By Agbeze Ireke Kalu Onuma,AI-KO
The Betrayal Within – How South East and South South Leaders in the National Assembly Failed Their People
The first part of this critique dissected the federal government’s 2025 rail budget, which allocated ₦400 billion to Lagos, Ogun, Kaduna, and Kano while excluding the South East and South South – regions that contribute over 80% of Nigeria’s oil revenue. This brazen inequity ignited fierce public outrage. Civil society groups, activists, and regional stakeholders condemned the budget as a continuation of Nigeria’s colonial-era resource plunder. Mainstream and Social Media platforms editorialized the allocation as “economic apartheid,” while grassroots movements staged symbolic minimal protests in Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Uyo, demanding accountability. The discourse crystallized around a central question: “Who is responsible for this systemic betrayal?”
The answer lies not just with the federal government’s habitual marginalization but with the complicity of the South East and South South’s own representatives. These regions’ lawmakers, entrusted with defending and protecting their people’s interests, instead sanctioned a budget that further entrenches their underdevelopment. Public reactions amplified this indictment. Social media hashtags have been trending for weeks, with citizens accusing their legislators of “collaborating with oppressors.” Even traditional rulers, typically restrained, broke silence. A Traditional ruler from the South East, lamented: “When our sons ascend to power, they forget their roots. They dine in Abuja while their people starve.”
This collective fury forms the backdrop to Part II. If the federal government’s exclusionary policies are predictable, the greater tragedy is the failure of the South East and South South’s political class – senators, House members, ministers – to mount any meaningful resistance. These leaders, occupying strategic positions of power, have neither the courage nor the competence to leverage legislative and executive tools to demand equity. They are, as this essay will expose, “willing agents of their people’s oppression”.
The exclusion of the South East and South South from the N400 billion rail allocation in the 2025 budget is not merely a failure of federal equity – it is a damning indictment of the political leaders from these regions, who have abandoned their constituents to prioritize personal ambition, party loyalty, and complicity in systemic marginalization. At the helm of this betrayal are Senate President Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom, South South) and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu (Abia, South East), whose positions as two of the most powerful legislators in Nigeria should have guaranteed robust advocacy for their regions. Instead, their silence, incompetence, and collaboration with exclusionary politics have cemented their legacies as traitors to the people they swore to represent. This essay dissects their failures, exposes the collusion of ministers like Dave Umahi (Ebonyi, South East), and condemns the broader political class for reducing the South East and South South to sacrificial zones in Nigeria’s toxic power games.
Godswill Akpabio’s rise from Akwa Ibom governor to Senate President was marketed as a “victory” for the South South by many, I held a contrary view. Instead, it has been a masterclass in opportunism. Akpabio, who once branded himself as the “Uncommon Transformer,” has become the “Uncommon Betrayer”. As Senate President, he oversees the passage of budgets and wields immense influence over allocations. Yet, when ₦400 billion was earmarked for rail projects in Lagos, Ogun, Kaduna, and Kano, Akpabio’s Akwa Ibom – a state suffocating under the weight of oil pollution and infrastructural decay – received nothing.
Akpabio’s failure is not accidental. It is deliberate. In 2023, he infamously mocked the South East’s demands for equity, declaring, “Let us not be sectional… the President is for everybody.” This rhetoric, disguised as patriotism, is a smokescreen for subservience to the ruling party’s Northern and Southwestern power brokers. Under his watch:
The N54.99 trillion budget passed without a single rail project for the Niger Delta or South East.
– He prioritized the insertion of frivolous “constituency projects” (read: slush funds) over strategic regional infrastructure.
– He remained mute as Kano – a state with an existing rail line – received N150 billion, while oil-rich Bayelsa lacks a functional train station.
Akpabio’s legacy is one of sleaze. As governor, he was accused of looting N108 billion from Akwa Ibom’s coffers. As Senate President, he has turned the National Assembly into a marketplace where regional interests are auctioned to the highest bidder. His recent “loot-sharing” comment during a Senate session – where he joked about senators receiving “tokenisms” to enjoy their holidays – exposes his contempt for fiscal responsibility.
Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, represents Bende Federal Constituency in Abia State. His ascent to power was hailed as a breakthrough for the South East, pinning this on his youthfulness and freshness to Abuja. Instead, Kalu has become a puppet of the ruling party, using his position to launder the image of an administration that treats the South East as a pariah.
