Wike criticized for celebrating son’s graduation from foreign university

Nyesom Wike, the Federal Capital Territory’s minister, has drawn criticism for rejoicing over his son’s recent graduation from an international university.

When Wike, the former governor of Rivers State, posted the celebration on his X handle, many, especially Rivers natives, took exception.

Critics pointed out that Wike stopped sponsoring Rivers State students studying overseas through the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency, or RSSDA, in 2015, not long after taking office as governor.

The scholarship programme, initiated by Wike’s predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, became dormant during Wike’s tenure, leaving students and their families in distress.

Wike was accused by irate locals of denying Rivers youths access to international education while paying for his own son’s study abroad.

Also making a comeback online was an old video of Wike speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

In the clip, Wike argued that certain courses, including law, should be studied in Nigeria rather than abroad—coincidentally the same course his son studied overseas.

A Port Harcourt-based youth activist, Charles Jaja, described the situation as hypocritical, questioning why Wike prioritised his son’s education abroad while cancelling similar opportunities for others during his administration.

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According to him, “Years back, former Governor Wike pulled out all Rivers children sent abroad to study at various foreign universities by Rotimi Amaechi’s administration, claiming that Amaechi only wasted Rivers money in sending those children abroad to study courses that could have been offered here in Nigeria.

“Today, he’s on his handle celebrating the graduation of his own son in the UK, where he studied law. Isn’t this hypocritical in every way?

“He acts one way while saying another. Why didn’t he allow his own son to study law here in RSU (Rivers State University) or in any other university in Nigeria?

“It is a complete injustice on his own part to have deprived these children of benefiting from what the state had to offer them, by returning them to Nigeria and not allowing them to complete the course of their dreams where they were sent to study.

“I certainly believe that the cry of these children has risen to God as a memorial and that God will certainly avenge their cries for them. If not now, certainly later.”