‘Look At The Horizon’: Why Niger Delta Masses Look At Ibori And Wike And Still Venerate Them
The Oasis Reporters
December 3, 2025
Whenever Nigerians look at Niger Delta citizens on whose soil the country generates and appropriate the wealth that fuels the country’s economy, how they feel is often clearly etched on their faces. It’s often with bemusement and astonishment.
These are people from the liquid gold belt of Nigeria, yet nobody trusts them enough for leadership. When any of them makes a shot to lead the country, suspicions arise. And if that leader makes a determined bid to succeed, the amount of energy put in to quickly pull them down is usually intense and passionate.
We recall the saga of the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan. It got to a point that for all of his luck, he threw in the towel without a whimper in order to save his people from annihilation and further trouble.
Today Nigerians look back with nostalgia and ask themselves about how right or wrong they were. Still, whenever they meet Niger Deltans, all the politics that they want to discuss is about the seemingly controversial political figures the region has.
Until you have toured the states of Benue, Kogi and a few others, you would hardly appreciate leaders like James Ibori, first civilian governor of Delta State in the 3rd republic and the controversial former governor of Rivers State who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital, Abuja.
Those who knew Rivers State and Delta State since the colonial times and during the military regimes would no doubt appreciate the two gentlemen.
In between the period of colonial rule by the British to the season of posting soldiers to rule in the region during the period of mindless exploitation and extraction of the “gold of the region” to beautify and prosper other regions, Niger Deltans were meant to only look down at their feet and accept their destiny, as dictated by others.
James Ibori was the first to give his state a sense of purpose, worth and dignity.
In a swampy state with no infrastructure whatsoever, Ibori rolled his sleeves and worked. He made the state a place worth living in.
Ibori was not the type to play the politics of seclusion and selfishness. He wouldn’t develop his village and local government by neglecting other ethnic groups.
No.
He spread infrastructure round every nook and cranny and made Delta State a beautiful oasis in the swamps of the Niger Delta.
But of course, he could have done more with what was available to him, some say but that is not the full story. He may have been railroaded to prison and back, do not wonder to see him being venerated by the ordinary people of the state in different tongues and languages singing his praises today for his glorious 8 years of building tirelessly.
Besides, he laid a solid foundation of power rotation amongst the three senatorial districts, thereby reducing acrimony, something you cannot find in some other states where only one tribe rules, and let the other ones go to hell. Unless, until a governor is out of the picture, and his deputy steps in to change the direction of things, most times without any meaningful turnaround.
The Ibori formula is still serving Delta State.
The other former governor in the Niger Delta that has made the region proud is the controversial Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
He reinvented Port Harcourt to a very large extent, making the former chaotic city livable because of the Nyesom Wike formula. People may say that they don’t like his politics, but they have no arguments about his lasting impacts on development.
It is when you tour a state like Benue or Kogi State that one would appreciate the enigmatic Wike. You hear Benue citizens resident in Abuja tell you with passion how they hate Wike’s politics but embrace his developmental strides.
Wike is doubtlessly changing the story of the FCT in 20 years when the various ministers presided, turning the nascent brand new Capital City into an unmitigated and impassable slum.
In just two years, he has turned the city into a place to live in and luxuriate. They may not like his politics, but Benue State citizens pray everyday for their home state to have a governor like Wike or Ibori, warts and all for just two years, so that they can go home and flex a little bit.
So if you wonder why the two leaders, Ibori and Wike are venerated in the Niger Delta States, thank their selfless strides that make citizens look to the horizon.
Greg Abolo
