Politics
Restructuring can no longer stop killings –Prof Akintoye
The Chairman of the Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-Determination, Prof Banji Akintoye, who also heads the umbrella body for Yoruba self-determination groups, Ilana Omo Oodua, speaks to OLUFEMI OLANIYI about worsening insecurity in Nigeria, restructuring, and other sundry issues
Some Yoruba nation agitators were arrested by the police in Abeokuta nine days ago. Doesn’t this suggest that achieving your goal will be bloody?
What happened last Saturday was that a group of young men didn’t wait for their leaders to arrive and they began to do what they thought was right to do. They ought to have waited for their leaders to arrive but they were eager to go on with the rally. The police saw them and took them into custody. After that, a large crowd came and their leaders also arrived and learnt that some of their members had been arrested. So, they went there and they were released. Two things were responsible for their release by the police and the first one is that they had no weapons on them. They were not doing or saying anything violent. When the leaders arrived at the station, the police saw that they were responsible people who were not violent in any way, so they let them go. Nothing happened in Abeokuta that suggested that our future rallies will be violent.
Do you think the Nigerian government would allow the Yoruba people to form an independent nation?
There is no country where the leaders would want to lose a part of the country they govern. Also, there is no government in the world that does not recognise that every nationality or tribe has the right to self-determination. Every government in the world, including Nigeria, is a signatory to that statement. Nigeria is a signatory to that United Nations declaration – the 2007 Declaration – that every nationality or ethnic group has a right to self-determination. That right is inalienable. It is in the constitution of the United Nations, it is in the constitution of the African Union, of which Nigeria is one of the leading signatories. They know but they don’t want any part of the countries they rule to go away. They are also aware that the people have the right to secede.
For instance, in 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari was asked for his view at the United Nations on Nigerians agitating for Biafra. He told them that if people who were agitating for Biafra would organise themselves and manage their affairs peacefully, then Nigerians would have no choice but to engage in negotiations with them. That is what international law says. But if they continue to be violent and are attacking the security personnel, the Nigerian government can go after them. Buhari said their demand for Biafra was not illegal. He said Nigeria was descending on them because they were violent. He said the government had a duty to sit down with them to negotiate.
But do you think the problems confronting the Yoruba people will be solved by becoming an independent nation?
The most important problem we are facing now is the invasion of our land. Armed Fulani are coming daily to kill our people on their farms and rape our women, forcing a large number of our farmers to abandon farming. This is causing hunger because farming is the backbone of the economy of Yorubaland. This is our most important problem now. So, having our own country will be the only effective and final solution to that. The people coming to ravage our land claim that they have the right to our land because they are Nigerians. They have the right to reside anywhere in Nigeria but they are not coming peacefully. So, if we have our own country, we will stop the violence. Our forefathers told us to receive strangers well, to help them if they need help and by doing so, we would earn blessings from Olodumare (God). Our fathers told us these thousands of years ago and it has become part of the code of behaviours of the Yoruba people. But if any Fulani man or woman wants to stay in our land after we have become independent, as long as they renounce violence, the plot to take over our land, and are ready to settle down like other people, they are free to stay and our laws will protect them. But a large number of Fulani have been indoctrinated that the land of Nigeria belongs to them and their duty is to take it over by violence and exterminate the people. Those ones cannot be in our land. It’s impossible.
Are you worried that South-West governors and some politicians are not in support of the agitation for the Yoruba nation?
I am not worried. They are still part of Nigeria and there are people who still see their destinies as embedded in Nigeria. They belong to political parties and support the moral decadence in Nigeria. You can’t blame them, they are part of Nigeria. If we want our politicians to be separated from the rot in the system, the best thing is to separate from Nigeria.
Don’t you think the Federal Government will scuttle the self-determination move?
They cannot scuttle it. They will make attempts but they will fail. This is something whose time has come and it’s impossible to scuttle it.
Why are many agitations across Nigeria currently?
