Opinion
“Mburubu Again: The Truth Behind the Crisis, Key Players, and the Way Forward”
By, Obinna Chukwu.
Mburubu Community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State has been in a traditional leadership imbroglio since 2023, an issue that has kept the community in a negative light in media reportage. While the conflict seemed to be coming to an end between March and September 2025, another round of feud arose in October 2025, with many falsehoods being spread about the history of the community leadership tussle as well as abuses against community members by some interested parties, particularly those affiliated with the current state government. Recently, an empirical fact-finding investigation was conducted to uncover the root causes of this issue with the aim of finding a long-lasting solution, as the atmosphere in Mburubu once again indicated the need for accurate information and collective memory.
The investigation was carried out by Community Peace International, a South East-based Non-Governmental Organization that promotes peace and rural development. The NGO countered the lies propagated by some community leaders interested in the traditional leadership stool in Mburubu and challenged false claims against one of the contenders. Through their work, the complicated journey of Mburubu became clearer to observers who had been confused by conflicting narratives. The intervention opened a window into the forces that have shaped the contest for authority in the community.
On March 6, 2025, Chief Simon Anobi published a piece entitled “Facts Behind Mburubu Igwership Tussle” across various media platforms. Investigation has revealed that his claims were motivated by selfish interests and spread lies about his community. His publication generated tensions and elicited responses from residents who considered the narrative a misrepresentation of events that have long defined the path to leadership selection in the area.
During that period, a community leader, Mr. Edwin Ezeh, wrote a piece to counter the falsehoods and published it in media houses. The publication refuted all the lies and called for all parties to withdraw their court cases and test their popularity directly among the people. He emphasized that history must precede politics and that every contender must embrace the truth that guided the founders of the community structure in the past. His position reopened old memories of how leadership emerged in Mburubu, which prompted the investigation from the NGO.
Mburubu Leadership Origin
Mburubu Community Igweship began in 1976 when the community chose their late Igwe, HRH E. M. O. Ezeh. Before his coronation, the community gathered and called him to lead them because of his love for and contributions to their growth. Prior to his emergence, Mburubu had chiefs who represented them, such as Chief Chukwu Anyiene from Obinagu, another from Uhuagu, and others. The late E. M. O. Ezeh hailed from Umudara. The people saw his leadership as a continuation of their collective progress and embraced him with trust.
In line with military government directives, Mburubu Community agreed to have an Igwe, and he was crowned in April 1976. Around July 1976, the government led by Col. Arthur Mkpere gave him a certificate of recognition and a staff of office. During his coronation at Umudara village square, the late Igwe asked Ndi Mburubu if he could be succeeded by his son whenever his reign came to an end. The community said no, stating that his Igweship was a result of his good deeds to them. Thus, his successor would come from any other village except Umudara and must be someone accepted by the majority of Ndi Mburubu. That was the origin of the rotation system, which means the Igwe would come from a village that was not that of the late Igwe and must be elected by the majority. This agreement was signed by the late Igwe and other stakeholders in the community as a constitution for Igweship selection, also known as the 1976 Mburubu Autonomous Community Constitution, which is gazetted with the Enugu State Government.
At that time, despite the late Igwe being the majority choice, the late Anthony Nweke Chukwu from Uhuagu village and another man from Umudara contested against him. However, the late Igwe E. M. O. Ezeh was not selected based on the seniority of his village, Umudara, but on his popularity and good deeds to the community. In 1976, Uhuegbe village was recognized as the eldest village in Mburubu and received every accolade associated with that status. However, in 1977, a man from Umudara village, the late Ogbede Nwaonyeabor, took an oath and swore that Uhuegbe village was not the eldest in Mburubu but rather Umudara. Umudara village had settled in Mburubu before Uhuegbe, as Mburubu people were made up of different settlers from different areas. His action triggered debates that lingered for years and shaped the identity of the community.
In Igbo tradition, when someone takes an oath or swears before a deity, they are given one year to die or stay alive. If they survive, the other party is expected to purify them through ị́gwa ehụ, a traditional purification. However, Uhuegbe village refused to perform the purification after that period in 1978. Umudara village later carried it out and claimed the position of the eldest village in 1978. It is worthy of note that Uhuegbe village still contests the seniority issue to this day. The seniority conversation, therefore, remains a matter of perspective rather than a concluded fact.
Hitherto, no other village has taken any action to establish who comes next in seniority after Umudara, which means there is no known or verifiable order of seniority documented. These developments made it clear that the community’s late Igwe was not elected based on village seniority. His emergence was grounded in community trust and service to the people.
The 2003 Mburubu Town Union Constitution
It was discovered that before 2003, many people had led Mburubu unions since 1970 after the war under the name Mburubu Progressive Union (MPU), which independently ran the affairs of the union. Leaders included Chief Nweke Onovo, Chief Sylvanus Njoku, and the late Chief Emmanuel Ezechukwu, with their own union constitutions. Their work defined the early democratic life of the community.
In 1993, a team of intellectuals from the community, led by Engr. Dr. D. C. Chukwu, came together to advocate for the establishment of a proper constitution to guide the union, which they successfully implemented. That constitution contained nothing linking the town union regulatory system with traditional leadership.
