By Dr. Jerry Igwilo/
There is something about our politics, particularly in the South-East, that I believe we need to confront with sincerity.
Senator David Umahi, Nigeria’s Minister of Works, is an Igbo man occupying one of the most important positions in the Federal Government. Whatever anyone thinks about the APC or the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it is difficult to deny that Umahi has brought enormous energy and visibility to the Federal Ministry of Works.
Across Nigeria, major infrastructure projects are being pursued under his watch. The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is under construction. The Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway is progressing. Major federal roads and bridges are receiving attention, while the Federal Government has also announced the revival and reconstruction of several long-neglected roads in the South-East, including work on the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.
Of course, government projects must remain open to scrutiny. Questions have been raised about the cost, financing and procurement of some projects, particularly the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. That scrutiny is legitimate. Democracy demands that citizens question government expenditure and insist on transparency.
But there is a difference between questioning a public official’s performance and condemning him simply because of the political party he chose to join.
That is where I believe we, as Ndị Igbo, need some introspection.
Why should David Umahi be described by some of our people as a “sellout” simply because he belongs to the APC?
Is membership of the APC now evidence that an Igbo man has betrayed his people?
If that is the standard, where do we draw the line?
The same question can be asked about Joe Igbokwe, another prominent Igbo voice who has been associated with the APC in Lagos for many years. Because of his political choices and his support for the APC and President Tinubu, he has often attracted fierce criticism from sections of our people. In some instances, that criticism has gone beyond disagreement with his politics to questioning his loyalty to the Igbo people.
But should Joe Igbokwe’s membership of the APC make him less Igbo?
Interestingly, Igbokwe himself has publicly raised concerns about what he regards as the continued marginalisation of the South-East and has warned about the consequences of neglecting the region.
We may disagree with Joe Igbokwe. We may disagree with some of his statements, his style or his political positions. That is legitimate. But disagreement should not automatically become a declaration that he has betrayed his people.
If we condemn Umahi and Joe Igbokwe simply because they chose the APC, then we must ask ourselves whether we truly believe in political freedom or whether we only believe in freedom when people make the political choices we personally prefer.
Today, three of the five South-East governors, Hope Uzodimma of Imo, Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi and Peter Mbah of Enugu, belong to the APC. Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra remains in APGA but has publicly declared support for President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027. Governor Alex Otti of Abia remains outside the APC and has expressly rejected claims that he has endorsed President Tinubu, even while maintaining a working relationship with the Federal Government.
This is precisely how democracy should work.
People should be free to associate, disagree, negotiate, cooperate and make political choices according to their convictions.
We cannot demand political inclusion for the South-East while attacking every Igbo person who chooses to participate actively in a national political party that some of us do not support.
We cannot complain that the Igbo are insufficiently represented at the centre and, at the same time, ridicule those who enter the political structures through which national power is exercised.
There is a contradiction there.
An Igbo man does not become less Igbo because he belongs to the APC. Another does not become more Igbo because he belongs to Labour Party, APGA, PDP, ADC or any other political organisation.
Political affiliation is not an ethnic identity.
Our political parties are supposed to be vehicles for competing ideas about how Nigeria should be governed. They should never become instruments for measuring ethnic loyalty.
If David Umahi performs well as Minister of Works, we should have the maturity to say so.
If Alex Otti performs well in Abia, we should commend him regardless of his party.
If Peter Mbah transforms Enugu, history should judge him by what he did for his people, not merely by the logo on his membership card.
If Soludo performs in Anambra, let us examine his record.
If Nwifuru performs in Ebonyi or Uzodimma performs in Imo, the same principle should apply.
And if Joe Igbokwe makes a sound argument in defence of the South-East or Nigeria, we should be capable of acknowledging it even when we disagree with his political affiliation.
And where any of them fails, we should also have the courage to say so.
That is how a politically mature society behaves.
The bigger problem is that Nigerian politics has become too personal, too ethnic and too emotional. We increasingly treat disagreement as hostility. We treat political opponents as enemies. Sometimes, we even question people’s ethnic loyalty because they refuse to support our preferred candidate.
That cannot build a serious democracy.
The great democracies were not built because everybody agreed. They grew because societies developed institutions and cultures that allowed people to disagree without becoming enemies.
Nigeria needs that culture.
And perhaps the South-East, with its long history of enterprise, intellectual achievement, republican traditions and political engagement, should help lead that change.
We need to move from politics of emotional allegiance to politics of interests, ideas, competence and development.
Ask what a politician has done.
Ask what roads were built.
Ask what schools improved.
Ask what industries were created.
Ask whether people found jobs.
Ask whether public money was properly accounted for.
Ask whether the politician defended the legitimate interests of his constituents.
Those questions matter far more than the colour of a party flag.
I am Igbo. I am Nigerian. Those identities do not conflict.
Likewise, another Igbo man can be APC. Another can be APGA. Another can support Labour. Another can support PDP or ADC. Another may decide that none deserves his support.
That freedom is democracy.
We should stop manufacturing political enemies among ourselves.
Nigeria is already too divided along ethnic, religious, regional and political lines. We do not need to add another layer of intolerance by telling people that exercising their constitutional right to political association makes them traitors to their tribe.
Let us disagree vigorously. Let us debate policies. Let us question contracts. Let us demand accountability. Let us vote according to our convictions.
But let us also respect one another’s right to choose.
No Nigerian should have to prove his love for his ethnic group by hating another political party.
And no Igbo man should have to apologise for participating in Nigerian politics through the platform of his choice.
The time has come for a different political culture.
A culture where competence can be praised across party lines.
A culture where failure can be condemned even when the person involved belongs to our preferred party.
A culture where a Hausa man, Yoruba man, Igbo man, Ijaw man, Fulani man, Tiv man, Efik man or any other citizen can pursue political beliefs without being accused of betraying his people.
Nigeria will not become a stronger democracy by forcing everyone into the same political camp.
Nigeria will become stronger when we learn to live with our differences while working together for the same country.
Let us be Nigerians first. Let our political parties remain our choices, not our identities. Let performance, integrity and service become the measures by which we judge those who seek to lead us.
The time is now.
Together, despite our different political choices, we can build the Nigeria we all desire.
By Dr. Jerry Igwilo
August 2026
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