Dr. Josef Onoh, former spokesman for President Bola Tinubu in the southeast, has clarified that the region’s refusal to join the ongoing protests is a stance against Nigeria’s systemic marginalization, not a rejection of the Tinubu administration.
Onoh emphasized that the southeast has been denied its rightful status and subjected to 54 years of hardship, making it unfair to expect the region to lead protests when it is excluded from key appointments, leadership roles, and infrastructure development.
Onoh’s statement came in response to a tweet by Senator Shehu Sani, who questioned why the protests were not taking place in all parts of the southeast region.
Onoh explained that the southeast’s silence is a form of protest against Nigeria’s failure to accord the region its due status as an integral part of the country.
He pointed out that the region has been imposed with hardship for 54 years and is now being blamed for the current situation under President Tinubu’s administration.
Onoh urged other regions not to expect the southeast to be at the forefront of the present protests when they have historically excluded the region from substantial inclusive infrastructure and leadership opportunities.
Onoh said that, “The South East is silent because the protesters demanded scrapping of the 1999 constitution and to replace it with a people-made constitution, without providing their own people-made manuscript for that new constitution.
“The South East is silent because the protesters demanded that the president should toss the nation’s legislative arm of the government, the National Assembly, and exhibited ignorance of the President’s lack of constitutional powers to scrap any arm of the government.
“The south east is silent because even under a democratic setting, the south east region is on high level of militarization, and the protesters are also chanting for military rule which would be more devastating to the region.
The south east is silent because our silence has exposed the ‘real enemies’ of President Tinubu.
“The south east is silent because we do not have the political luxuries, influence, entitlement and benefits the regions participating in the protest have for they have continuously basked in its glory. The north have produced presidents, the south-south and south West but not the south east, hence we see it as a problem between husbands and wives while we are the houseboy. The same north asking why we are not protesting forgot they once told us we are a dot in a circle so why has the dot become important now?
“When we had tears to shed, no region whipped away our tears. When we had a voice to shout, they said we were mad. When we cared, they said we had other motives. Today we are the least represented region in the current administration, we feel we are not wanted, we feel we are hated, we feel isolated, we feel distant, we feel the current administration doesn’t care about us hence we have continuously lived under a state of hardship and hopelessness that we don’t have any more tears to shed nor energy to protest.
“We have been so traumatized to the extent that we now laugh rather than cry but our laughter is actually the highest level of walling. Unfortunately we feel the pain of the protesters, you cry and we hear your message loud and clear but unfortunately we are helpless to offer any support or join in your protest against our president. Our only message is ‘welcome to the club.’ Nigerians are suffering but we the south easterners have never known anything other than hardship and suffering. We are constantly treated like outcasts in our country.
“Irrespective of the above, I still believe in President Tinubu, he might not have all the solutions but if we come together as a nation irrespective of whether we like each region or not, I believe a variegated group must agree they want to be a people, preserving our tolerant permissive society and to achieve that we must have the will power to do so rather than protest.
“My advice to the President is simple, the problem with Nigeria is political, and time to review some policies. Technocrats and 90 percent of your current appointees have failed you with exception of a select few. And their silence in the current situation is more dangerous than the protest. It once more affirmed my position that your technocrats have failed you because they know nothing about the political problems affecting Nigeria nor have the structure to support you in moving the country forward.
“They only wait for the master to show the Jagaban magic and have left you to be a lone sailor, sailing against turbulent waters. It’s time to reshuffle your cabinet because you can’t fight politicians using technocrats who are best suited to work as lecturers in a university environment. Same politicians and their political structure made you the revered Jagaban of today, a magician can never perform his magic without his wand, hence it’s time to pick up your wand.
“Finally, we need to transform the political narratives and perceptions of Nigeria from a nation saturated by looters instead of leaders, hence I urge the president to strengthen the EFCC and unbundle every political shackles that has interfered with their duties from prosecuting the so called sacred cows. Nigeria isn’t India that has abundance of sacred cows.
“The south east will remain deaf and dumb to any protest call against President Tinubu or Nigeria because they don’t see our nation or the current administration from a different light outside the hardship and suffering they have always known and dealt with in Nigeria.”