The community had other Town Union Presidents, including Chief Boniface Ogbede, the late Patrick Ifediora, and Mr. Livinus Edeh, who led effectively under the 1993 constitution. Their work maintained stability in community administration and established important precedents.
Conflict arose with the emergence of Chief Simon Anobi as a factional Town Union President and Chief Boniface Ogbede as another factional President in July 2003. Chief Simon Anobi was inaugurated with his faction in August 2003 and set up a committee led by the late Mr. Aniebonam Igbudu to write a new constitution, claiming there was no other constitution for the town union. Their action opened a new chapter of conflict in the political history of Mburubu.
During this process, no member of the Igwe cabinet was involved, no Igwe representative participated, and no discussion on the traditional institution occurred during the drafting of the constitution, as the traditional stool operates under established rules. The late Aniebonam Igbudu managed to smuggle several items into that factional constitution without community leaders’ knowledge, likely due to personal interests. In the 2003 Mburubu Town Union Constitution, Mr. Simon Anobi single-handedly extended his tenure from three years to five years.
The illegal constitution positioned the community’s Igwe as the Board of Trustees Chairman and patron of the town union, requiring his signatory. However, some village chairmen and other town unions across Mburubu refused to sign it. It was later rejected by the entire community. The propagators later used colleagues to sign secretly.
On January 4, 2004, the community convened at Obodo Uhuegbe Village Square to resolve the town union issue. They agreed that all actions by either factional Town Union President were null and void. Stakeholders preached for peace and ordered a confirmatory election where all male members aged 18 and above would vote to select the Town Union President between Chief Simon Anobi and Chief Boniface Ogbede. Chief Simon Anobi won and continued with his executives. This established that the 2003 town union constitution, drafted and signed between August and December 2003, was nullified by the community, and the confirmation election was conducted by the people, not delegates.
Town Union Elections
Some leadership interested parties became very powerful and consistently disregarded the majority opinion. Their economic influence allowed them to impose their will, especially regarding manipulations in the 2003 town union constitution and the zoning of executive positions.
Findings also noted that one of the late Igwe’s sons and Chief Simon Anobi influenced leadership selection in the community, including imposing the late Mr. Celestine Chukwu from Uhuagu Village despite local rejection. Due to lack of opposition, they initially succeeded. However, conflicts arose between the cabal and Celestine Chukwu over amendments to the 2003 town union constitution, already due for revision. Chukwu set up a constitutional amendment committee comprising men of wisdom from villages and branches, while the late Igwe nominated a representative.
The 2013 amendment was completed, removing the Igwe’s son’s power to control the election screening committee, as stated in the 2003 constitution. He then went to court to challenge the amendment. The case remained dormant due to limited resources.
After the expiration of Chukwu’s tenure, the late Igwe’s son zoned the presidency to Uhuegbe Village in favor of Ọzọ Kenneth Igbudu. Chief Simon Anobi opposed Igbudu’s candidacy, claiming he was a cousin to Celestine Chukwu, with past conflicts, and supported Chief Cornelius Okolie instead. Despite this, the people of Uhuegbe unanimously selected Mr. Calistus Chukwu, rekindling agitation as the cabal imposed their choice.
Afterward, Prince Ezeh, the late Igwe’s son, zoned the town union presidency to Obinagu Village to favor his personal driver, Hon. Emmanuel Edeh. Obinagu villagers rejected this and elected Ọzọ Sylvanus Chukwudi, popularly known as Morgodor, who won overwhelmingly. Prince Ezeh imposed Hon. Edeh on the community, disregarding principles of equity, fairness, and natural justice. His leadership symbolized the conflict between popular will and imposed authority.
Emergence of Engr. Dr. Jerry Patrick Onuokaibe
After the late Igwe’s death in December 2021 and burial in April 2022, the community mourned for over a year and decided to select a successor. A meeting was held at Obodo Uhuegbe Village Square with all people, the late Igwe cabinet, and the General Assembly. The community sought someone who would serve like the late Igwe, prioritize the community’s interest, bring development, be young and vibrant, and hold an Ọzọ title.
After deliberation and following the 1976 coronation agreement, Ọzọ Jerry Patrick Onuokaibe was chosen by the overwhelming majority. A delegation informed him of the decision. After consultations, he accepted. His name was submitted to the local government, then to the Ministry of Local Government Rural Development and Chieftaincy Matters between December 28, 2023, and January 6, 2024.
On February 2, 2024, the community held a grand reception for him, funded by community donations. Prince Ezeh and Simon Anobi attempted to disrupt the event using thugs, but the community intervened. Prince Ezeh even attempted to arrest Hon. Njoku Ifeanyi a day before the reception, which was prevented by community leaders and Ọzọ Jerry Patrick Onuokaibe. Vulnerable villagers attending the event were harassed, but intervention from Onuokaibe and security agencies ensured their safety.
Prince Ezeh’s Attempt to Impose an Igwe
While his father’s remains were still in the morgue, Prince Ezeh and Mr. Simon Anobi attempted to exploit outcasts to give Chief Simon Anobi access to the Igwe stool. This move was resisted by the community, who had capable defenders to match their oppressors.
