I agree with your last take – change does occur when it looks most unlikely. Bravo.

Indeed, because the system ensures we aren't able to chose our own leaders. If we were, we would easily remove failures & betrayers among them. But currently impostors are imposed from Abuja

His mother is likely Abia, & his father from Ogun

I think that Aguiyi is from Abia State.

Your simp[e answer to Mystic Mallam should be devolution of powers and responsibilities to enable our people decide their fate themselves instead of by those who masquerade as our people but are agents of the usual suspects.

Mystic Mallam knows what Ekwueme meant to us and what happened to him in 1983 and in 1998. He also knows how Uzodinma was imposed. He knows about the red carpet treatment given to criminals like Orji Uzo Karlu and Okorocha, and how Peter Obi and Otti are treated by the same usual suspects.

The late cerebral Maitama Sule (Dan Masanin Kano), the man I hero-worshipped, for instance, had a disturbing view that he shared with me in his Nasarawa-Kano residence, when I went to deliver a message from a SW friend of his. He confided in me that the only Igbo man they would accept for national leadership was Okorocha. That was despite the Gov's horrible record and despite several other Igbos being far better both for Igboland and for the nation. Dan Masanin was aware of Okorocha's severe leadership flaws. If Obi was an Ozodinma, you can bet your life that he would have been more acceptable by and to the usual suspects.

General Obasanjo was the first HOS to visit the then young Imo State. He was pretty impressed with the performance of Gov Ndubuisi Kanu. Rather than encourage and allow him to continue the good job he was doing for one of the states recovering from war damage, he swiftly transferred Kanu to Lagos and replaced him with a guy that did not do as well. As a civilian, he chose intellectually challenged Enwerem over Okadigbo. Don't forget his games with the Uba brothers in Anambra State.

The list goes on.

I am in no way absolving our political leaders from blame for some of our woes. Yet, you have to recognize the strong forces at work against Igbos. Had the female returning officer not refused to bend, Abia would have continued to be sentenced to the roguery of the usual suspects. Otti actually beat Ikpeazu in the 2019 election under APGA but he was rigged out. PDP's Mba lost to his Labour Party counterpart in 2023, but Enugu had a compromised returning officer. Recall that it took public outcry to get Yakubu to support the Abia returning officer.

Devolve power to the grassroots, and Igbos as well as other groups will choose their true leaders. Tell Mystic Mallam that we know our true leaders; he should not mistake the crooks manipulated into office by the flawed status quo as our leaders. Imagine the current Deputy House Speaker, a certain Kanu(?), for instance, attacking Otti – that APC that controls the center and National Assembly will not allow another party to control Abia beyond the current gubernatorial term. That is not the opinion of Igbos, and when such agents succeed, tell Mystic Mallam that they are impositions and not our real leaders. No other zone is as politically handicapped as the SE, and it is by design. It will, sadly, continue to be the case until the polity is restructured. And, it is not a coincidence that average Igbos are the strongest supporters of devolution of power.

Well, it is true. We have a dearth of right leadership to lead us out. But I should add that the appalling crop of leaders we have is itself a result of the precarious situation we have found ourselves. It is easy to divide & to use people who are outside power. And we have been out of power for too long! And hope looks distant.

But change occurs sometimes when it looks most distant and unreal!

''But the Igbo will emerge.'' – Please elaborate, tell us how that is going to happen with the crop of ignorant, selfish, money-is-everything-leaders that you Igbos are throwing up at every level of Nigeria's political space. What happened to the Azikiwes, Okparas, Ekwuemes, Okadigbos, Mbadiwes, Mbakwes, Akanu Ibiams, and a host of other savvy politicians that used emerge from Igboland?

If BAT purged the presidency (Aso Rock), CBN, FIRS, & other critical areas/agencies of Igbos, then overstepped an Igbo (in favour of a Yoruba) for the Comptroller-General, & overstepped an Igbo (in favour of the Yoruba) for Inspector-General of police, etc i.e, areas & positions which favoured Igbos by merit, then disfavouring them in areas of "appointment" will be less eyesbrows raising

Thank you for your friendship, love & solidarity, which have been consistent – like that of Femi Aribisala, Akin Osuntokun & Dele Farotimi.

That said, saying BAT should hand over to an Igbo in 2031 is a joke, sarcasm, hipocrisy & even an insult because you know it cannot happen, both because he won't do it, & because he can't, in the first place. Power will be moving back to the north in 2031 if BAT manages to stay until then. He himself wouldn't have run in the first place if he wanted Igbo presidency. And the idea of his running was meant to ensure the Yoruba does not wait for 24 years before it rotates back to them. That's why he had to run at the expense of the Igbo in 2023. If you yourself are sincere, you wouldn't want him to wait until 2031 (at a time you know it would be impossible) before handing over to the Igbo. Your advice would have been for him to withdraw from contesting in 2027 in favour of the Igbo.

The Yoruba have over the years inflicted among the greatest hurt, & have fashioned among the most poisonous arrows for the Igbo. The Yoruba: (i) introduced tribalism into national politics fighting Zik & Igbo, (ii) locally, the Yoruba led the efort to reject Aburi in order to inherit Igbo positions, which led to the war, (iii) the further liquidation of the Igbo with indigenization policy, (iv) in recent times (which was the remote trigger of the latest animosity) bringing down Jonathan & handing over power to the devil just because of giving Igbo a few portfolios they never had, & now (v) sabotaging the only Igbo chance for the presidency since 1966. Nothing the Fulani has done, has been as impactful as these. After all, the pogrom, although in smaller sacle, also happened in Yorubaland (in spite of the fact that the coup was in favour of theYoruba & had enjoyed Yoruba support as a result, & in spite of the fact that, for the same reason, people like Soyinka wrote to Ironsi not to try the coup plotters).

