There was a time in Nigerian politics when 5 governors moved with such scary unity that even PDP elders began behaving themselves. Wike from Rivers, Makinde from Oyo, Ortom from Benue, Ugwuanyi from Enugu, and Ikpeazu from Abia. These males didn’t simply type a gaggle, they fashioned a covenant. A political gang so tightly packed that I began calling them the Aso ebi Boys. In some unspecified time in the future, their matching outfits grew to become a nationwide safety risk, and Nigerians whispered that the nation may want tailor surveillance.
When 5 grown males in energy begin dressing alike, it’s not vogue. It’s a warning. Matching attires for political warfare may very well be a subject in political science. The best way they coordinated, it seemed like they have been planning to overthrow somebody’s chairman by way of tailoring. Some even joked that their tailor had a pocket book labeled G5 Strategic Materials.
They dressed like wedding ceremony groomsmen on steroids. Similar embroidery, identical cap angle, identical we all know one thing you don’t know swagger. If Wike wore wine senator on Monday, Makinde confirmed up on Tuesday with the identical material however upgraded stitching. Ortom accomplished the look with an identical cap. Ugwuanyi arrived wanting like he ironed everyone’s garments earlier than they got here out. Ikpeazu, the fifth member, blended in with the identical uniform confidence. At one level, I’m satisfied they even began strolling the identical means. Rumours flew that their tailor begged for mercy. Some puzzled in the event that they practiced mirror rehearsals.
Nigerians hadn’t seen that stage of synchronization since NYSC parade.
Even PDP headquarters grew to become humble. Really, the concern of the G5 was the start of knowledge. If the occasion wanted a sign, they didn’t name NEC. They seemed on the material the Aseobi Boys wore. Daring colors meant stress was coming. White meant somebody was about to be politically sacrificed. When the Aseobi Boys moved, the occasion moved.
At some extent, their friendship was louder than PDP’s manifesto.
They travelled collectively, ate collectively, plotted collectively. They have been the Avengers, besides with Kaftans. Their roles have been clear. Wike the talkative normal. Makinde the cool-headed strategist. Ortom the thinker warrior who all the time talked about herdsmen. Ugwuanyi the mild large who spoke principally by way of nodding. Ikpeazu the quiet stabilizer who blended into their unity with out stress.
However like all Nigerian friendships constructed on a standard enemy, sweetness has an expiry date.
Election season arrived.
And election season is the best friendship destroyer in Nigeria.
As soon as campaigns entered the chat, loyalty grew to become non-compulsory. Guarantees began expiring like Gala within the solar. Everybody instantly remembered private curiosity.Their matching garments didn’t simply cease,they tore spiritually, like betrayal had entered the material.
Their WhatsApp group, as soon as buzzing with material samples and assembly plans, instantly went silent. Sooner or later Wike typed Good morning guys and no one replied for six hours. Not even a thumbs up. That was the start of the tip. Somebody muted the group completely. Messages bought learn however ignored. Emojis vanished.
When politicians cease selecting one another’s calls, simply know democracy is about to shake.
Wike was the primary to blow up. When he feels betrayed, even partitions know. He began giving interviews like somebody releasing a memoir. Throwing subtexts round. A few of you might be ungrateful. Nigerians seemed straight at Makinde. Makinde developed selective listening to. G5? Who? I’m specializing in my second time period please.
Ortom? The as soon as fearless lion,defender of the Benue Valley remembered EFCC. That alone humbles any warrior.
Ugwuanyi quietly disappeared. The best way he used to face quietly in group images was the identical means he left the alliance. Silently. With out stress. He unfollowed them spiritually with out touching his cellphone.
Ikpeazu in the meantime grew to become the calmest of the crew. He didn’t combat, didn’t shout, didn’t drag anyone. He merely maintained peace and disappeared gently into political survival mode.