Critical but Unanswered Questions
The community continues to ask Prince Ezeh and his cohorts: Where was the 2003 Town Union constitution when Chief Simon Anobi was taken to the governor after the late Igwe’s death for recognition? Where was the constitution when Hon. Emmanuel Edeh campaigned to be Igwe? Why reference this constitution when imposing town union presidents?
Igweship Selection Election
Prince Ezeh, Chief Simon Anobi, and their cohorts attempted to conduct an Igweship election using the controversial 2003 Town Union constitution, not approved or gazetted by the Enugu State Government, rather than the 1976 Mburubu Autonomous Community Constitution. The draft recognized six villages instead of seven and allowed only 18 delegates to vote, disregarding the community’s population of over 30,000. A court injunction prevented what could have been a disastrous election.
The Way Forward
Courts do not give communities traditional rulers; the people do. Mburubians must unite, withdraw all court cases, reject violence and intimidation, and allow the precedent of 1976 to guide the process. All parties should test their popularity among male and female indigenes aged 18 and above, as done in January 2004 during the confirmation election of the Town Union President.
Opinion
SEYI TINUBU AND THE CITY BOYS MOVEMENT: Building A New Architecture For Nigerian Youth In Politics And Nation-Building
When history records the political organizing of Nigeria in the 2020s, the name Seyi Tinubu will feature prominently not just as the son of a president, but as the convener who gave structure to youthful energy through the City Boys Movement.
What began as a campaign vehicle in 2022 has since evolved. Seyi Tinubu himself described it at the movement’s national retreat in Abuja as “more than just the opening of a retreat. It is the beginning of a movement” dedicated to service and the Renewed Hope vision.
That evolution matters. For too long, youth engagement in Nigeria oscillated between protest and apathy. The City Boys Movement offers a third lane: organized, institutional, and solution-driven participation.
On youth advocacy, the CBM has redefined what advocacy can look like. Instead of shouting from the sidelines, its members are being trained to enter rooms, ask questions, and propose answers.
Seyi Tinubu challenged the movement to move beyond defending government to “reconnecting Nigerians with government.” That is advocacy with responsibility — explaining policy, listening to feedback, and carrying both back to Abuja.
In governance communication, the gap between policy makers and citizens has been Nigeria’s oldest problem. CBM is attempting to close it by deploying young people as policy translators.
With reforms like subsidy removal and naira floatation straining households, the movement positioned itself as a buffer — not to deny the pain, but to explain the purpose with facts and empathy.
The directive from its Patron was clear: engagement must be “responsible, factual and compassionate.” That is a maturity we rarely demand of youth politics, and it is changing the tone of conversations in markets, campuses, and wards.
Visible participation is where the theory meets the street. CBM has deliberately taken its meetings out of Abuja hotels and into communities across the 36 states and FCT.
From free medical outreaches to campus visits, members are showing up where government is felt most — in clinics, in schools, in queues.
That visibility sends a message to young Nigerians: politics is not a distant game. It is something you can touch, join, and shape.
Perhaps the most consequential shift is institutionalization. The movement has moved from a loose WhatsApp group to a formal structure with a National Working Committee, State Directors, and representation down to Zonal, LGA and Ward levels.
This matters because structure creates accountability. It creates a ladder for a 24-year-old in Oron, a 28-year-old in Kano, or a 30-year-old in Enugu to rise through service, not just slogans.
The stated target of mobilizing 10 million youth votes for 2027 is ambitious, but the method is instructive: “real people, real members, real engagement and hard work at the grassroots,” according to the Director-General.
On relief and welfare, the City Boys Movement has chosen to lead with service. Nationwide food distribution during Ramadan and Lent, medical missions, and direct support to vulnerable households have become part of its brand.
These are not photo ops. In a season of economic adjustment, relief builds trust. Trust is the currency of governance, and youth are spending it in their communities.
Direct empowerment is the next pillar. Through programs tied to Seyi Tinubu’s initiatives, thousands have received grants, business support, and tools to start or scale.
In Ogun State alone, the model included ₦500,000 grants for 50 SMEs, ₦200,000 for 100 micro-businesses, and up to ₦5m for tech innovation winners.
Furniture donations to primary schools and cash grants to market women show the movement understands that empowerment must be both aspirational and immediate.
This is advocacy that pays school fees, stocks a shop, and buys drugs. It tells a young person: your government sees you, and your peers are in the room making it happen.
Geopolitical outreach is another area where CBM is breaking new ground. By appointing high-profile regional directors and pushing into the South-East, the movement is testing whether youthful messaging can transcend old party lines.
The goal is not to erase differences, but to create a national conversation where youth in every zone see themselves in the same project.
That is nation-building work. It is slow, unglamorous, and necessary.
The movement also offers a critical safety valve: channeling youthful frustration into structured civic engagement rather than into street confrontations.
That is not about silencing dissent. It is about giving dissent an address, a process, and a path to influence.
Critics will argue that youth groups tied to power risk becoming echo chambers. The test for CBM will be whether it can carry hard feedback upward as boldly as it carries policy downward.