Kalu’s signature initiative – the “Peace in South East Project” (PISE-P) – is a hollow PR stunt that prioritizes “dialogue” over tangible development. While he organizes photo-op peace summits, his constituents endure:
A total blackout of meaningful infrastructure of any kind in the 2025 budget.
– Collapsed federal roads like the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway.
– The decay of the Aba River Port, which remains comatose despite its potential to revolutionize commerce.
Kalu’s failure to leverage his role as Deputy Speaker to negotiate allocations, including the rail projects, reveals either staggering incompetence or willful treachery. His loyalty lies not with Ndigbo, the South-East region or the greater Eastern Nigeria, but with preserving his political relevance in a party that views the South East as expendable.
The National Assembly has 109 senators and 360 House members. The South East and South South collectively have 56 representatives in the Senate and 92 in the House – enough to form a formidable bloc. Yet, during the 2025 budget debates, these legislators were conspicuously silent.
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North); Once a vocal governor, Kalu has reduced himself to issuing empty threats about “Igbo marginalization” while voting for exclusionary budgets.
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Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North); A former labor leader turned apologist for inequity, Oshiomhole dismissed concerns about the Niger Delta’s exclusion, arguing, “We must support the President’s vision.”
Hon. Tajudeen Abbas (Speaker, Kaduna); While not from the South, Abbas’s collaboration with Kalu, Akpabio and others highlights the latter’s willingness to trade regional interests for personal gain.
These legislators lack the courage of predecessors like Senator Ike Nwachukwu (1999 – 2003), who chaired the Senate Committee on Power and blocked anti-South East bills until the region was included in key projects. Today’s leaders, by contrast, are spineless careerists who fear losing committee appointments more than they fear failing their people.
Legislation, at its core, is an arena of calculated risk, strategic confrontation, and tactical genius – a realm where brinkmanship separates effective leaders from mere seat-warmers. Brinkmanship, the art of pushing negotiations to the edge of collapse to extract concessions, is not a luxury but a necessity in budget-making. It demands a blend of courage, preparation, and mastery of legislative mechanics. Tragically, the South East and South South’s representatives in the National Assembly exhibit none of these traits. Their legislative outputs – marked by exclusionary budgets and meek surrender – are testaments to a catastrophic deficit in skill, will, and institutional capacity.
In functional democracies, legislators deploy brinkmanship to secure regional interests. For instance, U.S. senators routinely threaten to filibuster or block bills until their states’ projects are included. In Nigeria’s 2025 budget debate, lawmakers from Lagos and Kano arm-twisted leadership to insert rail projects worth ₦400 billion. They leveraged threats, alliances, and procedural delays – classic brinkmanship – to win allocations.
Contrast this with South East and South South legislators. When the rail budget was tabled, their response was a collective whimper. Senate President Godswill Akpabio, rather than rallying Southern senators to demand equity, fast-tracked the bill’s passage. Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, armed with procedural influence, opted for sycophantic silence. Their failure mirrors a broader pattern: in 2023, not a single legislator from these regions moved to amend the exclusion of the Coastal Railway or the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri line from the budget. As political strategist Dr. Micheal Ngwu notes: “Brinkmanship requires a spine.” Our Southern legislators negotiate like hostages grateful for scraps.
Legislative effectiveness on the other hand, hinges not just on elected officials but on their backroom teams – policy experts, legal drafters, and researchers who arm lawmakers with data and strategy. Tragically, an investigation into the offices of South East/South South representatives reveals a staffing disaster:
Underqualified Aides: Many hires are political loyalists, relatives, or unvetted cronies. A report by the Legislative Integrity Initiative found that 70% of aides lack degrees in relevant fields (law, economics, public policy).
– Fear of Engagement: Staffers are often intimidated by counterparts from other regions. A Rivers State legislator’s aide confessed anonymously:
. “When Northern aides cite figures on rail ROI or debt sustainability, we have no rebuttals. We just keep quiet.”
– Poor Legislative Drafting: Bills sponsored by Southern legislators are notoriously shallow. A proposed “Southeast Development Commission” bill in 2024 was riddled with gaps, allowing opponents to dismiss it as “unserious.”
This incompetence cascades into legislative impotence. During the 2025 budget markup, aides from Lagos and Kano inundated committees with cost-benefit analyses and geospatial maps to justify rail funding. Southern aides, by contrast, submitted generic “memoranda” copied from online templates. The result? A ₦400 billion rail bonanza for others; dust for the South.