This is happening because they are treating Nigerians the way people should never be treated. There should never be a situation where one ethnic group, large or small, will arrogate to itself a total monopoly of authority in a country. The rest of us in Nigeria feel insulted and spited by that. Under Buhari, the Fulani have taken over and made the Nigerian government their government. It is not our government anymore. The second thing is that under the cover of the Fulanisation of the Nigerian government, Fulani people have developed a doctrine that they own Nigeria and have spread it massively among their people. Their belief is that they own every inch of Nigeria and that they can go to any part of the country to kill, maim and destroy in order to take over the land. They have said they would invite Fulani people scattered across countries in West Africa to come and join them in the act of taking over the land of other people in Nigeria. They are not just saying it, they are aggressive about it and they are trying to do it. You can see what is happening all over the country; they are serious about it and people must defend themselves. Every person must live. I am not happy when I wake up and read about killings in Oke Ogun, Yewaland, or that an Oba has been kidnapped in Ekiti, another killed in Ifon. I’m tired of reading about abductions, rape, and attacks on our people. No nation will want to live like that and nobody can say we must tolerate all those atrocities because we want to live in Nigeria. No way! Our right to live is bigger than the membership of Nigeria. These are the things causing agitation all over Nigeria now. This is not just happening in Yorubaland. We have created an alliance with the Middle Belt, the South-East, and the South-South. We call it the Nigerian Indigenous Alliance for Self-Determination. Even beyond the Middle-Belt, some Hausa people are beginning to rouse themselves.
What is the timeline set to achieve Yoruba self-determination?
Many Yoruba people want it right away. They don’t want to continue with the suffering, pain, insecurity, and poverty in Nigeria. They want their country back and build it the way they did under Chief Obafemi Awolowo. We know we have the capacity to do it. We did it before the white men came. Soon after the White men brought education in the late 19th century, we shot ahead and became the most educated in Africa. Under Chief Awolowo, we widened the gap with free education and moved our nation forward. We had a great government under Chief Awolowo, a very democratic government. That is Yoruba tradition. People now talk about so many things done under Chief Awolowo and many don’t know that Chief Awolowo spent only six years as our prime minister in the Western Region. In six years, he achieved all of which we are bragging about today. We know we can do it; it is in our genes to move forward. What our young people want is our own country so that we can do our own things and build civilisation, progress, and prosperity, and uphold democracy.
There is an opinion held by some people that the governors in the South-West now are not toeing the path of the late Awolowo. Do you agree to this?
I am hesitant to criticise our governors and the reason is that the circumstances in which they live now are not the same. Things have changed, the society is no longer the same. The government in Nigeria today is not people-oriented; it’s not democratic in any way. So, why should we expect that our governors will be exceptions? The answer to this, as I said, is to take our people out of the rubble. These men who are our governors are highly educated young men who have done commendable things in their lives before they became governors. They are people who have the basic qualifications to work, but it is Nigeria that makes it impossible for them to do what they know is right. That is all.
While you are clamouring for Yoruba independence, some prominent Yoruba politicians see Nigeria’s unity as non-negotiable. What do you say to this?
In Nigeria, politics is about the only thing you can go into and be sure to make money. That is why politics has become a personal aggrandisement venture. A large number of our people now want to go into politics because of this. Some young men don’t even have any other job asides from politics. They see politics as the only way out of poverty. But others want their own country, they don’t want to be part of this anymore. But those gathering the young people and mobilising for the 2023 elections will be surprised because the young people they think they have gathered and bribed to fight and rig for them will shock them. These young people want their own country. The more we participate in elections in Nigeria, the more we are prolonging our suffering. Students are coming out of the universities, polytechnics, and others without any provision for them. I lived in the United States for some years and almost every day, you would see a young man or woman arriving from Nigeria, mostly a Yoruba man or woman. In fact, some of our people are surprised that when you talk about these things, our rulers don’t seem to know about it. Our people leave Nigeria every day to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. That is the most terrible thing that is happening to Yoruba youths because they have lost hope in the country. Yoruba youths are always many among those going through this route and they are dying in droves. One young girl among some of those rescued from kidnappers told me that it was better to die in the desert than to die of hunger. It is that bad. They are ready to go and die in the desert than dying in poverty. They are ashamed of Nigeria.