Early signs suggest the leadership knows this. The repeated calls for empathy, for listening, and for “scratching only the surface” of what can be accomplished point to an awareness that legitimacy must be earned daily.
Seyi Tinubu’s role has been to provide patronage without suffocation — to fund, to convene, and then to step back enough for members to own the work.
If the City Boys Movement sustains this model, it could leave behind more than votes. It could leave behind a template: how to institutionalize youth energy, communicate governance honestly, and turn relief into resilience.
Nigeria does not need more spectators. It needs more builders. In Seyi Tinubu and the City Boys Movement, we are watching an experiment to see if Nigerian youth can be organized not just to win elections, but to govern, to serve, and to stay. The early chapters suggest it is possible.
CHINEDUM ENYINNAYA ORJI writes from Amaokwe Ugba, Umuahia Ibeku, Abia State.
Opinion
The Real Ethnic Bigotry Is Ugwuagbo’s Dangerous Ethnic Stereotyping, Not Governor Mbah’s Appointments
By Dan Nwomeh
There is an obvious irony in a write-up accusing Governor Peter Mbah, an Igbo governing an overwhelmingly Igbo state, of the absurd practice of ethnic bigotry against his own people by favouring Yoruba people over fellow Igbo, while repeatedly reducing Nigerians to their ethnic identities and presenting the presence of a few Yoruba professionals in the Enugu State Government as evidence of “Yorubanisation” of the state. “Since coming into office, Governor Mbah has demonstrated a clear preference to work with Yorubas than with Enugu people” (sic), the author recklessly charged.
The real ethnic bigotry in this disingenuous attempt to contrive a controversy is not in Governor Mbah’s decision to appoint a handful of people from other parts of Nigeria; it is in one Ugwuagbo Chizoba’s dangerous ethnic stereotyping of those appointees and his attempt to turn their Yoruba identity into a reason for questioning their competence or qualification to serve Enugu State.
This is an important distinction, because a governor who searches for the best hands wherever he can find them is not practising ethnic bigotry. He is instead practising the very cosmopolitanism that a modern, ambitious state like Enugu needs. A writer who examines the performance of a public official, regardless of where that person comes from, is doing legitimate scrutiny. But when the principal evidence offered against an appointee is that he or she is Yoruba, and when a few Yoruba professionals serving Enugu State are presented collectively as evidence of a sinister ethnic pattern, the argument ceases to be about competence and becomes an exercise in ethnic stereotyping dressed up as political criticism.
That is precisely what the said Ugwuagbo Chizoba does in his write-up with the inflammatory and inciting title, “Ethnic Bigotry: Governor Mbah’s Yorubanization of Enugu and the Questions That Are Becoming Too Difficult to Ignore”. In the write-up, Ugwuagbo tells us that ethnic bigotry means being prejudiced against people because of their ethnic group. Then, almost immediately, he begins identifying the people he considers unfit for public office primarily by their ethnicity; a “Yoruba woman” here, an “incompetent Yoruba man” there, and even “Yoruba girls” allegedly occupying positions around Government House. Their ethnic identities are repeatedly placed at the centre of the narrative, as though being Yoruba is itself a relevant qualification for determining whether they deserve to hold public office in Enugu.
This is the fundamental contradiction that destroys the entire write-up. You cannot credibly denounce ethnic bigotry while making ethnicity the central basis of your case against public officials and repeatedly highlighting their ethnic origins, yet offering no credible evidence to support the serious allegations of incompetence you make against them, as one would ordinarily expect from a so-called journalist.
If a Yoruba professional is appointed in Enugu, the appointment is presented by Ugwuagbo as evidence of “Yorubanisation.” But he never seriously considers the obvious alternative explanation, which is simply that the governor may have chosen someone he believed possessed the experience or competence required for the job. That is a remarkably convenient way to cobble together a piece of political propaganda. The ethnicity of the appointee becomes the evidence, the conclusion and the accusation all at once.
Beyond the blatant falsehoods, including the false attribution of certain government positions and institutional leadership roles to Yoruba people who do not actually hold them, the write-up is conspicuously devoid of evidence to substantiate the serious allegations it makes.
Take the case of Ladi Akeredolu-Ale, who is described dismissively as an “incompetent Yoruba man.” What is the evidence offered for this sweeping conclusion? Zilch. Yet Akeredolu-Ale came into the Enugu State Broadcasting Service leadership with decades of broadcasting experience, including senior management experience at Channels Television and previous leadership of the Ondo State Radio and Television Corporation.
One may certainly question his performance at ESBS. Public officials should be subjected to scrutiny. But the relevant questions are: What targets were set for him? What resources were available? What did he inherit? What has he accomplished or failed to accomplish? What measurable indicators demonstrate incompetence? His Yoruba ancestry answers none of those questions.
Had Ugwuagbo risen above his clannish insularity and parochial outlook and taken the time to examine the pedigree of these appointees, he might have been far more circumspect, and perhaps even humbled by their credentials rather than scoffing so derisively at their competence and addressing them with such intemperate disrespect.
