By AKIN OLANIYAN
We have to agree with those who think that a nation’s deepest fissures are often revealed in the most unscripted moments. Why then are people surprised that a piece of property under construction in Abuja’s Gaduwa district became the scene of a drama that was so riveting that video clips of it went viral? Imagine a drama involving the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, a man who symbolises political power, and a young, hitherto unknown military man posted to guard the property. How more interesting can that be? There was no need for a director or script for the video clips of their confrontation served to Nigerians on social media; it was a slice of the Nigerian political reality that became a Rorschach test for public sentiment on the power relations between segments of the Nigerian elite.
We can ignore the question of who is right or wrong in the dispute over the property allocation because the intense and polarised social media conversation that followed offers us far more opportunity to explore the deeper issues behind the confrontation. It is easy to hail the young soldier as a hero of the people and to frame the obviously unpopular Wike as a power-drunk “area father” who likes to bully others but beneath it all is something more profound than the event itself. In the context of our most recent history, it points to a persistent struggle over who controls the narrative, the nature of the postcolonial state, and the emergence of a digital public square that fiercely challenges officialdom.
The confrontation was a masterclass in the performance of power. Wike, arriving with the authority of his office and the Abuja Master Plan, represented the state’s legal-rational claim to order and development. His now-viral threat, “I will call the Army Chief,” was more than a mere statement; it was a performance of influence. It was a move that bypassed the formal chain of command to leverage personal, patrimonial networks – a classic feature of Nigerian political operations. He was demonstrating that his power was not just derived from his office, but from his proximity to the very top of other powerful institutions.
In response, the young soldier’s stoic insistence on following “order from above” was a performance of a different kind of authority. His was not the flamboyant power of the politician, but the disciplined, institutional power of the barracks. He became a symbol of a structure that, at least in theory, operates on command and procedure, not on the whims of a visiting minister. This clash was the perfect spark for the digital tinderbox.
As the digital sphere solidifies as a counter-weight to traditional power, we are left with a critical, unresolved question: What does it mean for a democracy when the uniform of a soldier inspires more public faith and solidarity than the office of a minister?
Almost instantly, social media platforms, particularly X (Twitter), transformed into what political theorist Nancy Fraser would identify as a “counter-public.” This is a parallel discursive space where members of subordinated social groups invent and circulate counter-narratives that challenge those advanced by the dominant state and political apparatus. The official narrative, implied by Wike’s actions, was one of a minister enforcing the law for urban development. The digital counter-public crafted a starkly different one. In their view, this was not about the rule of law; it was about the abuse of power. The soldier was reframed as “David” against the “Goliath” of a corrupt political class. He was the everyday Nigerian, resilient and dutiful, standing up to the oppressive, “toutish” behaviour of an elite that has long held the populace in contempt.
This was not a mere debate; it was the creation of a folk hero. Memes, skits, and supportive threads amplified the soldier’s defiance while caricaturing Wike’s demeanour. The digital space, in this instance, functioned as a court of appeal where the verdict of the powerful could be – and was – overturned by popular sentiment. This is a typical example of how a counter-public can take one ‘small’ event; frame it in their own way as a symbol of systemic failure, which has to be collectively confronted.
The institutional backlash that followed was as telling as the initial confrontation. The strong statements from the Defence Minister and Chief of Defence Staff, condemning the “disrespect” shown to a uniformed officer, were not just about protecting one soldier. They were a defence of institutional sovereignty. This reaction can be understood through the lens of postcolonial state theory, specifically the concept of the “overdeveloped state.” The argument, advanced by scholars like Hamza Alavi, is that in postcolonial societies, the state apparatus – particularly the military and bureaucracy – inherited from the colonial rulers becomes disproportionately powerful and autonomous relative to the civilian political class. While Nigeria has witnessed decades of civilian rule, the military retains a corporate identity and a latent sense of being the ultimate arbiter of national order.
Wike’s threat, dropping the name of the Army Chief appears to be an unintended challenge to deep-seated institutional pride and the pushback from the military’s high command was a clear message: the army might be confined to the barracks, but it remains a power centre with its own hierarchy, dignity, and boundaries that a bloody civilian official must not be allowed to cross. The incident called our attention to the delicate business of establishing unquestioned civilian control over an institution that was once at the helms.
At the heart of this entire episode is a struggle that philosopher Michel Foucault masterfully analysed: the inextricable link between power and knowledge. For Foucault, power is not just about repressing dissent; it is about producing what a society accepts as “truth.” Different institutions compete to define reality.
In the Gaduwa standoff, we witnessed a clash of these competing “truths.”
- Wike’s Truth: Derived from the state’s knowledge system – the Abuja Master Plan, the law on land allocation, the mandate for development. His power was exercised through the claim to be enforcing this objective, legal truth.
- The Soldier’s Truth: Rooted in the military’s knowledge system – the chain of command, the specific orders given, the duty to one’s post. His power was exercised through resistance to an external interruption of this martial truth.
- Social Media’s Truth: Forged in the counter-public, this truth was emotional and moral. It was the “truth” of the common man’s experience with a political class perceived as predatory and arrogant. This truth held that the soldier’s duty was more honourable than the minister’s power.
The viral video became the site of this contest. The Nigerian public, largely disillusioned with the state’s version of reality, overwhelmingly endorsed the social media truth. The soldier’s steadfastness was seen as more authentic and trustworthy than the minister’s legalistic claims. In the economy of truth, Wike’s knowledge was devalued by the public’s pre-existing lived experience.
At the end of it all, the attempt to reclaim the property in Gaduwa might have provided the usual social media drama; but implications of the 47-second standoff reminds us that the power relations in Nigeria remains as complex as it has always been. The incident highlights the fragile nature of the social contract; and the negative sentiment against Wike should be seen as a damning collective statement against the trust deficit within the political class. There is only one way to see this – people are so desperate for symbols of resistance that they will project their hopes onto a single, young soldier.
As the digital sphere solidifies as a counter-weight to traditional power, we are left with a critical, unresolved question: What does it mean for a democracy when the uniform of a soldier inspires more public faith and solidarity than the office of a minister? The answer to that question has the potential to define Nigeria’s political journey far more consequentially than any single confrontation over a plot of land.
Dr. Olaniyan, the Convener, Centre for Social Media Research, Nigeria writes about digital culture
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