Afenifere and the Yoruba Council of Elders are clamouring for restructuring, but you are against it. Why do you think restructuring can’t address the problems in Nigeria?
Restructuring can no longer work. Restructuring cannot stop the Fulani terrorists from coming to our land. They have been indoctrinated to go and take over the entire land in the country. So, how can restructuring stop that? Restructuring won’t stop that. I don’t want to continue to live in that type of situation. Moreover, you might sit somewhere and agree on restructuring but these people have an uncontrollable urge to dominate society. One of them, Aliu Gwarzo, wrote an article wherein he said ‘power in Nigeria belongs to us and anybody standing on our way, we will kill, maim, destroy and turn Nigeria into the greatest war zone in Africa.’ I don’t think anybody can change such an attitude with restructuring. In 1960, Sir Ahmadu Bello said only 11 days after Nigeria’s independence that ‘Nigeria shall be an extension of the state of our grandfather, Uthman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power and we will use the people of the Middle Belt as tools, and the people of the South as conquered territory. We will never let them rule over us and never let them control their territory.’ He said that on October 12, 1960 in Kaduna and there were people there. Then in 1960, Aliu Gwarzo said, ‘Allah, through the British, gave us Nigeria to rule and to do as we please and we have been doing that since 1960 and we intend to continue. If anybody tries to stop us, we shall kill, maim and destroy.’ That is their mentality. If anybody thinks that has changed, they are deceiving themselves. Restructuring can change a few things, but it cannot change the mentality of the people behind the scene.
I used to advocate restructuring. I wrote tons of articles published in newspapers on it. But one must react to situations as they are. Restructuring cannot solve the problems at hand now. People say I am Awolowo’s son and that Chief Awolowo would not have wanted Yoruba to go away from Nigeria. I told them that Chief Awolowo reacted to the situation he met at that time. He did not see all these ravaging and destructions going on now. There are tears everywhere now. Papa Awo did not see a woman who was raped and her eyes gorged out. Papa didn’t see where a Yoruba Oba was killed and another abducted. Papa didn’t see Chief Olu Falae beaten and battered by Fulani. I have seen all these. I saw Chief Falae with wounds inflicted from swords and knives and I was horrified. Chief Falae is one of the most intelligent persons God has given to the Yoruba people. He held one of the highest positions in the country in our time and he was treated that way. Chief Awolowo did not see all these, but we are seeing them. Our father was not the kind of person that would see a problem and evade it. I am sure that where he is today, he is happy that I am doing what I am doing. I am resisting oppression. I am resisting the brutalisation and killing of our people.
What is the role of Chief Sunday Igboho in your agitation?
People misjudge that young man. If you listen to that man talk, you will be moved to tears. He said the Oke-Ogun part of Yorubaland used to be very peaceful and farming was prosperous there. That place was an ‘open country.’ In the hot season, families could sleep in front of their houses and nothing would happen to them. He said his people could travel in the dark and nothing would happen to them. But that area has now turned into a place where Fulani people kill, kidnap and rape women. The people are tired of the mess and more and more Yoruba youths are becoming like Sunday Igboho and returning to defend their land. Sunday Igboho’s violence is ‘orderly violence.’ His violence is to stop abominable cruelty unleashed on men by fellow human beings. Millions of Yoruba people are particularly thankful to him and emulating him to defend their land.
Why do you think insecurity is getting worse?