Adenike Okebu brings formidable professional credentials to her role as Senior Special Adviser on Revenue, including a BSc in Accounting from OAU, Ile-Ife, MSc in Finance from Nottingham Trent University, Fellow of ICAN, Certified Fraud Examiner, Chartered Certified Forensic Accountant, Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and Member of the Institute of Directors. With experience spanning EY Nigeria, Deloitte, BUA Group, Platform Capital and Pinnacle Oil and Gas, she combines Big Four audit experience with expertise in revenue assurance, financial governance and fraud detection. In Enugu, she has been central to efforts to plug revenue leakages, modernise revenue administration and drive the exponential growth of the state’s IGR, while also mentoring accounting students at the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, helping to bridge academic training and professional practice.
Governor Mbah’s Special Adviser on Health, Dr. Yomi Jaye, is a medical doctor and healthcare-management professional with more than two decades of experience across Africa and the United States, with qualifications including MBBS, MBA and a Master of Public Health from the University of Liverpool, as well as international training at Harvard Medical School and MIT. In his role, he has brought his clinical, public-health and management expertise to Enugu’s healthcare reforms, helping to secure long-delayed accreditation and upgrades for the state’s medical and nursing training institutions, including the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria’s approval of a 350-student admission quota for Medicine and Dentistry at ESUT (the highest admission quota approved for any medical school in Nigeria at the time), and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria’s accreditation of ESUT’s Nursing Sciences programme. Beyond government, his private-sector and philanthropic work includes founding Cecy Health Consult and the Cecilia Oyebola Foundation, which recently supported healthcare interventions including the renovation and re-equipping of the neonatal ward at ESUTH Teaching Hospital, Parklane.
Dr. Akinbayo Olasoji, Commander of the Enugu State Forest Guard, combines advanced academic training with decades of high-level security experience, having retired from the Nigeria Police Force as a Deputy Commissioner of Police just before his appointment, after serving in senior operational positions, including the strategic DCP Operations at the Enugu State Police Command. He holds a PhD and has brought his policing and intelligence experience to the professionalisation of the Forest Guard, strengthening its operational structure, inter-agency collaboration and community-based security strategy. Under his command, the Forest Guard has participated in significant security operations, including the rescue of kidnapped victims from forest hideouts, demonstrating that the organisation is evolving into a serious component of the state’s security architecture.
Captain Tolu Ita, the CEO and Accountable Manager of Enugu Air, is a highly experienced aviation professional whose credentials combine technical expertise, executive leadership and international exposure. She was trained and licensed as a pilot in Nigeria and the United States and has nearly 20 years of professional experience in aviation and business, including a distinguished career at Aero Contractors, where she rose to become Dash-8 Fleet Manager. She has also held other senior executive positions, serving in aviation policy and regulatory advisory roles involving ICAO and AFCAC, and undertaken executive training at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. As CEO of Enugu Air, she has already overseen a major achievement in securing the airline’s Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in just five months and three weeks, compared with the typical 15–24-month process, with the NCAA commending the airline for meeting the required safety and operational standards.
Taken together, these appointments represent less than three per cent of Governor Mbah’s top-level appointments over the past three years, a statistically insignificant fraction of the administration’s overall appointments, yet each demonstrates its willingness to deploy people with proven professional competence and relevant experience to demanding portfolios.
If then a governor appoints a person from another ethnic group because that person has the required qualification and experience, what exactly is wrong with that? It is called meritocracy, not ethnic bigotry. And Peter Mbah has a particularly compelling personal reason for believing in that philosophy. Mbah is not a man whose worldview was formed within the narrow boundaries of his ancestral community. His business career is a practical demonstration of the benefits of a cosmopolitan Nigeria.
He built Pinnacle Oil and Gas from scratch into a leading energy business in Lagos. The company’s Lekki terminal, inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in October 2022, was described by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission as a $1 billion investment and as a strategic national asset. The project was developed as a massive petroleum storage and distribution infrastructure occupying a large expanse of land within the Lekki Free Zone.
Think about it for a moment. An Igbo businessman from Enugu went to Lagos and built a massive oil and gas infrastructure project in Yoruba land. It could not have happened without the accommodating disposition of the Yoruba owners and host communities, Lagos authorities, regulators, financial institutions, and the many Nigerians who worked with him.
The success of Pinnacle is therefore not merely a business story. It is also a powerful demonstration of what is possible when Nigerians are allowed to live, work, invest and build outside the narrow confines of their ethnic homelands. That is the Nigeria Peter Mbah knows. And that is the Nigeria an ambitious Enugu must build. Imagine if Lagos had adopted the parochial logic of Ugwuagbo’s write-up. Someone could have said: Why should an Igbo man be allowed to build a massive petroleum terminal here when there are Lagosians who can do it? Why should an Igbo businessman be entrusted with such a strategic investment? Fortunately, Lagos did not think that way. It judged the investment on its economic value, the company’s capacity, regulatory compliance, financing and the potential benefit to the state and the country. That is precisely how Enugu should work.
