Nze Tobe Osigwe, your argument is not only factual — it is a mirror that every region, including my own North, must look into. And the clearest proof of your point lies right here in Northern Nigeria’s political evolution.
From 1960 to 1999, the North did not dominate Nigeria because of votes, religion, or any mythical “Arewa supremacy.” We dominated because we understood the golden rule of Nigerian politics: POWER IN NIGERIA IS A PRODUCT OF ALLIANCES.
THE NORTH OF 1960–1999: THE GRANDMASTERS OF ALLIANCE POLITICS
Ahmadu Bello didn’t just rule the North, he orchestrated Nigeria’s political chessboard:
He built an NPC–NCNC coalition that gave the North control at the center. He invested in political friendships with Igbo and South-South leaders like Nnamdi Azikiwe and Michael Okpara. He supported alliances that made Tafawa Balewa acceptable nationally.
People forget that Ahmadu Bello balanced the North through Middle Belt diplomacy, partnering with figures like Joseph Tarka, whose Middle Belt rebellion forced the North to incorporate minority interests instead of ignoring them. This created a Northern political culture where Middle Belt votes were seen not as backups, but as essential pillars of stability.
In Kano, NEPU under Aminu Kano, and later PRP, represented the conscience and ideological soul of the North. Aminu Kano’s talakawa ideology, focused on the liberation of the common man, organically built progressive alliances with southern radicals.
This ideology formed the basis of PRP–Igbo progressive collaborations, particularly during the Balarabe Musa era, where Igbo activists, academics, and labour leaders worked hand-in-hand with PRP governors and legislators. It was one of the earliest, clearest examples of North–South ideological unity outside ethnic politics.
During the Second Republic, the North used the NPN machinery, to strengthened massively by forging alliances with: Zik’s influence in the East. Minority strongholds in Cross River, Rivers, and today’s Bayelsa. Yoruba political factions ready to cooperate nationally. Middle Belt kingmakers like Joseph Tarka. Kano’s ideological blocs, who could never be ignored.
Behind this national spread stood the intellectual backbone of the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua political school — a network that trained governors, future presidents, political tacticians, and grassroots mobilizers in the art of national coalition politics. Even at the peak of regional competition, the North understood a principle the modern generation has forgotten: You don’t fight potential allies — you convert them.
This same philosophy shaped the 1993 political landscape:
The SDP/NRC era forced a national blend of candidates. MKO Abiola would not have won without massive votes from the North — including Kano’s progressive bloc and Middle Belt states like Plateau, Benue, Niger, and Kwara. The North supported a Yoruba Muslim candidate over a northern one because the principle of national alliance was stronger than regional sentiment.
During the military era:
Gowon integrated Igbo technocrats during reconstruction. Murtala Mohammed ensured national balance in military and civil positions. Babangida, backed Middle Belt officers, systemized national party structures to weaken ethnic polarization.
Throughout these decades, Middle Belt votes remained the decisive factor in every northern-led victory: 1979: Shagari won because Plateau, Benue, Kwara, Niger stood with the North. 1983: Same pattern repeated. 1999: Obasanjo won because the North, especially the Middle Belt, backed a southern candidate for stability. 2003–2011: Middle Belt states determined the margins in every presidential election. 2015 & 2019: Buhari’s victory came from combining the North-West with massive Middle Belt support in Niger, Kogi, Kwara, and parts of Plateau.
The message was clear:
Without the Middle Belt, the North is politically crippled. But the new generation has forgotten this truth.
That is why the old North was respected — not feared.
Trusted — not resented.
And embraced — not isolated.
THE NEW NORTH: BURNING BRIDGES OUR FATHERS SPENT 40 YEARS BUILDING
But from 1999 to now, the North has produced a generation of political actors who behave like arsonists, not strategists.
They: Shattered historic alliances with the South-East and South-South. Drove northern minorities and Middle Belt groups away by ignoring their grievances. Allowed Kano’s legacy of progressive politics to be replaced by ego wars. Allowed the once-respected Yar’Adua political school to collapse into irrelevant factions. Abandoned PRP-style progressive alliances with southern radicals. Weaponised ethnicity on social media. Replaced diplomacy with insults. Turned politics into regional shouting contests. Forgot that Nigeria cannot be ruled by one bloc alone.
Today, the North is sliding back into regional isolation, while the South-West, once the champion of regional politics, has mastered the coalition-building playbook the North abandoned.
The Yoruba elite studied: Ahmadu Bello’s coalition methods. The Yar’Adua political school. Middle Belt accommodation strategy. Kano’s ideological dynamism. Northern inter-regional diplomacy. They built alliances with the North, East, and minorities, and today they control the center.
Meanwhile, the North is busy tearing itself apart online while losing the friends that sustained its power for four decades.
THIS IS THE EXACT LESSON NDI IGBO MUST LEARN.
Nze, your point is painfully accurate: no constitutional barrier prevents an Igbo presidency — the barrier is political strategy.
Look at the facts: 1979–1983: Alex Ekwueme became Vice President only nine years after the war. Why? Alliance politics. 2007: Buhari picked Chuba Okadigbo, a national titan. 2011: Buhari picked Ume-Ezeoke, a respected Igbo leader.
Yet the South-East elite rejected both tickets, while the Yoruba elite accepted a VP slot under the North in 2015 — and today they hold the Presidency.
It is not about sentiment.
It is not about emotions.
It is not about victimhood.
It is about alliances — the only real political currency in Nigeria.
Imagine if the East had embraced alliances in 2007 or 2011 the way the South-West did in 2015. By now the South-East would be knocking directly on the Presidential door.
Nigeria is a negotiation table, not a battlefield.
THE IGBO POLITICAL CLASS MUST AVOID THE NEW NORTHERN MISTAKES.
Because the truth is bitter: the North lost political advantage because it burnt bridges.
The East has not even built them yet.
If Ndi Igbo want the Presidency, then: Build strategic alliances with the North. Rebuild trust with northern minorities and the Middle Belt bloc. Engage the South-West, not antagonize them. Stop turning political disagreements into social media warfare. Stabilize internal Igbo political leadership. Produce candidates who reassure, not polarize
This is exactly how the North ruled for decades. This is how the South-West rules today. This is the path the South-East must walk if it wants the center.
ON THE “IGBOS ARE SLAVES” NARRATIVE
Let’s be brutally honest:
Nigeria has no slaves, only strategies that work, and strategies that fail. Calling Igbos “slaves” is not only false but dishonorable to a people who are arguably the most enterprising ethnic group on the continent. No group in Nigeria is enslaved. But many groups — including the North today — are politically asleep.
You are right:
The North won through alliances. The South-West now wins through alliances. The South-East will win the day it masters the same formula.
In Nigeria, nobody rises alone. Only partnerships win power, and only political wisdom sustains it.
And until every region, including my North and Ndi Igbo, relearn this truth, we will keep running in circles while those who understand coalition politics keep ruling this country.