Where there is insecurity, it is because there is poverty, though, in the case of Nigeria, poverty is not the only cause. The main thing is that some people in Nigeria have decided that Nigeria belongs to them and they want to take it by force. They have spread out and some people are also resisting them. On January 1, 2018, Fulani people went and killed a large number of people in Benue State. That was on New Year’s Day and some of us across Nigeria said that was too much and we decided to go and commiserate with the people of Benue State. The governor of Benue State gathered a large number of people to receive us. We sympathised with them and the governor said the people wrote a letter to them in December 2017 that they were going to attack them and they did. The authorities in Nigeria did not do anything to prevent the attack. At least, 80 people were killed that night. We were shocked and asked him what again would come after that. He then brought out a letter and read it to us. The letter read, ‘We see that you are doing a mass burial but what happened to you is only a tip of what will happen. We are coming back to kill and maim more people. Your offence is that the ethnic groups in your state think the land on which they live in is their own because they have lived there for thousands of years. No, they are wrong, the land belongs to us Fulani because Allah has given it to us and we have arisen to take it. We have asked all our people across West Africa to come and join us to take the land. We are not talking of the ethnic groups in Benue State alone but we are talking of all ethnic groups in Nigeria, including Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, and Efik. We have arisen to take the land because Allah has given it to us. If you think your Federal Government can save you, you are deceiving yourself.’ This is what is happening!
What solution would you suggest to end insecurity in the country?
Nigeria has ceased to be a country and it is us the people that are deceiving ourselves. When members of an ethnic group go around killing and maiming others and the government is not ready to do anything about it, it shows that the country is over and the best thing to do is to come together with the objective of peacefully dissolving it.
Some people believe Buhari has failed and are calling for his removal. What’s your opinion?
That is an understatement. To say he has failed is an understatement. We elected him to rule Nigeria but he is not ruling Nigeria. My answer is that it is an understatement that he has failed.
Do you now support the call for his removal?
I don’t think he should be removed. If you remove him, what do you do? Some are saying there should be a coup but I am not in support of that and I know Yoruba people will not support that. I don’t want any military coup. If they go on and remove him through a coup, we Yoruba will definitely protect ourselves. If you remove him by coup, you will start another trouble again because these people are going to do everything to hold on to power. What we want now is that the international community should begin to intervene seriously in the bid to get Nigeria to come to terms that it has failed and the right thing to do in the interest of humanity is to put it to an end.
But do you think the majority of Yoruba people will vote ‘Yes’ if there is a referendum on whether Yoruba should be independent or stay with Nigeria?
I have no doubt that they will vote ‘Yes.’ But we need to wait till we get the message to more and more of our people in the rural areas.
Have you mapped out the territory of the Yoruba nation, the flag, and the currency?
One thing that most people don’t know is that the Yoruba nation is a powerful nation in the world. We have produced many intellectually sound people. It will be presumptuous of anybody to say we already have a flag and currency. Yoruba people are not like that. When we have our country, we will set up a body that will compose our national anthem design, coat of arms, national flag, currency, and others. Nobody must dictate to the Yoruba people because we are democratic.
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The planned visit of the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to Anambra State has sparked controversy following a protest by the state Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Emma Anosike, that the party was not informed about the visit.
Anosike said the APC in Anambra was never consulted or briefed about the proposed visit, adding that the party was taken aback by reports that the wife of the party’s national leader and presidential candidate, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would be visiting the state without recourse to the state chapter.
He said, “It is indeed strange that the First Lady of our presidential candidate is visiting Anambra State without recourse to the party in the state.
“The party wishes to state categorically that we are not part of the arrangements for the reception of our First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, because the party was never put in the picture.”
Anosike also dismissed the mantra that “The Progressives Are Working Together”, being canvassed by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), describing it as a smokescreen by the ruling party in Anambra to hijack President Tinubu’s re-election from the APC.
He said, “For instance, the APGA-led government in Anambra State did not interface with us on the organisation of the visit, and the party wonders if the progressives are indeed working together.”
The APC chairman, however, said the development would not compromise the First Lady’s visit, urging all APC members and supporters in the state to turn out and give Senator Oluremi Tinubu a warm welcome.
