Soludo: A Call on Ndigbo to Fully Reintegrate into Nigeria

David-Chyddy Eleke looks at the validity of the recent call by the Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo on Ndigbo to properly reintegrate themselves into the Nigerian project.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State is one governor that cannot claim to be too loved by the man on the street even though he scored over 90 percent of the entire votes cast in the November 8, 2025 governorship election in the state. That may be something to be explained on a later date. Be that as it may, one governor in Nigeria whose candid views cannot be wished away is the professor of econometrics and former governor of the country’s apex bank.

If Soludo’s remarks will make you hate or love him is not his problem, but one thing that is constant is that as painful or scarting as his views may be, you can not also deny the truth embedded in them. Quite a few times since he became governor in 2021, Soludo has canvassed unpopular viewpoints that were neither false nor contestable, yet very unsavoury in the ears of his haters.

One of the most popular of such views remain his iconic open letter titled: History Beckons, I Shall not be Quiet. His views in the publication were direct attacks to his former school mate at UNN, godfather of his son and predecessor, Mr Peter Obi, who was a presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 presidential poll.

Recently, Soludo chose the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day to once more dish out such truth, and this time, his target was the entire Igbo race in the South East Nigeria. The Governor called for an end to self-marginalization by the Igbo people of the South East, urging their youths particularly to shun the sentiment that they were  being marginalized, but to enlist in the Nigerian Armed Forces and embrace their roles as “co-owners” of the Nigerian project.

After a colourful parade by the members of the armed forces and the symbolic laying of wreath on the tomb of the “unknown soldier”, Soludo took the stage and dished out what he considered home truth, reflecting on the 56th anniversary of the end of the Nigerian civil war. He noted that the “no victor, no vanquished” philosophy must remain a guiding light for the nation, describing the civil war as “needless”. But what Soludo considered more germane was the need for the people of the South East to undress themselves of the toga of marginalization which has continued to be constant on the lips of the people of the area.

He lamented that even though the war ended 56 years ago, Igbo have continued to hold onto thoughts of being marginalized, to the point of shunning recruitment into certain critical institutions in the country that can advance their growth and consolidate their voice in the Nigerian project.

For example, year in and year out, the South East has continually registered poor statistics in enrollment in critical sectors like the armed forces. Even in cases when quotas are allocated, the states in the South East refused to take up the slots. This has continued to happen, and has been fueled by dangerous propaganda spread by secessionist elements who want everyone to believe that Igbo people are eternally hated by the system. For example, in the 2006 national census, the Ralph Uwazuruike-led Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), a secessionist group canvassed for the shunning of the exercise by Igbo people, insisting that it was of no use to them.

The group later physically obstructed the exercise, to the point of unleashing violence on census officials. Not even the explanations that the census formed the basis of distribution of amenities and other dividends of democracy could make them rescind their decision.

Also, quite recently, members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB); a later-day secessionist group, led by now imprisoned leader, Nnamdi Kanu had mounted a propaganda against enrollment into the armed forces. This started with the misinformation that Igbo officers serving in the force are pinpointed and sent to bandits and Boko Haram ravaged North East and West respectively, in the hope that they will become sacrificial lambs.

When this failed, the group later declared war against their own brothers serving in the force, referring to them as ‘saboteurs’. Videos abound of members of the militant wing of the IPOB, which is Eastern Security Network (ESN) attacking police formations, even targeting Igbo officers, some killed, others kidnapped and made to die slowly, for daring to enlist in the Nigeria Police, who they refer to as Zoo police.

But aiming at disabusing their minds from this, and telling home truth about how the Igbo can integrate themselves into the Nigerians project and also reap the many benefits of doing so, Soludo during the armed forces remembrance day said: “The Police is working hard, the army; you’re working hard, but Anambra people and the rest of the South East this is the moment that we have to tell ourselves that the civil war has ended and the civil war ended 56 years ago. Our youths from the South East and particularly from Anambra, the last  recruitment into the Army and even into the Police, Anambra and the South East are the lowest in the country.

“I want to use this opportunity to call on our youths to enlist in the Armed forces of Nigeria. Nigeria belongs to all of us and we cannot be full members of an entity and at the same time stay out or decide not to participate. This is one area that we have been marginalizing ourselves. We refused to enter the Police and the Armed Forces, then in a few decades to come we will turn around to complain that there are no officers of Igbo extraction or of Anambra extraction. So we must participate equally as equal owners of project Nigeria.”

Soludo is not oblivious of the activities of a remnant of criminals who pose as separatist, who have been posing as liberators, who aim to liberate the people from the ‘suffocating’ grip of Nigerian authorities who are believed to be haters of Igbo people. Soludo who has continually brandished carrot before stick took one more opportunity to appeal to criminals posing as freedom fighters to vacate the bushes or be treated as the criminals that they are.

Speaking about them, Soludo said: “I want also to call on our brothers and few sisters who are in the bushes and in the forest and so called camps; some say they are liberators but this people are criminals, they are kidnappers and terrorists. You are not liberating anybody, so come out because human beings don’t live in the bushes or forests. Human beings live in houses. The terror era is and must be over, and we have extended olive branch to the remnants, the few left to come out and we will help them to become useful productive citizens of the country. But if you chose to be there, then the line is drawn on the sand and I keep reminding our youths that there is no one who has shut  himself and lived off criminality up to old age. We use this opportunity once again to extend the olive branch.

“As we celebrate the Armed Forces Day today, we call on you to lay down your arms because the civil war is over. We cannot continue the civil war through other means and it is not just for those of them in the South East but for the entire Nigeria. It is time to build Nigeria to realize it’s manifest destiny and not just the largest populous nation on earth but the most progressives nation on earth,” Soludo said.

As apt as Soludo’s message is, it has reverberated well enough in the minds of many, even though a large number has condemned him for what they described as loud mouthedness. After many discussions, Soludo insists that he has said the right thing.

His Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Aburime in his defence of his principal wrote: “History shows that groups that opt out of national processes often wake up a decade later to find themselves statistically “diminished” or under-represented in federal institutions, leading to a fresh cycle of disadvantage that is difficult to reverse. The foregoing dynamics drive the absolute imperative for Ndigbo, especially the vibrant, resilient youths of the Southeast and our brothers and sisters from Anambra State especially, to wake up! The time for sitting on the sidelines is over. The era of self-imposed exile from the heart of Nigeria’s security architecture must end now.

“Think of the heroes the Southeast region would be losing by staying away from enlistment. Our youths, intelligent, innovative, and resilient, could be future generals, strategists, and reformers. So, to the Anambra youths in particular, the Light of the Nation has always led by example. From commerce to education, we have excelled. Now, let us dominate in service to the fatherland. Enlistment offers discipline, skills, and a sense of purpose that no other path may match. It is also a gateway to pensions, prestige, and power. For the broader Southeast, we have rebuilt from the ashes of war; it is time to rebuild our presence in every institution that holds Nigeria together. This is the moment to say “never again” to self-marginalisation.”