Youth Forum: Tinubu’s Fate in South-east Hinges on Youths, Not Political Office Holders

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

Contrary to the assurances by South-east political leaders in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that the party would reap a huge harvest of votes in the zone in 2027, the expected roller-coaster victory may not eventually happen. 

This is because a youth group in the South-east under the umbrella of All Igbo Youth Forum(AIYF), yesterday  warned political leaders against making “bogus claims” concerning Igbo votes, saying that youths hold the trump cards and not political office holders. 

South-east APC has been benefitting from the massive defections of political heavy weights from opposition parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), thereby emboldening the APC leaders in their claim that South-east is a low hanging fruit for the ruling party. 

But at a press conference in Umuahia,  President General of the AIYF, Hon Chinedum Obilor (popularly known as Fayose Ohuhu), insisted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC would not get wholesale support in the 2027 general election in Southeast. 

He said that direction of casting Igbo votes that majorly come from youth population would depend on either the release or continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). 

Obilor, who is a former Deputy Chairman of Umuahia North Local Government Area, stated that the AIYF with membership across the five states of Southeast and Igbo speaking areas of South South, has put forward Kanu’s freedom as condition for supporting Tinubu’s second term bid. 

He told Mr. President that he should “not be deceived by empty assurances by Igbo political leaders”, adding that Igbo youths would neither cast votes for Tinubu nor APC with Kanu remaining in detention. 

“Our governors are deceiving you (Mr. President). Our Senators and House of Representatives members are deceiving you. They claim to be in charge but they are not. We, the youths are the ones in charge of Igbo land,” Obilor declared. 

According to him, “Kanu’s release is the highest need of Ndigbo” hence President Tinubu needs not to incentivise Igbo youths to vote for him in 2027 if only he would set the IPOB leader free as being demanded. 

“We want President Tinubu to release Kanu. If you do it, you don’t need to give us rice or money to vote for you in 2027. But if you don’t, we will negotiate with anyone willing to release him for us irrespective of his tribe,” the forum spokesperson. 

The press conference was organised alongside a rally by over 300 youths from various states of South-east and South South that gathered at Awka Hall Umuahia to celebrate Kanu’s recent legal victory in Kenya court. After the press conference, the youths proceeded to a victory march through the streets of the Abia capital, singing solidarity songs. 

A Kenyan High Court in Nairobi, presided by Hon Justice E.C. Mwita, had on June 26, declared Kanu’s abduction and extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria, “illegal and unconstitutional” and “a violation of his fundamental human rights under Kenyan and international law”. 

The Court consequently awarded compensatory damages of 10 million Kenyan shillings (N120 million) to Kanu. 

The PG of the Igbo Youth Forum described the court judgment in Kenya as “historic and a confirmation that Kanu did nothing to deserve (the ongoing) unjust incarceration and continued prosecution” by Nigerian government. 

He urged President Tinubu to “listen to Igbo youths” and release Kanu, regretting that the federal government had ignored similar pleas made by “our leaders, including the late President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu; Chief Mbazurike Amaechi, and others”. 

“We want you to listen to Igbo youths now. If you do it for us you will hear from us but if you refuse to do it you will equally hear from us in the next election,” the youth leader said to President Tinubu.