He stressed that despite the party’s reservations over the arrangements, APC members remained committed to welcoming the First Lady to Anambra State.
Former Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Sagir Saleh, has resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Saleh, who served as deputy governor under former Governor Isa Yuguda, announced his resignation in a letter submitted to the party leadership in Katagum Local Government Area.
He cited personal reasons for his decision but did not provide further details.
His exit comes amid growing disagreements within the Bauchi APC following the party’s 2027 governorship primary. Other prominent members, including former governorship aspirant Bala Jibrin and Sunusi Kunde, an associate of Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, have also reportedly left the party.
Jibrin, a former National Auditor of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), resigned on August 31, 2026, following his opposition to the emergence of former Bauchi Governor Muhammad Abubakar as the APC’s 2027 governorship candidate.
He had criticised the primary process and questioned how the candidate emerged.
Kunde also resigned from the APC in August, submitting his resignation to the party chairman of Beti Ward in Misau Local Government Area.
The latest departures are coming as efforts continue to resolve internal disputes and disagreements among APC members in the state.
The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has raised the alarm over an alleged plot to assassinate former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 general election.
Ayodele issued the warning in a video shared on his verified X account on Sunday, urging both opposition figures to strengthen their security and remain vigilant.
The cleric did not identify those allegedly behind the purported plot but claimed that attempts were being made to eliminate Obi and Atiku.
According to him, divine intervention would prevent the alleged plan from succeeding.
“Obi and Atiku, be very conscious of your security. They are looking for any means to eliminate Obi and Atiku.
“But God will never allow it to happen. Watch out and be cautious about your security,” he said.
Ayodele also urged President Bola Tinubu to reconsider travelling to the United States, alleging that there were forces in America working against his political fortunes.
The claims come as political activities and realignments intensify ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
Why the Igbo Must Choose Political Strategy Over Emotional Politics
By Emma Igwe
There comes a moment in the political history of every people when sentiment must give way to strategy.
For the South-East, 2027 may be that moment.
The question before the Igbo nation is not whether an Igbo man should one day become President of Nigeria. Of course he should. The question is whether the Igbo people are prepared to do the difficult political calculations required to make that aspiration a reality.
And that is where the 2027 presidential election becomes more than a contest between political parties.
It becomes a referendum on the political intelligence of the South-East.
Will the region continue to vote primarily to satisfy ethnic emotions and demonstrate loyalty to its own?
Or will it begin to think several political moves ahead—like a chess player who understands that sometimes the best way to capture the king is to first control the board?
THE HARD TRUTH THE SOUTH-EAST MUST CONFRONT
Peter Obi has demonstrated something remarkable.
He has shown that an Igbo politician can generate extraordinary enthusiasm among millions of Nigerians, particularly young people. His political movement has changed the conversation about presidential politics and created a new generation of politically conscious voters.
But enthusiasm is not the same thing as electoral mathematics.
The South-East must ask a difficult question:
Can regional popularity, without a sufficiently broad and durable national coalition, deliver the presidency?
That question is not an attack on Obi.
It is the central question of Nigerian politics.
The same principle applies to Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. His influence in Kano and parts of the North is considerable. Historically, Mallam Aminu Kano demonstrated how powerful regional political mobilisation could become.
But regional strength alone has never been enough to guarantee the Nigerian presidency.
Nigeria is a federation of competing interests.
The presidency is won by coalition.
And the Igbo must learn to build coalitions without surrendering their identity.
AZIKIWE, EKWUEME AND THE POLITICS OF REALISM
History provides the South-East with a political textbook.
Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was one of Nigeria’s most influential nationalist leaders. Yet his enormous stature and regional influence did not automatically translate into the presidency.
Alex Ekwueme took a different route.
In the Second Republic, he became Vice-President through a political arrangement that placed an Igbo leader at the very heart of the federal government.
That distinction is important.
Zik represented the grandeur of the national dream. Ekwueme demonstrated the power of political positioning.