And many Igbo have been beneficiaries of the cosmopolitan attitude that Ugwuagbo now seems to regard as anathema when applied in Enugu. Let’s consider Ben Akabueze, an Igbo man who served as Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget from January 2007 to May 2015, first appointed by Governor Bola Tinubu and subsequently reappointed for two terms by Governor Babatunde Fashola. This was not a mere decorative position. Economic Planning and Budget is among the most strategically important portfolios in any state government. Were there no competent Yoruba economists and accountants in Lagos? There is also Joe Igbokwe, an Igbo from Anambra who became a prominent political figure in Lagos and rose through the ranks of the Lagos political establishment before being appointed by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2019 as Special Adviser on Drainage and Water Resources.
Unbeknown to Ugwuagbo and his nativistic fellow travellers, people of South East origin have occupied, and continue to occupy, substantial professional and career positions in Lagos State’s public service, including within the directorate cadre and the education system. A friend from Enugu State who lives in Lagos once told me about his wife’s experience at an interview for recruitment into the Lagos State Local Government Service. He expressed his utter surprise that her ethnic origin was never raised or even discussed throughout the process. She is now serving in the directorate cadre of the Lagos State public service. In the state’s education system, a significant number of people of South-East origin also serve as secondary school principals. Lagos has also repeatedly elected state and federal lawmakers of Igbo extraction since the return to democracy in 1999.
The examples go beyond Lagos. In Ekiti State, Governor Biodun Oyebanji appointed four Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants of Igbo origin to serve in his administration. In Kaduna, Governor Uba Sani appointed Igbo professionals to senior advisory positions. In Osun, Governor Ademola Adeleke appointed Prof. Chinwe Obuaku-Igwe, an Igbo and United Nations-certified climate-change expert, as the Director-General and Special Envoy to the Governor on Climate Change and Renewable Energy, placing her directly under the governor with responsibility for high-level partnerships, climate action and renewable-energy initiatives. This is precisely the sort of thing that should be happening in every Nigerian state.
Take aviation, which is obviously of new interest to Ugwuagbo. When the Ekiti State Government commissioned the Ekiti Airport in Ado-Ekiti, it entered into a partnership with United Nigeria Airlines, owned by an Igbo businessman, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, to operate commercial flights linking Ado-Ekiti with Lagos and Abuja. A Yoruba state built an airport and its first commercial airline operator was an airline owned by an Igbo businessman. Did anybody in Ekiti scream “Igbonisation”?
The double standard in Ugwuagbo’s argument is as embarrassing as it is insulting to sensibilities. If an Igbo professional is appointed in Lagos, we celebrate it as evidence that Lagos is open and cosmopolitan. If an Igbo-owned company wins a major commercial opportunity in another state, we call it enterprise and success. When an Igbo professional is appointed to the highest echelons of an institution or elected to a sensitive public position in the United States, Canada or Europe, we celebrate it as proof that merit can transcend racial and national boundaries.
But if a Yoruba professional is appointed in Enugu, suddenly the same principle becomes “Yorubanisation”.
The contradiction becomes even more glaring when we consider the Igbo experience as sojourners. The Igbo are among Nigeria’s most geographically dispersed and commercially mobile populations. Our people live, work and invest in virtually every part of the country and around the world. Igbo-owned businesses operate outside the South-East on an enormous scale.
It is therefore difficult to understand why an ethnic group whose economic success has depended so heavily on moving beyond its ancestral homeland would suddenly become threatened by other Nigerians moving into Enugu. Why should the most travelled major ethnic group in Nigeria become xenophobic about who works in Enugu?
There is an even more disturbing dimension to this campaign of ethnic suspicion and antagonism. At a time when Nigerians, including many Igbo, are once again facing the ugly consequences of xenophobic hostility in South Africa, it should concern every responsible Nigerian that anyone would deliberately promote a similar sentiment against fellow Nigerians at home. We know how deeply unsettling such developments are to us, particularly because Igbo constitute a significant part of Nigeria’s commercial and professional community in South Africa. So we should be extremely careful about normalising the same mentality amongst ourselves. If we condemn South Africans for saying Nigerians do not belong in South Africa, we should be extremely careful about saying Yoruba people do not belong in Enugu.
For context, I want to say something directly to Ugwuagbo Emmanuel Chizoba, a local champion of ethnic and primordial bigotry and sectional hatred, and to those who encourage and amplify his xenophobic rhetoric. I welcome the opportunity to work alongside Yoruba colleagues in government. I have never regarded ethnicity as a barrier to competence, friendship or professional excellence. I am a proud product of the University of Lagos, where I was not only a merit-based Unilag Scholar, but also graduated top of my class, winning the Professor Gabriel Olusanya Prize for the Best Graduating Student in History. I studied in a faculty whose teaching staff was predominantly Yoruba. Yet throughout my years at Unilag, I never suffered discrimination from my Yoruba lecturers because I was Igbo. On the contrary, they taught me, challenged me, encouraged me and helped me become who I am today. I also earned a master’s degree from the same institution.
