Atiku, the Igbo and a relationship that transcends politics

Guest Columnist By Paul Ibe

Some political relationships are born out of electoral calculations. Others are forged through decades of friendship, mutual respect and shared experiences. The relationship between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Igbo people belongs, in significant measure, to the latter.

A video featuring Chief Dan Ulasi, former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State, offers a compelling reminder of this relationship. Ulasi recalls how Atiku, as an officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, assisted Igbo businessmen in clearing imported goods during the difficult years after the Nigerian Civil War.

It is remarkable testimony, not because Atiku is today a political leader, but because the relationship described predates his involvement in national politics. It speaks to a time when the overriding concern of the average Igbo businessman was not electoral politics but economic survival.

To appreciate Ulasi’s recollection, we must revisit the circumstances of the Southeast after the war. When the war ended in January 1970, the Igbo faced enormous devastation. Businesses had collapsed, properties destroyed, families displaced and savings substantially eroded.

The controversial £20 policy compounded their difficulties. Many people surrendering wartime currency received a flat payment of just £20, regardless of amount deposited. Although the policy did not apply uniformly to every account, it remains an enduring symbol of post-war hardship.

Yet, the Igbo refused to surrender to adversity. With remarkable resilience, they rebuilt businesses, revived commercial networks and reclaimed their place in Nigeria’s economic life. From Onitsha to Aba, Nnewi to Enugu and across Nigeria, Igbo entrepreneurship flourished. It was during this reconstruction that Atiku, who joined Customs in 1969, began developing the commercial relationships Ulasi recalls.

His account portrays Atiku as someone who assisted Igbo businessmen navigating the challenges of clearing goods. Here was a young Customs officer from northern Nigeria relating with businessmen from the East, not through ethnicity or religion, but through shared realities of commerce and human relationships.

This is the Atiku story that deserves greater attention: a relationship with the Igbo that did not begin with the search for presidential votes. It provides important context for examining his economic vision for the Southeast.

Atiku understands that the Igbo entrepreneurial spirit needs more than praise. It requires an enabling environment, reliable infrastructure, affordable financing and policies that reward productivity.

Consider the plight of businessmen in Aba, Onitsha and Nnewi. A manufacturer in Aba battles unreliable electricity, expensive diesel, inadequate financing and high transportation costs. An industrialist in Nnewi confronts similar challenges while struggling to remain competitive. An importer in Onitsha contends with the cost of moving goods from distant seaports.

These difficulties are not inevitable. They are problems purposeful policies can address. This explains Atiku’s commitment to rehabilitating ports along Nigeria’s eastern maritime corridor.

In August 2026, Atiku reiterated his intention to develop eastern ports and reduce excessive dependence on Lagos for maritime commerce. He recalled discussions with international shipping and port-development interests aimed at improving maritime infrastructure.

The implications for the Southeast are considerable. Why should a businessman in Onitsha or manufacturer in Aba bear huge costs moving containers from Lagos when ports in Port Harcourt, Onne, Warri and Calabar could offer alternative gateways?

Though located in the South-South, their efficient operation would directly benefit businesses throughout the Southeast. Improved operations, supported by reliable road and rail links, could lower logistics costs, reduce congestion, facilitate trade and strengthen competitiveness.

Atiku’s earlier commitment to making the Onitsha inland port functional is equally important. Properly developed and connected to other transport networks, it could become a significant logistics centre for the region.

The proposed operationalisation of the Abia dry port offers another opportunity. At a campaign rally in Umuahia in February 2023, Atiku pledged to make the Abia dry port operational and announced a proposed $10 billion fund to support businesses, particularly in the Southeast. He also recalled a commitment to assist rehabilitation of businesses in Aba.

These commitments have far-reaching implications. A properly structured business-support fund, transparently administered, could help manufacturers acquire modern equipment, expand production, create jobs and compete effectively.

The Southeast does not lack entrepreneurial talent. What it needs is an environment that allows that talent to flourish.

Aba’s footwear, garment and leather industries deserve stronger industrial infrastructure and affordable credit. Nnewi’s auto-parts and engineering industries require reliable electricity, modern technology and supportive manufacturing policies. Onitsha’s vast commercial networks need efficient transportation, improved logistics and predictable Customs procedures.

Beyond infrastructure, Atiku’s proposals for restructuring and greater devolution of powers provide another important dimension.

For too long, excessive centralisation has constrained states’ ability to address peculiar development neds. A restructured federation, with clearly defined responsibilities and appropriate resources, could give states greater flexibility to develop industrial clusters, attract investment and respond to local challenges.

Security must also occupy a central place in any development agenda for the Southeast. Insecurity, violent attacks and disruptions to commercial life have inflicted hardship on communities and businesses. No region can realise its potential when traders cannot move freely, factories cannot operate consistently and citizens live in fear.

A credible framework must combine effective law enforcement, community participation, intelligence gathering and cooperation between federal and state authorities.

Equally important is political inclusion. The Southeast deserves equitable representation in national institutions, fair access to federal infrastructure and assurance that its people are equal stakeholders in the federation. These are not demands for special treatment, but legitimate expectations of citizenship.

It is here that national leadership becomes important. Under President Bola Tinubu, the administration has faced persistent criticism over perceptions of ethnic favouritism, religious divisions and unequal representation. Those criticisms deserve serious examination rather than dismissal as opposition politics.

Nigeria cannot afford a political culture where ethnicity measures loyalty or religion determines who is considered sufficiently Nigerian. The President is President of all Nigerians, not of one ethnic group, zone or religion.

Atiku’s longstanding advocacy of inclusion and restructuring offers a different framework for these challenges. But one principle should not be negotiable: no Nigerian should feel like a second-class citizen in his own country.

An Igbo businessman investing in Kano, a Hausa entrepreneur operating in Onitsha, or a Yoruba professional working in Enugu must enjoy equal dignity, protection and opportunity. That is the essence of the Nigerian ideal.

The relationship recalled by Ulasi illustrates the importance of human connections that transcend ethnic and religious politics. More than five decades after the Civil War, Nigeria should have moved beyond politics of suspicion, exclusion and historical resentment.

The promise of reconciliation must find expression in economic opportunity, equitable development and national belonging.

There is an important evolution in the Atiku story. The young Customs officer Ulasi remembers for assisting businessmen is today proposing policies to address structural challenges confronting those same commercial communities.

The task is no longer merely to help individuals clear containers. It is to build a system where containers move efficiently, ports function competitively, manufacturers enjoy affordable power and businesses prosper without unnecessary obstacles. That is the difference between individual assistance and institutional development.

Ultimately, the Igbo, like all Nigerians, deserve to assess leaders by records, commitments and capacity to deliver.

Atiku’s historical relationships, his proposals for eastern ports, business financing, industrial development and restructuring are relevant considerations.

Ulasi’s testimony reminds us that political relationships need not begin and end with elections. They can be built through decades of mutual respect, cooperation and shared humanity.

Nigeria’s unity will not be secured by slogans or forced declarations of patriotism. It will be sustained when every Nigerian, whether Igbo, Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Ijaw, Tiv, Kanuri or from any other community, experiences dignity of equal citizenship.

And when ports work, factories produce, businesses prosper and opportunities become accessible, integration will cease to be merely aspiration. It will become lived reality. That is the Nigeria worth building.

Paul Ibe, media adviser to Atiku Abubakar, writes from Abuja..