Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, has urged the South East to return to strategic political engagement in order to regain relevance at the centre of national decision-making.
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Mbah made the call on Tuesday while receiving the leadership and members of the City Boy Movement, a group advocating the reelection of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the Government House in Enugu.
The governor lamented that the South East had never been as politically fragmented and disconnected from the centre as it had been in recent years, stressing the need for Ndigbo to realign strategically with the mainstream of national politics.
Recalling the political approach of Igbo forebears, Mbah noted that they were known for building alliances and maintaining influence at the national level rather than pursuing isolationist politics.
“If you go back in history and talk about our forebears, they were always willing to have a handshake across the Niger whenever it became necessary. For us as Ndi Igbo, we have never played politics that is driven by sentiment. We have always been very strategic and that is what has been bequeathed to us by our forebears. We cannot allow that to be eroded before our very eyes,” he said.
The governor expressed concern that the South East currently lacks strong representation in the hierarchy of national leadership.
“We are not even at a table where critical national issues are discussed. If you look at the order of protocol in this country today, the order of succession, we are nowhere. I think we should be at number six, which is the Deputy Speaker,” he stated.
He added that the region had historically avoided being sidelined in national politics but had recently suffered political fragmentation.
“As I said, our forebears had never played a politics where they are on the sidelines, where the Igbo man was not at the table where decisions about this country are made. But I am glad that we are trying to retrace our footsteps.
“We have never, as a zone, until recently, been so fragmented. But I want to believe that such fragmentation has somehow ended. We are all speaking from one page now in terms of leadership in the South East,” Mbah added.
The governor also commended the economic policies of President Tinubu, noting that although they initially posed economic challenges, they had begun addressing macroeconomic pressures and stabilising areas such as foreign exchange that previously discouraged foreign investors.
He expressed confidence that Nigerians would reelect the president as the benefits of the Renewed Hope Agenda continue to reach citizens.
“We must not allow ourselves to be deceived again. We have to align ourselves to be strategic; and the way to be strategic is to be analytical, be very objective, and deal with reality rather than be delusional. We know what the political reality today is. It is up to us to embrace the winning and leading team.
“Given the policies and programmes of the Renewed Hope Agenda, the president will easily win his reelection. We need to be extremely smart to get ourselves in the centre of the game so that we are not on the margins again,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the South East Coordinator of the City Boy Movement, businessman Obinna Iyiegbu, said the region had lost considerable political ground due to isolationist politics but had now learned the need to build strategic alliances.
According to him, Ndigbo must reconnect with the centre in order to secure development and future political opportunities.
“So, as young professionals and businessmen and women, we have come out to tell our people that we are solidly behind Mr. President. We are solidly behind his reelection bid. Ala Igbo has to be taken to the centre,” he said.
“We have to be connected to the gas, we have to be connected to the rail, a lot of things we expect from the centre.
“Again, we cannot be fighting everybody or whoever is at the centre of power today because when it gets to our turn, we need support from every zone for us to be able to produce a president of Igbo extraction,” he added.
Also speaking, the State Director of the Movement, Emeka Mammah, and its State Patron, Charles Mbah, commended Governor Mbah for what they described as the transformation taking place in Enugu State under his administration.
They pledged the movement’s commitment to mobilising support to secure landslide victories for President Tinubu and Governor Mbah in future elections.