In 2022, the Ministry of Transportation proposed a Calabar-Uyo-Port Harcourt rail line to connect the South South’s economic hubs. The project died in committee after Southern legislators failed to counter arguments about “low passenger demand.” Yet, leaked documents reveal that Northern lawmakers orchestrated its demise by commissioning a biased feasibility study. Southern legislators, lacking the savvy to challenge the report or commission counter-studies, folded. The South’s legislators were outgunned, outthought, and outworked. Their failure was a masterclass in institutional illiteracy.
The repercussions are dire:
Economic Stagnation: Without rail networks, the South’s ports (Port Harcourt, Calabar, Onne, Warri) remain underutilized, losing $4 billion annually to Lagos’ Apapa Port.
2. Political Irrelevance: The regions’ inability to leverage legislative power entrenches their status as beggars, not stakeholders.
3. Youth Alienation: As #EndSARS showed governance failures radicalised youths. A survey by SBM Intelligence found that 68% of Southeastern youths view the National Assembly as “irredeemably corrupt.”
To salvage this crisis, the South must:
Professionalize Staffing: Legislators must hire experts, not cronies. Partner with universities to create legislative fellowships.
– Form Regional Blocs: Mimic the Northern Senators’ Forum, which pools resources to commission studies and draft bills.
– Invest in Training: NGOs like PLAC (Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre) offer legislative drafting workshops – attendance should be mandatory.
The South East and South South’s legislative failures are not accidents but the product of systemic rot. Brinkmanship is not taught in textbooks – it is cultivated through grit, preparation, and unshakable resolve. Until these regions elect leaders who understand that legislation is war – and staff their offices with warriors – they will remain on their knees, begging for a share of the wealth their land generates. The time for pity is over; the hour of accountability is here.
As Minister of Works, Dave Umahi (Ebonyi, South East) holds the most strategic cabinet position for the South East and South South. Yet, his tenure has been marked by:
Prioritizing Non-Essential Projects: Umahi has been obsessed with constructing “concrete roads” (a policy criticized by engineers) while ignoring rail infrastructure.
2. Lack of Advocacy: He failed to lobby the Presidency or National Assembly to include the Eastern Rail Corridor (Port Harcourt-Maiduguri) in the 2025 budget.
3. Complicity in Exclusion: Umahi’s silence as Lagos received N196 billion for rail projects – while the Enugu-Onitsha rail remains a pipe dream – proves he is a yes-man, not a regional champion.
When confronted about the South East’s exclusion, Umahi quipped, “Rail projects take time.” Yet, the Lagos-Ibadan rail was completed in record time. His excuse is an insult to the intelligence of his people.
Ministers from the South East and South South are complicit in their regions’ underdevelopment:
Nyesom Wike (FCT Minister, Rivers): Once a vocal advocate for the Niger Delta, Wike now focuses on “beautifying Abuja” while Rivers State’s rail links rot.
– Festus Keyamo (Aviation Minister, Delta): Keyamo has done nothing to revive the Warri Airport or connect the Niger Delta to national rail networks.
– Uche Nnaji (Innovation Minister, Enugu): A redundant portfolio with zero impact on infrastructure.
These ministers are content to collect salaries and ride in convoys while their regions bleed.
To fully grasp the depth of betrayal by South East and South South political leaders, one must dissect the warped psychology that drives their complicity in regional underdevelopment. These leaders – Godswill Akpabio, Benjamin Kalu, Dave Umahi, and their ilk – operate not from a place of ideological conviction or emancipatory vision, but from a toxic brew of opportunism, fear, and internalized inferiority. Their mindsets, shaped by Nigeria’s oppressive political culture, reveal why they are structurally incapable of championing the liberation or progress of their people.
Godswill Akpabio’s political persona is a case study in narcissistic self-preservation. As Senate President, he has rebranded himself as a “detribalized statesman,” a label he uses to mask his abandonment of the Niger Delta. Akpabio’s psychology is rooted in a desperate need for validation from Nigeria’s Northern and Southwestern elite, whom he perceives as the real custodians of power. To him, advocating for the South South risks reducing his stature to a “regional leader,” a title he disdains. This mindset mirrors the colonial-era “House Negro” complex – a compulsion to please the oppressor to secure crumbs of relevance.
Akpabio’s infamous quib, “What is good for Nigeria is good for Akwa Ibom,” is not patriotism – it is Stockholm Syndrome. He has internalized the lie that prioritizing his people’s needs is “sectional,” while looting their resources to fund projects in other regions is “nationalism.” His loyalty is to the preservation of his own power, even if it means presiding over the economic asphyxiation of his homeland.