The lesson is not that the Igbo should abandon presidential ambition.
The lesson is that presidential ambition must be accompanied by political architecture.
This is precisely why the David Umahi argument deserves a more sophisticated examination than the usual name-calling that accompanies it.
UMAHI’S POLITICAL GAMBLE
Like him or hate him, David Umahi understands one fundamental principle of politics:
You cannot negotiate from the margins if you want to control the centre.
His decision to work with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has attracted criticism from many quarters of the South-East.
But political history will ultimately judge whether that decision was merely opportunistic or whether it represented a calculated attempt to reposition the South-East within Nigeria’s governing establishment.
As Minister of Works, Umahi is also uniquely positioned to make the infrastructure argument.
The Federal Government says major road and bridge projects are currently being executed across Ebonyi and the wider South-East, including sections of the Calabar–Ebonyi–Benue–Nasarawa–Abuja corridor and the Ndi-Egbe Bridge linking Ebonyi with Cross River.
Umahi has repeatedly argued that the Tinubu administration is reversing decades of infrastructure neglect in the region. In June 2026, he specifically cited projects that he said had remained unrealised for decades.
These claims should be scrutinised, not blindly accepted.
But neither should they be dismissed simply because they come from a politician whose political position many people dislike.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT LOVING TINUBU
Here lies the fundamental misunderstanding.
The argument for the South-East supporting Tinubu in 2027 does not have to mean that every Igbo man suddenly becomes an APC loyalist.
It does not mean that every policy of the Tinubu administration must be applauded.
It does not mean that the South-East should surrender its independent political voice.
It means something much more sophisticated:
The South-East should negotiate with power instead of permanently positioning itself outside power.
There is a difference between loyalty and strategy.
A political party is not a religion.
A presidential candidate is not a tribal deity.
Politics is transactional.
Every serious political region negotiates.
The Yoruba negotiate.
The North negotiates.
The South-South negotiates.
Why should the Igbo be the only people expected to vote purely from emotion?
THE 2031 CALCULATION
This is where the debate becomes particularly interesting.
If Tinubu wins in 2027, the political conversation will inevitably move toward the succession question.
Who takes over after Tinubu?
Which region?
Which coalition?
Which political bloc has accumulated sufficient goodwill, influence and bargaining power to negotiate the next presidential arrangement?
The South-East cannot wait until 2031 before asking these questions.
The political preparation must begin in 2027.
That is the strategic argument behind Umahi’s position.
If the South-East becomes a critical component of the governing coalition in 2027, it potentially creates a stronger negotiating platform for the future.
That does not guarantee an Igbo presidency.
Nothing in Nigerian politics comes with such a guarantee.
But it may create a better platform from which to negotiate one.
And that is the difference between political fantasy and political strategy.
THE BIGGEST MISTAKE WOULD BE TO TURN OBI AND UMAHI INTO ENEMIES
There is perhaps a more important question.
Why must Peter Obi and David Umahi be treated as political enemies simply because they have chosen different routes?
They are both prominent Igbo political figures.
One has demonstrated extraordinary grassroots mobilisation and national visibility.
The other currently occupies one of the most influential positions in the federal infrastructure establishment.
One understands mass political mobilisation.
The other understands the mechanics of government and federal power.
Why should these strengths not be brought together?
Why must the argument always be:
Obi versus Umahi?
Why can’t it become:
Obi and Umahi—what is the best strategic route for the Igbo nation?
The two men do not have to belong to the same political party.
They do not have to endorse the same presidential candidate.
They do not even have to agree on every issue.
But they can sit down as Igbo leaders and discuss the future beyond their personal political ambitions.
That conversation is long overdue.
THE SOUTH-EAST NEEDS A POLITICAL RESET
The greatest danger facing the South-East is not that it supports the wrong candidate.
It is that it continues to approach Nigerian politics primarily through the prism of emotional solidarity.
Every election becomes:
“This is our turn.”
“This is our brother.”
