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“You did your election. The Southeast gave your son 99% of the votes. Shall I leave my own brother?” – Sẹgun Ṣhowunmi.
In that one honest sentence, Sẹgun Ṣowunmi, a Yorúbá political thinker, exposed not just the mood of a region, but the deep-rooted contradiction that defines Igbo politics in Nigeria – demanding national support without ever offering it.
The Igbos are famous for fierce loyalty to their own, and at first glance, that seems noble. But loyalty becomes poisonous when it is unforgiving, exclusive, and politically self-defeating.
For decades, the Southeast has made ethnic obsession a political strategy, and that strategy has failed – repeatedly, predictably, and tragically.
The story begins with Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Zik of Africa. Brilliant, charismatic, beloved across the South.
But in 1951, after the Western Region election where he was handed a defeat he left the West for the East and displaced Eyo Ita, an Efik man, to become Premier.
It was tribal.
It was a betrayal of Eastern solidarity.
In 1959, he could have formed a progressive alliance with Awolọwọ’s AG, but instead, he chose to ally with the Northern NPC, giving the North total control of the center. It was a move that handed Nigeria to Ahmadu Bello and shut out the South for decades.
It was the first fatal Igbo political error – choosing short-term access over a long-term alliance.
Then came 1967. After the massacres of Igbos in the North and the collapse of the Aburi Accord, Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu declared Biafra, igniting a war that would kill over 2 million Nigerians, mostly Igbos. The pain was real, but the decision was hasty. There was no Southern unity. No nationwide consensus. The Yorùbá and South-South were not on board. It was Igbo-first, again.
After Biafra fell in 1970, Ojukwu fled to exile in the Ivory Coast.
But in 1983, it was President Shehu Shagari who granted Ojukwu a full pardon, allowing him to return home.
What did Ojukwu do?
He joined the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the very party many Igbos despised – because he believed that re-integration into national politics was the only way forward for the Igbo.
Not stopping there, Ojukwu later formed his own party in a bid to rally Igbos under a new, unified platform. He called on the Southeast to come together, not just for tribal pride, but for national relevance.
But what did the Igbo political elites do?
They scattered into rival parties, driven by greed, ambition, and selfishness.
Some joined the SDP. Some PDP. Few AD. They refused to build a bloc, refused to follow Ojukwu’s call, and once again, undermined themselves.
Ojukwu, the man who once led them to war, now tried to lead them to unity. But this time, they abandoned him.
A people ‘betrayed’ by others in 1966 had now mastered the art of betraying themselves.
Then came June 12, 1993. M.K.O. Abiọla, a Yorùbá Muslim, won Nigeria’s freest and fairest election. The nation was behind him.
But when the military annulled the result, and the West rose in resistance, where were the Igbos?
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Ojukwu, once the face of Igbo nationalism publicly called on the military to hang Abiọla for treason.
Not a word of support.
Not a hand of solidarity.
For most Igbo politicians and leaders, June 12 was “not their fight.”
They have never followed Yorùbá leadership. Not once in Nigerian history. Yet they ask why Yorùbá won’t follow them?
It’s simple:
You cannot demand what you’ve never given.
In 2023, Peter Obi emerged as a beacon of hope for young Nigerians. His message resonated nationwide until his own people turned the campaign into an ethnic war.
The Southeast gave him 99% of their votes, a number only found in dictatorships. Every dissenting voice was silenced. Other tribes were insulted. Yorùbá voters who supported Tinubu were cyberbullied. Northerners who voted for Atiku were mocked.
Obi’s digital army known as Obidients, later known as Obidiots, Obidunce became more dangerous than helpful. They attacked journalists, insulted elders, and turned a national project into an Igbo-only movement.
Again, it was our own or nothing.
But politics is never about “our own” It’s about building bridges, trading interests, and walking together.
And when Obi lost, they cried foul, saying the election was stolen because they could not understand why Nigeria didn’t hand power to a man who got 99% in one region.
Because one region is not Nigeria.
This is the truth the Igbos must face:
No tribe can lead Nigeria alone.
You want to lead?
First learn to follow.
You want loyalty?
First give it.
You want partnership?
First show humility.
Until the Southeast learns to vote for others and not only demand votes for their own they will continue to be political exiles in a country they help build.
The Yorùbá have supported Northerners, Southerners, and even minorities. The North has backed Christians and Muslims. The South-South has worked with all zones.
But the Igbos?
They have never given bloc support to anyone but their own. And then they ask: Why do we never win?
As Showunmi rightly asked: “You gave 99% to your son. Shall I leave my own brother?”
No. He won’t. And neither will anyone else.
Nigeria is not a family compound. It is a federation.
To lead it, you must earn trust across the rivers, not just in the village. You must understand that in politics, inclusion is strength, and tribal obsession is a curse.
The Igbos are a great people. Bold. Creative. Proud. But pride is not strategy. Loyalty is not leadership. And emotion is not a manifesto.
Until they learn to walk with others not ahead of them they will remain kings in the market, but peasants in the presidency.
Because Nigeria will not hand power to those who cannot share it.
Until the Southeast learns to walk with others, not ahead or apart from them, they will remain loud at the ballot box, but lost at the throne room.
Because as Santayana warned: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
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And as Ṣowunmi asked, “You gave 99% to your son. Shall I leave my own brother?”
Tufuakwa! Never!
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