Without mincing words, if, as has been widely alleged in political circles, this campaign of ethnic profiling is connected to interests aligned with the 2027 governorship ambitions of Chief Uche Nnaji, a factional PDP gubernatorial aspirant currently facing multiple criminal charges, and Ugwuagbo is merely serving as one of their political minions and a hack writer, then every lover of inter-ethnic harmony should be deeply concerned. Whatever the political disagreements in Enugu State, no ambition is worth poisoning inter-ethnic relations or encouraging citizens to view fellow Nigerians through the dangerous prism of ethnicity. It is particularly troubling that anyone whose public and political journey benefited from the openness, accommodation and inclusiveness that have long characterised Yoruba society would now be associated with rhetoric capable of breeding suspicion against the very people who exemplified those values. Nnaji was appointed a minister by a president of Yoruba descent, yet it raised no dust. Politics must never descend into ethnic baiting and scapegoating.
History offers painful warnings. Rwanda did not descend into genocide overnight. It began with persistent ethnic labelling, stereotyping and the gradual dehumanisation of fellow citizens until political competition became an ethnic confrontation. Every responsible political actor must therefore reject language that profiles entire people or seeks to make ethnicity itself a ground for public suspicion. Nigeria has paid too high a price for division to permit such dangerous narratives to gain legitimacy in our democratic discourse. No one should ever seek to incite another civil war by exploiting ethnic sentiments merely to advance selfish political interests.
Yet, there is another inconvenient fact the writer seems not to have noticed. Enugu has never been defined by intolerance toward people of other ethnicities. From its emergence as a major administrative, commercial and industrial centre, the city has attracted workers, traders and professionals from different parts of Nigeria and beyond, giving it a distinctly cosmopolitan character. Its history is deeply intertwined with migration, commerce and national integration. As Governor Mbah would say, many of the non-indigenes living in the city for more than 100 years have the placentas of their forefathers buried here in Enugu. Enugu has streets and landmarks carrying the names of prominent non-Igbo Nigerians. There are major streets named after Adegoke Adelabu and Obafemi Awolowo, amongst others. This is part of the history of a Nigerian city that has always been bigger than a village boundary.
Ugwuagbo is perfectly entitled to oppose Peter Mbah or to continue wailing in frustration and despair as his administration exceeds expectations and becomes harder and harder to challenge ahead of the next governorship election. However, the governor’s responsibility is to continue delivering results for the people of Enugu State.
Opinion
OPEN LETTER TO GOV NWIFURU: Time to Stop the Forceful Takeover of People’s Lands in Abakaliki (Part 1)
OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY, THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF EBONYI STATE, CHIEF FRANCIS OGBONNAYA NWIFURU
Time to Stop the Forceful Takeover of People’s Lands in Abakaliki (Part 1)
“The hottest place in hell is reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, choose to remain silent.” — Frantz Fanon
I recently came across a statement on social media attributed to the Honourable Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Chief Matthew Nwobashi, in which he announced that the Ebonyi State Government had revoked the EBSU Pocket Layout on the grounds that it was allocated to private individuals for estate development, describing the allocation as a “mistake” made by the previous administration.
This position appears to contradict the fact that, under the administration of former Governor Engr. David Umahi, and pursuant to laws enacted by the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, the land was lawfully allocated to qualified developers following due advertisement by the Bureau of Public Procurement and the completion of the prescribed allocation process. Developers subsequently invested in and began developing the land in reliance on the sanctity of the law.
Against this backdrop, I wish to make the following observations:
Any deliberate attempt to dispossess citizens of lawfully acquired land is not only unjust but also sets a dangerous precedent in our state.
The Commissioner for Lands and Survey has reportedly justified the recovery of lands by describing previous allocations as “mistakes.” If this assertion is accepted, then the reported recovery of over 30 loading bays at the Central Park in Abakaliki, allegedly generating more than ₦100 billion without Executive Council or House of Assembly approval, raises serious legal and accountability concerns.
The Commissioner’s comments could create the impression that your administration is pursuing a policy of land recovery driven by considerations other than the public interest. This perception is reinforced by the forceful takeover of land at Park Residential Estate for the establishment of a batching plant within a residential neighbourhood. The demolition of properties reportedly valued at over ₦10 billion, without compensation to the owners, has raised widespread concern.
It is difficult to reconcile the revocation of the EBSU Pocket Layout with the provisions of the Ebonyi State laws that created the layout and sought to protect investments made therein. Having served as Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly when these laws were enacted, Your Excellency is well acquainted with their intent. Revoking allocations made under those laws raises questions about respect for due process, legal certainty, and investor confidence.
As Governor, you serve all the people of Ebonyi State, irrespective of clan or political affiliation. Those whose lands have been forcefully acquired deserve justice, appropriate compensation where applicable, and fair treatment under the law.
The welfare and well-being of the people of Ebonyi State should remain the foremost priority of your administration. Government policies should inspire confidence rather than deepen hardship and uncertainty.
I offer these views in good faith and in the interest of justice and good governance. While I recognize that expressing such opinions may attract criticism or even reprisals, I remain undeterred. I have personally suffered substantial losses, which I attribute to actions taken by the state government, and I remain convinced that justice and accountability ultimately prevail.
Chief Igwe Emmanuel
SLA to the Deputy Senate President
*By Kamen Chuks Ogbonna*.
The political landscape of Nigeria, particularly in the Southeast, has been set abuzz following the announcement by the Governor of Imo State and National Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors (RHA), His Excellency Hope Uzodinma.