“This is our son.”
But Nigeria does not operate on sentiment.
The presidency is a national institution.
To occupy it, you need national numbers.
To acquire national numbers, you need alliances.
To sustain alliances, you need political relevance.
And to achieve political relevance, you must be present where national decisions are being made.
That is the political centre.
THE PRICE OF PERMANENT OPPOSITION
The South-East has spent years complaining about marginalisation.
Yet political marginalisation cannot be defeated by political isolation.
That is the paradox.
You cannot complain that Abuja is ignoring you while simultaneously refusing to develop a sustainable strategy for influencing Abuja.
You cannot demand inclusion while permanently behaving as though participation in the governing coalition is a betrayal of your identity.
The Igbo are too politically sophisticated for that contradiction.
The region must move beyond the politics of grievance to the politics of negotiation.
WHAT SHOULD THE IGBO DEMAND FROM TINUBU?
If the South-East is to support Tinubu, it should not be a blank cheque.
It should be a contract of political expectations.
The region should demand:
accelerated completion of strategic federal roads and bridges;
stronger federal presence in industrial and economic development;
greater political inclusion;
protection of businesses and investments;
improved security and regional connectivity;
greater representation in national appointments;
deliberate inclusion in future national power-sharing negotiations; and
a credible pathway toward greater political participation in the post-2027 era.
That is how mature politics works.
You do not merely vote. You negotiate.
UMAHI’S MESSAGE MAY BE UNCOMFORTABLE—BUT SHOULD NOT BE DISMISSED
Umahi has reportedly urged South-East political stakeholders to rally behind Tinubu in 2027, and has even framed the choice in terms of continued access to federal development projects.
That formulation will certainly provoke controversy.
But perhaps controversy is precisely what the South-East needs.
For too long, political debate has been reduced to accusations of betrayal.
Anyone who disagrees with the dominant regional political position is quickly labelled an enemy of the Igbo cause.
That mentality must end.
A political argument should be defeated with a better political argument—not with abuse.
If Umahi is wrong, prove that his strategy cannot deliver greater political influence.
If Obi is wrong, demonstrate why his strategy cannot build the coalition necessary to win the presidency.
But let the debate be about strategy, not personality.
THE CHOICE BEFORE THE SOUTH-EAST
The South-East now stands at a crossroads.
One road offers emotional satisfaction.
The other offers strategic uncertainty but potentially greater access to the political centre.
One says:
“Let us vote for our own because he is our own.”
The other asks:
“What political arrangement gives our people the greatest bargaining power?”
The second question is the question of statesmen.
The Igbo presidential dream should not be abandoned.
It should be redesigned.
It should be negotiated.
It should be built upon alliances stretching across the six geopolitical zones.
And if supporting Tinubu in 2027 can place the South-East in a stronger bargaining position for 2031 and beyond, then the question should not be whether such a strategy is emotionally satisfying.
The question should be whether it is politically intelligent.
LET UMAHI AND OBI SIT DOWN
Ultimately, this debate should not end with Tinubu.
It should begin with the future of the Igbo nation.
David Umahi and Peter Obi should sit down.
Not for a television debate.
Not for political combat.
Not to determine who is more popular.
They should sit down as two influential Igbo sons and ask one question:
“How do we get the Igbo nation back to the centre of Nigerian political power?”
If the answer requires supporting Tinubu today, let them say so.
If the answer requires another route, let them articulate it.
But let the South-East have the conversation.
Because the real tragedy would not be losing an election.
The real tragedy would be winning the argument for ethnic pride while losing the opportunity for political power.
The Igbo do not need another election of emotional satisfaction.
They need a political strategy.
And perhaps, for the first time in decades, the South-East must learn to choose not merely the candidate it loves—but the political arrangement that can take it where it wants to go.
National relevance must become more important than ethnic ego.
That is the uncomfortable conversation 2027 demands.
The African Democratic Congress has unveiled its governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the 2027 general elections in 28 states.