Benjamin Kalu’s failure on the other hand, is more insidious. As Deputy Speaker, he represents a generation of South East leaders crippled by fear of political annihilation. Kalu’s psyche is dominated by the trauma of the Igbo political experience – the unspoken rule that “rocking the boat” leads to exclusion from Nigeria’s power structures. His reluctance to demand rail projects for the South East stems not from ignorance, but from a pathological fear of being labeled a “troublemaker.”
Kalu’s “Peace in South East Project” (PISE-P) is a Freudian projection of his own psychological fragility. By framing agitation for equity as “violence,” he pathologized legitimate grievances. His peace advocacy is, in reality, a coping mechanism to avoid confronting the federal government’s brutality and neglect. Kalu’s mindset is that of a hostage negotiating for better prison conditions rather than demanding freedom.
Dave Umahi’s psychology is defined by a fatalistic pragmatism. As Minister of Works, he has accepted the South East’s marginalization as an immutable reality. His focus on “concrete roads” is not an engineering preference but a psychological surrender – a belief that the region must settle for substandard infrastructure because “that’s all they’ll give us.” Umahi’s tenure exposes the fallacy of the “technocratic fixer” in a system rigged against his people.
Umahi’s refusal to confront the Presidency over the rail exclusion of the South-East and South-South, reveals a deeper pathology: the internalization of inferiority. He views himself as a “guest” in the corridors of power, not a stakeholder entitled to demand equity. His celebrated “projects” are palliative care for a terminal patient – cosmetic gestures that do nothing to cure the disease of federal neglect.
The broader political class from these regions suffers from a survivalist mentality. Having grown up in a system that punishes dissent, they prioritize individual survival over collective progress. This explains why South East and South South legislators:
Avoid Coalition-Building: They fragment into petty factions, refusing to unite as a regional bloc.
– Chase Personal Enrichment: They trade legislative influence for contracts, appointments, and bribes.
– Normalize Betrayal: They rationalize exclusion with statements like, “Next time, our turn will come.”
This survivalist mindset is a product of Nigeria’s toxic federalism, which conditions marginalized leaders to see themselves as beggars, not equals. Their actions are not driven by malice but by a warped adaptation to oppression – a belief that resistance is futile.
This political betrayal of Nigeria’s South East and South South regions is not an aberration but the culmination of a toxic ecosystem that breeds leaders devoid of conscience, vision, or loyalty to their people. To understand why these regions are cursed with such inept and self-serving representatives, one must look closely at the historical, institutional, and psychological forces that mold them into agents of their own people’s oppression.
The South East and South South carry the scars of Nigeria’s most defining traumas. The Eastern Nigerians, especially the Igbo, still haunted by the 1967 – 1970 genocide and postwar ostracization, internalized a survivalist ethos: adapt or perish. This birthed a generation of leaders who view politics as a game of appeasement, not liberation. In the Niger Delta, decades of environmental plunder and militarized repression taught its elites to equate power with access to oil rents, not development. These regions’ leaders emerged from a crucible of violence and exclusion, conditioned to prioritize survival over sovereignty.
Leaders like Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) exemplify a psychological captivity to Nigeria’s oppressive center. Having witnessed the annihilation of defiance – from Ken Saro-Wiwa’s execution to the suppression of IPOB – they rationalize collaboration as pragmatism. Their mantra: Better to dine with the devil than be devoured. This Stockholm Syndrome manifests as a pathological need to prove “loyalty” to Abuja, even at the cost of their people’s future.
Nigeria’s political architecture is a machine designed to extinguish idealism. Parties are transactional franchises, not ideological movements. Elections are won not by platforms but by patronage, violence, and rigging. In this moral vacuum, the South’s leaders are not anomalies – they are products.
Benjamin Kalu (Deputy Speaker) and Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzor Kalu typify a class of politicians for whom power is a commercial venture. Their driving impetus? Access to the National Cake. With no ideological compass, they defect across parties, broker backroom deals, and weaponize legislative seats for personal enrichment. The South’s oil wealth, rather than funding development, becomes a slush fund for electoral bribes and vanity projects.
In 2023, over 60% of South East/South South legislators defected to the ruling APC after elections, not out of conviction but to secure committee appointments. Their “representation” is a masquerade; their true constituency is their bank account.
Weak institutions – judiciary, anti-graft agencies, media – enable leaders to act without consequence. A 2023 UNDP report noted that only 12% of corruption cases against Nigerian lawmakers end in conviction. This impunity emboldens brazen theft and neglect.
