasy. Everyone has his, what language use experts call ‘idiolect’ – unique style of speaking and writing peculiar to an individual. Others will prefer to call it speech mannerism. Whatever you choose to call it, the bottom line is that Wike speaks his mind and cares less about impressions, or whose ox is gored, not even the gods of Rivers, the state he governs. Those who follow his comments on issues around his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and his protest against what he considers injustice are already familiar with his implacable tirades against the PDP and its top guns. Not a few, however, are quick to dismiss his criticisms as products of vengeance arising from his failure to clinch the PDP flag for the 2023 presidential election. Well, that is different strokes for different folks.
Away from politics, Wike had penultimate week unleashed his acerbic words on the gods of Ikwerre land when he flagged off the construction of Obodhi-Ozochi road bridge in Ahoada Local government area of Rivers state. His scathing criticism of the gods, and the scolding of traditional rulers who are custodians of the gods, at the event reads in part:
“You are crying that Ozochi has no road linking them. And the government has come to do the road to link your community. Instead of you to come out and own the project, you are now kidnapping the workers to sabotage our own development. What kind of system is this? Sabotaging your own growth. And those of you who are traditional rulers, instead of you to talk to the gods of the land, what are the gods doing. You know the gods only when you want to go and share the chicken. Why not ask the gods what they are doing? Ask them, are they sleeping? Are you not seeing these things that are happening? Everyday you go and pour libation. Tell the gods to wake up oh! Tell them. If they don’t wake up I will go and bulldoze where you people put all those things. Look at what is going on, nobody is saying anything. Tell your gods to wake up if not I will go there and flog them oh! Challenge the gods, tell them if you are the gods of our land why do you allow this to happen. That is why when you have problems you call the creator to show you that he is the creator. And call on him and see whether he will not come down. You too who are worshiping those your white white things, challenge them. Not when you come and present kola you tell me in Ikwerre land the gods said this. Tell the gods they should go and stop what those boys are doing, that is the only way I will know that the gods are there, not when you are presenting kola in Ikwerre land, you say the kola said this, bitter kola said that, in Ikwerre land alligator pepper said this. Show it in action.”
A number of inferences can be drawn from Wike’s stream of consciousness as conveyed by his utterances. Apart from expressing anger against forces of underdevelopment, he does not believe in the assumed ‘supernatural’ powers of the gods, otherwise they will not be sleeping as he queried. To ascribe to the gods human attribute of sleeping, as he did, is to ridicule their supposed godliness, and to render them undeserving of worship. He applied the same mocking attitude in his description of the gods as “white white things”
Wike also characterised the traditional rulers as turning to the gods only whenever they have appetite for chicken, without challenging them to deploy their godly powers to rein in youths who are sabotaging the development of their communities. This portrays the traditional rulers as greedy lots with voracious appetite for chicken using sacrifice to the gods as decoy. Wike accordingly challenged the gods to wake up to their supposed responsibilities, failing which he threatened to flog them, as though the gods were some stubborn or undisciplined children deserving of corporal punishment to sit up. He also threatened to unleash bulldozers to demolish the shrines housing the gods and other items of godly worship if the gods fail to do the needful.
He also enjoined the traditional rulers to challenge the gods to prove that they are deserving of worship by coming down to answer the call to proffer solutions. He cited the instance of the creator answering to the prayers of believers, and insisted the gods should also do the same if they truly have solutions to the problems of society.
Wike’s comments: “Tell your gods to wake up” presupposes that they are not his gods. His reference to the Creator as responding in time to the call of men in need is a key pointer to that. Judging from the sentiments and emotions of his text, it will not be surprising if Wike someday proceeds to ban worship of the gods in Rivers state. However, he may have to contend with the constitutional guarantee of freedom of worship. The traditionalists may also square up with him, but I am not sure he is afraid of that, flowing from the tone and mood of his utterances about the gods and their custodians. Recall that in 2019, Governor Wike had declared Rivers State to be a Christian state because it is made up of 90% Christians and 10% orthodox with a few practising Islam. This shows that only less than 10% of the population of Rivers State worship the gods, while the dominant 90% (Christians) were devoted to the worship of God via Jesus Christ. Christianity is not compatible with godly worship, at least from the doctrinal point of view. Islam is not either. This explains the sentiments that Wike conveys in his characterisation of the gods, as somewhat powerless entities that may not be able to provide solutions to social problems. Otherwise, they could not have been perceived to be sleeping, as Wike suggested, when society is under threat of kidnapping of workers by agents of underdevelopment.
To my mind, Wike’s challenge goes beyond the gods and traditional rulers of Rivers State. It is also an indictment of some politicians who resort to extraordinary means, including engaging the marabouts, or Babalawo to either gain undue political advantage, or to pull down opponents perceived to be threats to their ambition. Such politicians should learn from the seeming spiritual failure of Rivers gods and start to play straight politics. On this occasion, Wike’s challenge is worthy of attention.
Scholars have categorized worship of the gods as a type of polytheism, the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism contrasts with monotheism, the belief in a singular God who is, in most cases, transcendent and omniscient. Polytheists do not always worship all the gods equally. They can be henotheists, specializing in the worship of one particular deity, or kathenotheists, worshiping different deities at different times. Polytheism was the typical form of religion before the development and spread of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which enforce monotheism – Belief in One God.