The party announced the candidates in a statement on Friday, saying they would fly the ADC flag in the various states and provide Nigerians with what it described as a credible alternative in the forthcoming elections.
Among the prominent candidates unveiled are Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour in Lagos State, Isa Mohammed Ashiru in Kaduna, Great Ogboru in Delta, Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita in Katsina and former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, in Kebbi.
Other states where the party has fielded candidates include Adamawa, Kano, Rivers, Oyo, Ogun, Plateau, Zamfara, Enugu and Ebonyi.
The ADC said the candidates were selected as part of its efforts to present credible leadership and offer Nigerians a “real alternative” ahead of the 2027 elections.
The full list is as follows:
- Abia: Kalu Kalu Agu — Governor; Alozie Ogadinma Darlington — Deputy Governor
- Adamawa: Modibbo Hammantukur Ribadu — Governor; Aguwa Kevin Iliya — Deputy Governor
- Akwa Ibom: Akpanudoedehe John James — Governor; Nsien Mkpombuk Tommy — Deputy Governor
- Bauchi: Senator Halliru Dauda Jika — Governor; Sama’ila Mohammed Kabir — Deputy Governor
- Benue: Rt. Hon. Herman Iorwase Hembe — Governor; Abba John Abba — Deputy Governor
- Borno: Babagana Buhari — Governor; Mamman Dauda — Deputy Governor
- Cross River: Nkoyo Toyo — Governor; Okwoche Andrew Adagbor — Deputy Governor
- Delta: Chief Great Ogboru — Governor; Afiari Gloria — Deputy Governor
- Ebonyi: Ukpai Mba Udeh — Governor; Onwe Daniel Ede — Deputy Governor
- Enugu: Ocho Obodoeze Chukwuma — Governor; Eze Arinze Christopher — Deputy Governor
- Gombe: Bala Bello — Governor; Bala Sani Isa — Deputy Governor
- Jigawa: Sabo Mohammed Nakudu — Governor; Musa Ya’u Balarabe — Deputy Governor
- Kaduna: Isa Mohammed Ashiru — Governor; Kantiok Irmiya Ishaku — Deputy Governor
- Kano: Ibrahim Ali Amin — Governor; Shehu Abdulkadir Bari — Deputy Governor
- Katsina: Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita — Governor; Aminu Yar’adua Ahmed — Deputy Governor
- Kebbi: Abubakar Malami — Governor; Zagi Musa Mohammed — Deputy Governor
- Kwara: Zakari Mohammed — Governor; Olawuyi Julius Olayide — Deputy Governor
- Lagos: Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour — Governor; Gbadamosi Babatunde Olalere — Deputy Governor
- Nasarawa: Nuhu Angbazo — Governor; Ahmed Yusuf — Deputy Governor
- Niger: Dr Mohammed Kpautagi — Governor; Musa Mamman — Deputy Governor
- Ogun: Biodun Collins Ogundipe — Governor; Muraina Oluwaranti Oluyemi — Deputy Governor
- Oyo: Taofeek Adegboyega Adegoke — Governor; Wahab Adeniyi — Deputy Governor
- Plateau: Brig. Gen. John Sunday Sura — Governor; Pwajok-Kele Chundung Bitrus — Deputy Governor
- Rivers: Gabriel Pidomson — Governor; Okumgba David Amapakaye — Deputy Governor
- Sokoto: Manir Mohammad Daniya — Governor; Isah Bello Ambarura — Deputy Governor
- Taraba: Abubakar Umar Tutare — Governor; Kwetishe Haruna Kwenyan — Deputy Governor
- Yobe: Kassim G. Gaidam — Governor; Kori Lawan Mohammed — Deputy Governor
- Zamfara: Shinkafi Bilyaminu Yusuf — Governor; Muhammad Abdulmuddalib Auwal — Deputy Governor
The party said the candidates would work under its platform to advance its agenda and present voters with an alternative ahead of the 2027 governorship elections.
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