Ministers like Festus Keyamo (Delta) and Uche Nnaji (Enugu) operate with audacious indifference. They funnel contracts to cronies, ignore constituent needs, and mock calls for equity. Their mindset? What will the people do? Protest? The police will crush them. The Niger Delta’s environmental ruin and the South East’s dilapidated roads are monuments to their reign of impunity.
The South’s political class thrives on historical amnesia. Leaders erase the legacy of icons like Nnamdi Azikiwe, who prioritized education and pan-Africanism, or Melford Okilo, who resisted military dictatorship. Today’s leaders weaponize ethnic identity during elections, only to discard it in Abuja.
Governors like Hope Uzodinma (Imo) and Sim Fubara (Rivers) invoke “Igbo unity” or “Niger Delta solidarity” to win votes, then sabotage regional alliances. They fear a united South more than a hostile North, knowing solidarity would threaten their fiefdoms.
The interplay of these forces creates leaders who are:
Survivalists, not strategists.
– Opportunists, not visionaries.
– Collaborators, not challengers.
Consequences:
Material Loss: No functional seaports, rails, or industries in the South East/South South.
2. Moral Erosion: A youth exodus (70% of Igbo graduates seek opportunities abroad) and rising separatist movements and agitations.
The South’s leadership crisis is a mirror reflecting Nigeria’s soul – a nation cannibalizing its own. To break this cycle, the people must:
Reclaim Memory: Revive the legacies of Zik, Okpara, and Victor Atta as blueprints for resistance and progress.
– Build Parallel Institutions: Fund community-led audits, independent media, and legal challenges to exclusionary policies.
– Purge the Rot: Vote out mercenaries and boycott elections until parties field credible candidates.
The South’s resources built Abuja’s skyscrapers and Lagos’ rail lines. Now, its people must tear down the political edifice that enslaves them. Until then, the betrayal will persist – a haunting elegy for what could have been.
Senator Ike Nwachukwu’s legacy haunts today’s leaders. As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power in the early 2000s, Nwachukwu weaponized his position to block anti-Igbo policies. When the Obasanjo administration tried to exclude the South East from a national power project, Nwachukwu convened a midnight meeting with the then Power Minister, Sen. Bola Ige, threatening to “bury the bill” unless the region was included. His resolve came from an unshakable belief in his people’s right to equity – a mindset foreign to today’s leaders.
Nwachukwu’s defiance was rooted in dignity, not desperation. He saw himself as a representative of Igbo interests, not a supplicant. Today’s leaders, by contrast, lack this psychological fortitude. Their identities are tied to Abuja’s validation, not their people’s respect.
In conclusion, the South East and South South’s political landscape is a graveyard of principles, littered with the carcasses of leaders who sold their souls for a seat at the table. These regions, once home to visionary statesmen like Nnamdi Azikiwe and Michael Okpara – men who fused ideology with action – are now cursed with a generation of politicians devoid of any moral or philosophical anchor. Their sole ideology? Power for power’s sake. This shameless pursuit of relevance, stripped of any commitment to justice or development, has reduced governance to a vulgar transaction, where the interests of over 100 million people are traded for personal gain.
Godswill Akpabio’s political career is a textbook example of ideological bankruptcy. As governor of Akwa Ibom (2007 – 2015), he branded himself a progressive, launching ostentatious projects like the Akwa Ibom International Stadium while neglecting rural infrastructure. His defection from the PDP to the APC in 2018, shortly after his corruption scandals surfaced, exposed his lack of conviction. Akpabio did not join the APC out of belief in its ideals but as a survival tactic to evade accountability. As Senate President, he has weaponized his position not to uplift the Niger Delta but to launder his image as a “national leader.” For me, “Akpabio is the archetype of Nigeria’s crisis of leadership – a man who mistakes theatrics for governance and loyalty to power for patriotism.”
The Igbo political tradition, once defined by the egalitarian ethos of Ofo na Ogu (justice and equity), has been suffocated by figures like Benjamin Kalu. As Deputy Speaker, Kalu has reduced Igbo leadership to a performative ritual of “inclusion theater.” His much-hyped “Peace in South East Project” (PISE-P) is a vacuous spectacle, devoid of any tangible agenda to address marginalization. Instead of channeling Zik’s diplomatic assertiveness or Odumegwu Ojukwu’s defiance, Kalu peddles subservience as strategy. Communication expert Chief Chuma Igwe notes: “Today’s Igbo leaders have abandoned the philosophy of “Ako na Uche” (wisdom and discernment). They negotiate from a position of fear, not strength.”
