Rivers State seems to stand out among states of Nigeria for a case study on relationships between governors and their successors, or even between godfathers/kingmakers and their godsons. Often, it has led to acrimony and political crisis.
Now, Ibim Semenitari, one who should know, daughter of a deputy governor, commissioner in one of the administrations, a public sector strategist, and a public communications expert who is both a reporter, editor, and publisher rolled into one, has come out to analyse the malady with solutionist offerings.
She did this in a treatise termed: ‘The Successor-Leader Dilemma in Balancing Loyalty, Innovation, and Autonomy: Case Studies of Successful Transitions and Lessons Learnt’.
Rivers State seems to be a good case study indeed. Tonye Graham-Douglas, now late, a many times minister and businessman who became godfather was credited for making Peter Odili governor by allegedly convincing his Kalabari and other riverine power brokers to allow power rotate to the upland. He was said to have blocked the most powerful upland politician, Chidi Sergeant Awuse, from grabbing the apple but acceded to appeals by Odili to take the shot. Before his death, Douglas revealed in a memoir how he did a few things during the run-off to wheel the Ogoni block votes to the then Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to make Odili beat Ebenezer Isokrari.
Soon, the relationship between both men soured and rumours of assassinations reared ugly heads, and some of the principal actors were actually assassinated. Douglas even talked about escaping two attempts, one in Lagos and one in Port Harcourt.
Odili was known as Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi’s godfather right from Amaechi’s graduation period when he was accepted into Odili’s PAMO Clinic as a non-medical staff (PRO) to making him Speaker for two terms and governor for two terms. Things however got sour Amaechi felt Odili did not back him up to the hilt in his legal battles against Olusegun Obasanjo’s picking of Celestine Omehia ahead of him (Amaechi) in the Rivers guber wars.
For this, Amaechi declared himself free from loyalty to anybody and went ahead to govern as an independent. Both godfather and godson remained in a frosty relationship to this day, nether cold nor hot, but Odili never contributed to appointments nor polices to the Amaechi administration.
Amaechi was known to have created Wike as a political force from making him Obio/Akpor LGA chairman twice against huge opposition to making him his Chief of Staff in Government House to nominating him as minister. Soon, the baby grew into a giant killer and became governor defeating Amaechi’s pick and went ahead to enthrone an empire (structure) that has annihilated his former godfather.
Just when everybody felt that the succession wars were over and that godfathers and godsons would enter into rapt embrace in governance and provide ‘two heads better than one’ scenario, an earthquake exploded between Wike and Fubara to very high proportions. Thus, the crisis scenario has continued, helping in setting Rivers further back in economic acceleration ambitions against Lagos State that now budgets up to N3.36trn whereas Rivers struggles at N1.18trn, two states that started off in 2010 with N400bn each.
Read also: Rivers crisis now in auto-pilot
Now, Semenitari wants to help the nation understand the concept in successor-leader loyalty crisis and suggest conceptual solutions.
Ibim, a at seminar last week, at a one-day symposium in Port Harcourt examined the paradox of transition, and how to honor a predecessor’s legacy while forging a new path. She looked at this concept from the Nigerian and Rivers State context vis-à-vis the political, business, and cultural expectations of a successor. She looked at why successors often face resistance from loyalists of the outgoing leader and how to manage it. She must have in mind the Enugu scenario of Sullivan Chime and Nnamani where the boys loyal to Nnamani were locked out of Enugu government house the very next morning.
Semenitari looked at the role of loyalty while ensuring stability without being shackled, the value of loyalty when still maintaining stakeholder confidence to prevent drastic disruptions; the risk of over-loyalty which she says can stifle growth, delay critical reforms, and create internal power struggles.
This evokes the Rivers recent scenario where rumours were rife that the former governor wanted absolute control of what happened in the new administration including every expenditure. None has confirmed this, yet, none of the two principal combatants has revealed what exactly is the matter.
Ibim, as she is better known, picked best case studies on the political situation from Paul Kagame (Rwanda) who she said continued key policies from his predecessor while introducing reforms for economic growth. She also examined business succession from Tim Cook (Apple) who maintained Steve Jobs’ core values but expanded into new markets and products.
She insisted that every transition requires fresh ideas to adapt to new realities, and that balancing innovation with existing structures would require engaging key stakeholders to avoid resistance.
She also mentioned as best practice case studies the case of Nelson Mandela (South Africa) who maintained key institutions of the apartheid regime while innovating reconciliation policies; as well as Satya Nadella (Microsoft) who shifted Microsoft’s focus to cloud computing while respecting legacy structures.
