The Lion and the Jewel

When the stage was set in 1959 for the first performance of that remarkable play The Lion and the Jewel by Nobel laureate, Prof.  Wole Soyinka, the actors here were not yet thoughts on their parent’s minds. They were still in the land of the spirits. Unborn.

Gruff, rugged and spiked with an aggressive mien, there is no finesse about him. He is a lion. He goes for the kill. He knows what he wants. She is the jewel on the crown. Graceful. Beautiful. Smart. Feminine but strong.

 It’s a rather interesting mix. He is a politician. She is a judge.

Ordinarily, these two groups do not mingle. While politicians would gladly fraternize with judges, judges view them with a lot of suspicion.

Well… You’re not surprised; are you? Everyone knows that at the slightest hint of hobnobbing between a judge and a politician, tongues begin to wag.

But that is where the story of this judge and politician differs. Not only do they meet and hold secret meetings, they live together. To tell the truth, they are married. Indeed, they would log 18 years of marital bliss on the 19th of December  2017.

Young Nyesom Ezenwo Wike and Eberechi Suzzette Obuzor were one of the most popular couples on the campus of Nigerian law school, Lagos where they both trained to be lawyers in 1997.

Not at all given to diplomacy, the story is told of how back at law school, the lion would roar at any suspected male contender that dared inch close to the jewel. They all soon knew better than to as much as steal a glance at her.

The duo were called to the Nigerian Bar on the 25th of February, 1998. Today he is the executive governor of Rivers State while she is a judge of the High Court of Justice, in the state.

Born on the 13th of December 1967 to Reverend and Mrs. Nlemanya Wike of Rumuepirikom community in Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike is an administrator, lawyer, and politician.

After a brief spell in private legal practice and in less than three years after leaving law school, Wike who also holds degrees in Political and Administrative Studies not only became the Executive Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area where he served for two terms (1999 to 2002 and 2004 to 2007) but was elected chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria  (ALGON).