Night clubbers as political errand boys, by Ochereome Nnanna

2026-03-18 - 00:33

On February 18, 2026, I wrote an article on this page titled: “City Boy’s South-East invasion”. It was all about the involvement of some Igbo socialites such as “E-Money”, “Obi Cubana”, “Cubana Chief Priest”, “Zenco” and others in Seyi Tinubu’s City Boy Movement which had just been imported into the South-East. Some Igbo activists felt affronted by this “invasion” and formed their own Village Boys with the intention of confronting the City Boy group in the unfolding political season. Mindful of the need to prevent clashes and possible bloodletting, I called for the spirit of live and let live. I pointed out that the City Boy agents for President Bola Tinubu in the South-East were carefully handpicked. As the “businessmen” that they pose as, it is unrealistic to expect them to reject an opportunity to forge a close relationship with the president. No one rejects the extended hand of the president of his country or any country. Even Aliko Dangote will hurry to Uganda if invited by President Yoweri Museveni, as small as Uganda is. A Nigerian president can make or mar any businessman. Over the past week, some of the City Boy promoters in the South-East started opening their mouths and letting us know just how vacuous they are. Politics is more serious than throwing bundles of naira and dollars of questionable acquisition at people and shouting “money na water”. The political arena is not a night club. Seyi Tinubu made these nightclubbers suddenly begin to see themselves as “political leaders” with liberty to insult the Igbo nation. At a parley with Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State who recently defected to Tinubu’s APC, Obi Cubana annoyed millions of Ndi Igbo all over the world when he claimed: “Our people lack political knowledge, and our work is mostly to educate (them)”. Also, at the display of goods in Owerri procured to bribe the people to join City Boy, Cubana Chief Priest said, to the outrage of the entire Igbo nation: “We the Igbos are the people that were defeated during the war...we do not want to lose again...” Personally, I don’t care who supports who in the 2026 election. I have no candidate except Governor Alex Otti of Abia State. I won’t fight anybody for supporting any candidate of his or her choice. In fact, I will like President Tinubu to get at least 25 per cent in each South-East state, no matter who the majority of the people support. If Obi Cubana and his boy, Cubana Chief Priest were wise, they would have adopted the strategy of marketing rather than this swashbuckling, hoity-toity-aren’t-we-grand, bone-mouthing approach they have deployed. So, it is now Seyi Tinubu that has given them the mandate to “educate” Ndi Igbo? Let us even look at their claims closely. The notion of Igbo “defeat” does not stand. Ndi Igbo were pushed into a war they never planned for, to enable Britain and their Northern Nigeria oligarchy allies take control of the oil resources of the Niger Delta. Biafra fought gallantly against the entire Nigerian federation and their powerful global power backers for almost three years and accepted terms for the end of the conflict, 56 years ago. They suffered the Abandoned Property persecution, were given 20 pounds (but only for those who had bank deposits), were excluded from the benefits of the Indigenisation policies and battled pernicious, hostile and corrupt officials in their businesses. But look at the six geopolitical zones and the various ethnic groups today. The Igbo nation is rated as the wealthiest, most educated and socially-advanced in Nigeria and the African continent. Despite Muhammadu Buhari and APC’s Fulanisation and Islamisation agenda, the South-East is currently the fastest developing and most secured geopolitical zone. Look at the North and even the South-West (beyond Lagos) and tell me what “victory” and “defeat” look like, despite the fact that they have controlled power since the civil war ended. The Igbo nation has also been kept at bay politically since 1970, despite the valiant efforts of political giants like Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, Dr Alex Ekwueme, Ochiagha Okoh Ebitu Ukiwe, Dr Chuba Okadigbo and other Igbo titans. The argument has always been that the Igbo must “link up with the Centre” to escape the civil war’s residual alienations. The more Igbo politicians struggle to “linkup” with the Centre, the more they are pushed away by the North and West. In addition to the herculean labours of the above-named colossi for political restructuring to properly accommodate Ndi Igbo in Nigeria, the South-East has patiently sacrificed, cooperated and voted for other zones, but when it was their turn to produce the president in 2023, Tinubu and Abubakar Atiku blocked them. Ndi Igbo have also contributed more than any other group in the economic resilience of Nigeria and physical development of all its parts. Obi Cubana and his bartender, Chief Priest, being night crawlers, are ignorant of the struggles that Ndi Igbo have put up to rebuild Nigeria. At this point, the average Igbo person has realised that Nigeria is beyond repair. Other Nigerians who propound the indivisibility of Nigeria have long divided the country and are now picking the pieces. The Igbo masses already know, and their minds are already in a different future that will be unencumbered by this falsehood. They are one leg in, one leg out. But while the beat goes on, they must guard against the shenanigans of political mercenaries such as the City Boy Movement. This is a new layer or generation of the political adventurers foisted from outside – to stand against the Igbo interest from inside the South-East for the benefit of outsiders. If they will not respect the dignity of the Igbo nation, they must be kept within their dingy nightclubs where they really belong!