The G5 didn’t simply break up,they left PDP standing like somebody whose tailor dissatisfied on the marriage morning
By 2023, their bromance wasn’t simply collapsing. It was imploding. Wike brazenly supported Tinubu.
Makinde stylishly supported Tinubu too, citing ideas, equity, and grammar. Ortom totally backed Peter Obi. Ugwuanyi refused to again Atiku, floated between Tinubu and Obi, and stayed peaceable.
Ikpeazu saved his distance from Atiku as nicely and didn’t ship the occasion’s anticipated assist.
Atiku didn’t lose that election on the polling items he misplaced it the day the Aseobi Boys stopped selecting his calls. The G5 didn’t simply scatter,they virtually handed Atiku his defeat on a silver platter. 5 governors, every supposedly the spine of PDP, every controlling hundreds of thousands of voters, selected private calculation over occasion loyalty. Their disunity wasn’t noise. It was political demolition. They didn’t have to marketing campaign towards Atiku. Their absence alone was sufficient injury. They didn’t simply weaken him. They crippled his probabilities. If you wish to perceive why Atiku misplaced, don’t look far. Begin with the G5.
Their selections uncovered every thing. The G5 wasn’t a principled motion. It was an influence alliance. As soon as energy got here to the desk, brotherhood grew to become non-compulsory.
All of the sudden the as soon as synchronized males began dressing like strangers. Wike wore white. Makinde wore blue. Ortom wore camouflage of survival. Ugwuanyi wore I don’t need wahala. Ikpeazu wore peace and distance. PDP seen. Nigerians seen. Even INEC seen. The breakup was inevitable. The alliance scattered like low cost Ankara after first wash.
Humorous sufficient, when the mud settled, the one relationship nonetheless standing was the Wike–Ortom friendship. Out of the entire G5 brotherhood, these two in some way remained glued collectively. The alliance scattered, loyalties shifted, garments stopped matching, however Wike and Ortom nonetheless held one another like two survivors of a political shipwreck.
Individuals puzzled how 5 grown males who as soon as behaved like political quintuplets may instantly keep away from one another like ex-friends at a marriage. However the reply is straightforward. Any friendship constructed on energy will collapse the second the ability shifts. And it shifted.
Wike was invited to Abuja for federal participation. As soon as a politician tastes federal air-con, previous friendships turn into souvenirs. He began sitting with folks he as soon as vowed to show. His wardrobe modified. He upgraded from Aseobi to full color rioting textiles with identical colored sneakers a strolling stick and an identical hat full with federal confidence and new laughter.
Makinde, relaxed in his second time period, behaved like an informal observer within the G5 story. Giving interviews like, We had a gaggle however everybody moved on. Moved on from matching garments? Wonders by no means finish. Ortom moved from boldness to survival mode. EFCC has a means of turning lions into motivational audio system. Ugwuanyi continued minding his enterprise with monk-like consistency.
Ikpeazu, essentially the most quiet and least dramatic of the 5, merely went dwelling to relaxation from the political gymnastics. In the long run, the G5 grew to become like each WhatsApp group created throughout a disaster. Energetic within the first week. Half silent within the second. Useless by the third. Ultimately filled with left the group notifications.
For a second, they shook PDP. They shook the occasion a lot that PDP grew to become humble like a person whose spouse instantly is aware of all his ATM PINs. Elders sat up straight each time the Aso ebi Boys spoke. As we speak, the Aso ebi Boys are politically divorced. No extra joint communiques. No extra synchronized threats. No extra matching attires for revolution. Everyone seems to be on his personal in true Nigerian vogue. However one factor stays clear. For a short second, Nigeria witnessed a brotherhood so dramatic, so trendy, so tightly knit, that even Nollywood couldn’t replicate it. And like each Nigerian wedding ceremony, as soon as the aso ebi completed, everybody went dwelling and confronted their life.
The put up Aso Ebi Boys: How G5 governors went from bromance to breakup, by Stephanie Shaakaa appeared first on Vanguard News.