The only – & greatest favour – the Yoruba had done to the Igbo so far, has been to "allow" them enjoy their constitutionally guaranteed rights of living, voting & being voted for where you want, in Lagos & the southwest. The Yoruba did not "invite" the Igbo to Lagos (a federal capital territory, by the way). In fact, the Yoruba helped in forcing the Igbo back when Igbos seceded in 1967. Again, the Yorubas wage war against Biafra agitation. They now aggressively demolish Igbo property, businesses & residence in the face of these!

Meanwhile, the Yoruba is now officially & openly campaigning against abolition of state of origin in favour of state of birth – because of the Igbo!

But the Igbo will emerge!

Thank you for your friendship, love & solidarity, which have been consistent – like that of Femi Aribisala, Akin Osuntokun & Dele Farotimi.

That said, saying BAT should hand over to an Igbo in 2031 is a joke & even an insult because you know it cannot happen, both because he won't do it, & because he can't, in the first place. Power will be moving back to the north in 2031 if BAT manages to stay until then. He himself wouldn't have run in the first place if he wanted Igbo presidency. And the idea of his running was meant to ensure the Yoruba does not wait for 24 years before it rotates back to them. That's why he had to run at the expense of the Igbo in 2023. If you yourself are sincere, you wouldn't want him to wait until 2031 (at a time you know it would be impossible) before handing over to the Igbo. Your advice would have been for him to withdraw from contesting in 2027 in favour of the Igbo.

As it is, the Yoruba have been the greatest evil facing the Igbo race – an existential evil! My people often yell against the Fulani because of killings that use to happen in the north, and that now happens in the east, plus their greed with power.

But those who over the years have inflicted the greatest pain, who have fashioned the most poisonous arrows for the Igbo have been the Yoruba. The Yoruba: (i) introduced tribalism into national politics fighting Zik & Igbo, (ii) locally, the Yoruba led the efort to reject Aburi in order to inherit Igbo positions, which led to the war, (iii) the further liquidation of the Igbo with indigenization policy, (iv) in recent times (which was the remote trigger of the latest animosity) bringing down Jonathan & handing over power to the devil just because of giving Igbo a few portfolios they never had, & now (v) sabotaging the only Igbo chance for the presidency since 1966. Nothing the Fulani has done, compares to these.

The only – & greatest favour – the Yoruba has done to the Igbo so far, has been to "allow" them enjoy their constitutionally guaranteed rights of living, voting & being voted for where you want in Lagos & the southwest. The Yoruba did not "invite" the Igbo to Lagos (a federal capital territory, by the way). In fact, the Yoruba helped in forcing the Igbo back when Igbos seceded in 1967. Again, the Yorubas wage war against Biafra agitation. They now aggressively demolish Igbo property, businesses & residence in the face of these!

Meanwhile, the Yoruba is now officially & openly campaigning against abolition of state of origin in favour of state of birth – because of the Igbo!

But the Igbo will emerge!

The glaring Igbo exclusion you stressed was intentional. That has been the case since July of '66. That would not be a big deal if the new faction was able to either sustain the standard they inherited or improve upon it. What has it done, instead, with the enormous power it acquired and wealth (both human and material) since then? The answer is the decade after decade of backward slide that defines the nation now. It is a clear evidence of the leadership quality of the faction. Every society reflects the quality of its leadership. The only way to dispute this assertion is, at the minimum, to rival the performance of those they dislodged from power.

Regarding post BAT, there would be no need for him to hand power over to Igbos. It is and should not be up to him; it should be up to the entire stakeholders to agree, per fairness, to zone it to Igbos, and Igbos should then choose among their children who is best qualified to represent them and to lead the nation well. That is meritocracy and it rarely fails.

More important than handing over power to Igbos, however, would be devolution of power in a way that allows each subunit or zone or a coalition of willing zones or ethnic groups to manage their affairs according to the abilities and peculiarities. That way, what happens in Abuja does not significantly affect what happens in the federating units. That is the best case scenario, in my humble opinion.

This country is a huge joke!

What you aptly called "dubious foolery" of a probe is just a smear campaign against Jonathan's presidential ambition, assuming and when he opts to throw his hat in the ring. From your account this was the third time this foolery of a probe is ongoing. As it stands nothing will come out of it.

In any case, I think this falls into your long held narrative about Jonathan's incompetent and corrupt tenure. Instead of pooh-poohing the probe I should suggest you approach the House and tell them all you know. You may never know yours might just be all the needed evidence to finally nail Jonathan. Don't get it twisted, I'm for probe of corrupt and fraudulent officials.

I also advise you start calling out Tinubu's government which after unilaterally removing fuel subsidy continues to borrow billions of dollars without anything to show for it. The exact cost of the Lagos-Calabar coastline road project is still contentious. Initially, we're told the project will be operated under public-private partnership. But not any more!

Out of the 55 attendees, of the first and second cohorts of the NLI seminars, only 3 or 4 of them are Igbo. Notwithstanding the fact that (focusing on only the diaspora) there are as much, if not many more Igbo professionals in the California, New York, and London diaspora that were referenced in Adeniyi's essay

Seriously, after PBT completes his second term in office in 2031, he should hand over to Igbo and call it a day. Regardless of whether it is Peter Obi or Alex Otti. If for nothing, as a face saving gesture for the two other majority tribes (Hausa/Northerners and Yoruba) that have ruled Nigeria, nonstop, below our potential, and arguably into penury, for 65 years. Save for GEJ's 5 years in office

That way, we can change the narrative: "Na Hausa and Yoruba spoil Nigeria"