The appointment of 16 high-caliber directors to lead the RHA’s nationwide directorates is not merely an administrative exercise; it is a clear signal that the countdown to 2027 has begun with a surgical focus on grassroots mobilization.
While the list features several heavyweights—including Tunde Rahman (Media), Sunday Dare (Digital Media), and Muiz Banire, SAN (Legal)—one name has sent a specific jolt through the opposition: Chief Olisa Metuh.
For those who observed the peak years of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the name Chief Olisa Metuh is synonymous with high-stakes political engineering.
Metuh, often described as a “political warhorse,” rose through the ranks from ex-officio, auditor to the formidable National Publicity Secretary of the party whose big shoes never got filled after his exit.
He was the “Maverick” who preferred the shadows but whose tactical fingerprints were visible on every major victory the PDP recorded during its era of dominance.
History recalls that when the PDP faced its darkest hours post-2015, it was Metuh who acted as the anchor, preventing the party from sinking.
He was the mastermind behind the emergence of Bukola Saraki as Senate President alongside PDP’s Ike Ekweremadu as deputy and the elevation of Hon. Yakubu Dogara as Speaker—moves that effectively ran rings around the then-ruling APC under President Buhari.
His track record in the Southeast is equally legendary. From orchestrating Peter Obi’s move into the PDP to the yeoman efforts that secured governorships for PDP’s Okezie Ikpeazu in Abia and David Umahi in Ebonyi, Metuh’s ability to deliver electoral mandates is undisputed.
Critics might wonder what brings a man out of a self-imposed retirement—announced just two years ago—into the fold of the RHA.
However, for a man who recently dedicated over half a billion naira to charity, it is evident that pecuniary interests are not the driver.Instead, it appears that the “political legend” has answered a call of strategic importance.
By accepting the role of Director of Organisation and Mobilisation, Metuh is being positioned exactly where his talents shine brightest: at the intersection of strategy and execution.
President Bola Tinubu, through Governor Uzodinma, has played a deft hand. The Southeast has long been a complex battleground for the ruling party. By bringing in a man who understands the regional political DNA better than most, the Renewed Hope administration is moving beyond rhetoric.
Metuh knows the backroom because he built it. His appointment is a massive blow to the opposition in the Southeast because it replaces theoretical campaigning with proven, battle-tested electoral dexterity.
The Renewed Hope Ambassadors (RHA) was designed by President Tinubu in November 2025 as the primary vehicle to disseminate the achievements of his administration.
With the appointment of this dream team of directors, the RHA has moved from a conceptual framework to a fully operational political machine.
In the chess game of Nigerian politics, Governor Uzodinma has just moved a queen.
As the January elections approach, the inclusion of Chief Olisa Metuh ensures that the Renewed Hope Agenda will not just be heard in the Southeast—it will be felt.
In the street parlance- E Go Loud !
For Ndi Igbo and the nation at large, this appointment is a testament to the fact that in politics, strategy is the only currency that never devalues.
– Kamen Chuks Ogbonna
In the landscape of sub-national governance in Nigeria, the office of the First Lady has often been seen through the lens of ceremonial duties. However, in Anambra State, Dr. (Mrs.) Nonye Soludo—affectionately known as Mama Anambra—is fundamentally redefining this role. Through a series of bold, unprecedented interventions, she has evolved from a pillar of support to a strategic driver of socio-economic transformation.
The impact of Mama Anambra’s leadership first gained significant momentum in the healthcare sector. Championing the cause of the vulnerable, she has been at the forefront of the free maternal and child healthcare initiative. This program has provided thousands of women and children across the state with access to life-saving services that were previously out of reach. Beyond clinical care, her “Healthy Living” crusade has introduced a paradigm shift in domestic wellness, promoting organic products and nutritional education as a primary defence against preventable diseases.
The Anambra First Lady’s vision quickly extended to the fields and farms of the state. Recognizing that food security is the bedrock of community stability, she successfully mobilized women at the grassroots level into productive farming. By providing tools, seedlings, and technical support, she has empowered the home-front to become a formidable force in Anambra’s agricultural value chain, ensuring that empowerment is not just a slogan but a harvest.
Mama Anambra has raised the bar once again by moving into the territory of high-impact vocational empowerment. Her current focus on skills acquisition for females in male-dominated fields is perhaps her most strategic move yet. By opening doors for women in technology, construction, welding, solar energy installation, and mechanics, she is actively dismantling age-old barriers. These sectors, long regarded as “no-go areas” for women, are now being flooded with talented female trainees ready to compete in the modern economy. This initiative does more than provide a job; it destroys the gender limitations that have historically stifled the potential and prosperity of the girl child.
For Ndi Anambra, the work of the First Lady is a clear signal that leadership fueled by empathy and vision delivers tangible results. Her interventions are not merely philanthropic gestures, as they are strategic investments in the human capital of the state. Through her tireless efforts, Dr. Mrs Nonye Soludo is proving that when leadership has a heart, change is not just felt—it is seen and touched.
As she continues to break new ground, the prayer of the people remains constant: May God continue to strengthen her for the journey ahead.
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