For local good examples, she sited the case of Shell’s transition to local content policies in Rivers State and how it balanced legacy operations with Nigerian local content laws.
The harder aspects of the treatise began to crawl out, looking at the hunger or need for sense of autonomy which a successor craves for, if not early but certainly later, which would lead to establishing a unique leadership identity. The scholar who is of late taking course in some universities around examined challenges in asserting autonomy, breaking free from the shadow of a predecessor without appearing disloyal.
She looked at the gaining stakeholder buy-in, and how to communicate vision while keeping key players engaged. For political best case scenarios, she brought in Barack Obama (USA) who maintained key foreign policies from George W. Bush but asserted autonomy in domestic policies. There is also for the business case study the example of Elon Musk (Tesla & SpaceX) who innovated within industries dominated by legacy giants.
There are lessons to draw and ways to achieve them such as clear communication of vision, how leaders successfully articulate their mission while respecting their predecessor’s foundation; gradual vs rapid change where the successor decides when to introduce reforms step by step and when bold decisions are necessary. Many wanted to relate this aspect to the war in Rivers where the predecessor allegedly wanted all, and how any successor could handle this, in the context that Ibim was creating. This seems to demonstrate the fact that Nigerian politics can hardly be conceptualised.
She suggested that political leaders should engage both old and new power blocs, that business leaders should prioritize stakeholder management and incremental change, and that traditional rulers should respect cultural norms while modernizing governance.
On the difficulties of balancing loyalty and autonomy, she said: “While Omehia and Amaechi were political protégées of Odili, yet they each pursued independent paths, building on the previous foundations laid. While Amaechi and Omehia had their differences, Amaechi did not jettison the laudable projects of his predecessor like the Mile 1 market, the Odili free medical care or the Ogoni/Andoni/ Opobo Unity Road started by the Odili administration, rather he completed the Mile 1 market and other roads started by Omehia while introducing other major infrastructure reforms like the model primary schools, and a vibrant primary health care initiative. He also shifted to a more robust agriculture sector programme.”
The lesson, she said, is that transitioning from being a “loyal successor” to an autonomous leader is often necessary for progress. “Jonathan was seen as a loyal deputy to Yar’Adua, but after Yar’Adua’s passing, he pursued a different political and economic agenda, particularly in the Niger Delta.
“It had its own challenge. His initial loyalty helped him secure political legitimacy, but as he asserted autonomy, he faced resistance from powerful interests. The lesson is that a successor must find the right moment to transition from being a continuation figure to an independent leader.
She said when a successor totally carves a different path, it can lead to policy reversal as abandonment of ongoing projects results in financial losses and development setbacks. There is political instability which often creates conflict between former and current administrations. There is public distrust where citizens lose faith in governance when there is no continuity.
A local example of the negative aspect she gave was that Wike did not build on Amaechi’s policies but instead dismantled many projects and this resulted in huge financial waste and political rivalry, leading to prolonged political tensions.
Even at the federal level, she pointed to how President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reversed several Buhari-era economic policies (e.g., fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate liberalization). “While some argue these changes were necessary, they have led to economic hardship and public outcry due to poor transition management.”
She suggested that public interest should be prioritized over political rivalries.
Ibim gave suggestions on how leaders can avoid disruptive transitions. “To ensure smooth leadership transitions without instability, waste, or political conflict, successors should adopt the following strategies: prioritize institutional continuity over personal agendas. Government policies and projects should be driven by long-term strategic plans rather than individual preferences.
“Establishing clear policy blueprints (e.g., Lagos State Development Plan) helps ensure that successors see the bigger picture beyond political interests. Babatunde Fashola continued Tinubu’s Lagos Master Plan but improved implementation rather than discarding it.
“Conduct Proper Transition Planning; Outgoing administrations should leave behind detailed handover notes outlining ongoing projects, challenges, and recommendations. Incoming leaders should engage in a transition dialogue rather than making abrupt reversals. Example: In well-planned transitions (e.g., Nelson Mandela → Thabo Mbeki in South Africa), proper documentation and engagement ensured continuity.
“Review and modify policies rather than abandoning them. Not all policies of a predecessor will be perfect, but rather than outright cancellation, a successor should consider modifying or improving them.”
Many Rivers still mourn the way the N3.6bn Songhai Farms initiative was allowed to rot away instead of either privatizing it or changing management to allow it survive, or how the foreign scholars scheme was yanked off, apparently destroying many young careers.
English (US) ·