For too long, our political conversation keeps circling around Biafra in a way that traps us emotionally and strategically.

What started as a tragic chapter in our history has, over time, become a permanent lens through which many of us interpret everything Nigeria does. Every appointment becomes an insult. Every political loss becomes proof of conspiracy. Every disagreement becomes validation of marginalization.

At some point we have to ask ourselves an honest question: is this mindset helping us build power, or is it quietly weakening our position?

No serious people organize their future around a war that was lost sixty years ago.

Remembering history is normal and useful. But turning that memory into the center of political identity is different. It narrows thinking. It keeps a society in reaction mode instead of strategy mode. While others are calculating alliances, building institutions, and positioning themselves inside the machinery of the state, we are often stuck arguing about symbols and feelings instead of leverage. .

Nigeria does not run on sympathy. It runs on interests. It is the same with every country.

Influence in Nigeria comes from numbers, coalition building, economic leverage, and deep presence in national institutions. The regions that understand this play the long game. They negotiate. They compromise when necessary. They place their people everywhere power exists.

Complaining about exclusion while psychologically distancing ourselves from the system is a contradiction.

The truth is that the Igbo are actually one of the most advantaged groups when it comes to integration. We live everywhere. We build businesses everywhere. We are present in every major commercial center in the country. Few ethnic groups have that level of national footprint.

But economic presence alone is not political power.

If we want real security, influence, and respect, we have to become more deliberate. We need coordinated political strategy across states, not fragmented local battles. We need alliances with other regions based on shared interests rather than periodic emotional mobilization. We need to push our best minds into federal institutions, regulatory bodies, the military, the civil service, and national party structures. And we need to strengthen the South East economically so that it becomes impossible to ignore in national planning.

Most importantly, we need to mature politically.

Not every disagreement with the center is oppression. Not every setback is proof of hatred.

Politics is competition, negotiation, and patience. The groups that win are the ones that stay in the arena long enough to shape outcomes.

Our history matters, but it should not become a cage.

The generation ahead of us should be known not for constantly relitigating Biafra, but for building the networks, alliances, and institutions that make Igbo influence undeniable across Nigeria. That is how dignity grows. That is how security improves. That is how a people can move from grievance to power.

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Because the alternative is endless grievances and complaints, and that , we can say with actual lived experiences, hasn’t brought us anything good!

By Chioma Amaryllis Ahaghotu- Strategy Sis

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