Kalu’s silence as the South East was excluded from rail funding reveals a man more invested in preserving his title than his people’s future.
Dave Umahi’s tenure as Minister of Works lays bare the fallacy of “technocratic competence” in the absence of ideological vision. Umahi, an engineer by training, has focused on constructing “concrete roads” while ignoring the “concrete” systemic exclusion of the South East from rail development. His apologists argue he is “pragmatic,” but pragmatism without principle is complicity. As Political Scientist Okeke Anya observes: “Umahi’s concrete roads are a metaphor for his governance – hard on the surface, hollow beneath. He builds roads to nowhere because he lacks a map to liberation.”
When pressed on the South East’s rail exclusion, Umahi retorted, “We must manage what we have.” This defeatist rhetoric, a far cry from the defiant resourcefulness of Dr. Michael Okpara (who industrialized the East with no federal support), underscores his ideological barrenness.
The South East and South South’s representatives are not anomalies – they are products of a national culture that rewards opportunism and punishes principle. Political economist Prof. Pat Utomi laments: “Nigeria’s leaders have no ideology beyond self-enrichment. They are political robots programmed to loot.” Today’s leaders lack this clarity of purpose. They are, as Chinua Achebe wrote in The Trouble with Nigeria, “men without chests” – empty vessels clattering in the wind of opportunism.
The South East and South South do not need more “smart” politicians – they need leaders with ideological spines and depth. Men and women who, like Zik and Okpara, view power as a means to emancipate, not enslave. Until then, the regions will remain in the grip of a shameful paradox: rich in resources, impoverished by the moral bankruptcy of those who claim to lead.
The South East and South South’s political leaders are not just failures – they are active collaborators in their regions’ oppression. Akpabio, Kalu, Umahi, and others must be named, shamed, and voted out. The example of Senator Ike Nwachukwu proves that courageous leadership is possible. Until then, the people must organize, protest, and demand accountability. Enough is enough.
The facts laid bare in this essay should sicken any Igbo, Efik, ibibio, Ijaw, Kalabari, Benin or Ogoja man or woman who dares to dream of a prosperous, equitable future. What we are witnessing is not merely marginalization; it is the wholesale auctioning of our dignity by the very people elected to defend it. The South East’s and South South’s political landscape is a wasteland – a grotesque theater where so-called leaders masquerade as representatives while their souls are mortgaged to Abuja’s corridors of power.
Where are Akpabio and Kalu? Perched in their lofty seats, they have perfected the art of silence, mistaking proximity to power for influence. Where are the legions of senators and House members from these regions? They are lost in the labyrinth of party politics, trading the hopes of their peoples for committee appointments and phantom “empowerment” programs. Where are the South East and South South governors and state assemblies? They are busy erecting statues and renaming airports, their vision stunted by a poverty of ambition.
This is not governance; it is a crime against a people. The open exclusion of the South East and South South from critical rail projects – funded by our oil, our gas, our sweat – is a slap that demands more than tears. It demands revolt. To suggest, as some apologists do, that we should wait for a supplementary budget is to spit on the graves of Zik, Okpara, and Ojukwu. Supplementary budgets are where hope goes to die – a graveyard for the marginalized.
The proverb “monkey dey work, baboon dey chop” no longer suffices to capture this travesty. Here, the monkey does not merely labor; it is skinned alive to clothe the baboon. The South East and South South resources are extracted at gunpoint, its youth exiled to distant lands, its infrastructure left to rot – all while its leaders feast at the table of their people’s oppressors.
Enough. If our representatives will not act, the people must. Legal action against the federal government’s exclusionary budgets is not an option; it is a duty. Regional alliances across the South East and South South to halt oil production until equity is guaranteed must be considered. Mass protests, strikes, and relentless media campaigns should become our new vocabulary.
But let us be clear: No liberation can come until we purge ourselves of the leeches masquerading as leaders. The region needs a political renaissance – a generation of leaders who value legacy over luxury, who see power as a weapon of liberation, not a tool of subjugation. Until then, we are not just marginalized; we are accomplices in our own erasure.
The bells of history are tolling. The greater Southern nations must choose: rise now, or vanish into the abyss of Nigeria’s cruel paradox. The time for lamenting is over. The hour of reckoning is here.
©️Agbeze Ireke Kalu Onuma,AI-KO
Political Analyst and Cultural Critic
iagbeze@msn.com
