This aerial view shows business activities at a railway market in Port Harcourt, on October 12, 2026. Political kingmakers in Nigeria -- godfathers -- aren't "just supporting or sponsoring someone, which would have been legitimate. But it's positioning yourself in ultimate control," said Henry Ekine, a legal activist in Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers state, ground zero for the exploits of Nigerian shadow governance in recent years. Along a residential street on the outskirts of Port Harcourt, the road abruptly ends, disappearing under waist-high floodwaters that have swallowed a mixed middle-class and working-class neighbourhood. Businesses are shuttered, and thousands of residents are displaced, forcing some to shell out for hotels for weeks as the water refuses to recede. (Photo by Light Oriye Tamunotonye / AFP via Getty Images)