Something very unique happened after the civil war. The real Igbo elites left Nigeria. If they did not leave, their children did. Those who stayed and those who went abroad, completely avoid Nigerian politics. Some participate here and there but they're usually frustrated out of position. Who are these people?

These are the people who actually lead their communities. They're usually well educated, intellectual and well accomplished in and out of Nigeria. What ended up happening was a vaccum that was filled by political errand boys. The political errand boys, who usually served someone in the north, ruled Igboland from the 1990s to date. Meanwhile, in their own communities, the measure of actual status, they're not in the top 50 most respected people in the environment.

I'm typing this because with the combination of Alex Otti and Barth Nnaji, you are actually seeing the reemergence, and reengagement with the Igbo elite and Nigerian politics. We are all celebrating Alex Otti for example, and he deserves it. The truth is this type of man has been out of the Nigerian political space for decades and has only returned.

There's a big difference between Azikiwe, Ojukwu (father and son), Okpara, Akanu Ibiam, BU Nzeribe, Ngozi Iweala, Chinua Achebe, Peter Obi etc and Uzodinma, TA Orji, Rochas Okorocha, Soludo, etc and with these two groups, you know who is active in politics and who is not. You can also see which class is only known for politics and which one participates in politics occassionally, usually after a life of success outside of it. You will also see that one group has a pedigree that extends beyond the modern age and the other group are people how just recently emerged with no prior 'family name'.

I don't know any people who suffered from brain drain through migration more than Igbo people, and hopefully with the emergence of Obi, Otti, Umahi, and others, the actual elites of the Igbo people are reclaiming their territory. Both groups will wrestling each other. People often mistake 2 people with money as both being elites, but ndiigbo say 'Nnukwu mmanwu pụtara, mmanwu ndị ọzọ na-aghọ ndị na-ekiri ihe nkiri'