Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, is expanding his power kit beyond the institutional. He is extending to discursive power, the more complete form of power since realities are products of discourses. Beyond institutional and discursive power, there are also coercive and structural powers.
A screenshot of the VC’s announcement of Minister Wike’s unfolding
On June 5th, 2025, he sails forth to the Oduduwa Hall of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife to deliver the 2025 version of what has been called the ‘Distinguished Personality Lecture’. The title is “Partisan Politics, Party Loyalty and the Challenge of Party Supremacy in Nigeria”
By the time he is done with the lecture, he could have thrown down a paradigm on the theme of party supremacy, a paradigm that shapes that discourse formation in Nigeria if not the world. It could be a paradigm just as it could be no more than a phrase but by which he could become famous. The diversity of his experience could make that possible even as complicated as conceptual innovation could be because it involves reconciling three related variables in the case of the title of this lecture. It remains to be seen how Wike weaves them into coherence.
In itself, a meeting and even the mixing of non-academics with academics is a good thing, something to be encouraged because both sides can learn from each other. In any case, the university is some place everyone can contribute or fetch knowledge. Mr. Wike’s next engagement does not, therefore, violate any principles yet.
What critical observers are wondering about is whether Wike who is not known to have been in academia ever before is aware of the protocols that apply to developing an argument, substantiating and defending it. Secondly, might Wike withstand critical scrutiny by which inquiry produces new knowledge, being someone who has been used to ‘yes sir’ from hapless subordinates to him as Local Government Chairman, Chief of Staff, Minister, Governor and Minister again? Academics do not browbeat but his audience at Oduduwa Hall is likely to be so mixed as to have its share of incurable rebels.
The rest of the world holds its breath as the FCT Minister marches to academe!
