By Remmy Hazzan
In stepping into that disputed land-site in Abuja, former Governor Nyesom Wike, the serving Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria attempted to demonstrate his known commitment to enforcement of regulatory norms, signalling that no matter how powerful any person behind a development might be, the law would have its day.
The land in question is allegedly tied to a former Chief of Naval Staff, and Minister Wike chose to confront a uniformed soldier guarding the property, demanding to see documentation and accusing the officer of intimidation. On the surface, the minister’s intervention had moral clarity: THE APPEARANCE OF LAND-GRAB, ILLEGAL or non existing BUILDING APPROVAL, DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT PROPER AUTHORISATION, among other. That is a message many welcome in the face of Nigeria’s long-standing land irregularities.Yet, in the very act of intervening personally, as opposed to coordinating via institutional or military hierarchy hierarchies or channels Wike exposed himself to serious criticism.
The soldier, a junior ranking officer, Navy Lt Ahmad Yerima, who remained composed in the face of the needless theatrics, as noted by external observers/video evidence, shifted the optics: Wike, the senior official, was seen shouting, name-calling (“you are a very big fool… you were still in primary school when I graduated”) and threatening, whereas the soldier responded calmly and insisted he “has integrity.”
Critics argue that Wike failed to respect protocol and stage, thereby undermining his own legitimacy. By engaging at the level of a junior officer rather than elevating instantly to the relevant military command, he allowed the scene to look less like LAWFUL REDRESS and more like a POWER-BRAWL. Such an unforced error lies in how the episode distracted from the substantive issue; ENFORCEMENTS OF LAND-USE REGULATION, and shifted the narrative toward THEATRICS, DISRESPECT, and INSTITUTIONAL FRICTION.
The clash has provoked outrage among lawyers who labeled Wike’s conduct “unprofessional” and “undignified.” By choosing to confront a soldier instead of letting the chain of command manage the issue especially in a case with military links. Minister Wike may have inadvertently elevated the dispute into a matter of CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS, HIERARCHY, RESPECT and PROTOCOL rather than simply enforcement of land laws. In doing so, he risked weakening the normative ground he was standing on: THE RULE OF LAW, DUE PROCESS, REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT, among others.
What should have been a clear message about legality instead became a spectacle about authority and decorum. Simply, Wike’s bold show of enforcement has merit, but the method he chose, a direct confrontation with a junior officer, turned STRATEGIC CLARITY into STRATEGIC MIS-STEP. The question now is whether the original purpose (restoring integrity in land development) will survive the collateral fallout (questions about respect for hierarchy, professionalism, and the rule of law) from the melodrama.
TIME WILL TELL.
ESV Rt Hon. Remmy Hazzan, FNIVS, FCIArb, writes from Yenagoa, Nigeria
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