For decades, the South-East has cried out against marginalization, from abandoned highways to shortchanged federal allocations. Each administration in Abuja has promised to “integrate” the region, but most have delivered little beyond half-completed projects and empty speeches. Today, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, like those before him, has draped himself in the language of inclusion. But the real question remains: are his interventions genuine instruments of justice for the South-East, or another round of political deception carefully wrapped in asphalt and ribbon-cuttings?
The Showpiece Projects
Tinubu’s government has been eager to advertise “visible footprints” in the South-East. The Enugu–Port Harcourt dualisation, the Enugu–Onitsha highway repairs, the completion of the Eke Obinagu Flyover, and the newly functional Port Harcourt–Aba railway are trotted out as evidence of federal commitment. Add to that the Oncology Centre at UNTH, Nsukka, which finally gives hope to cancer patients in the region, and the message is clear: “Tinubu is doing for the South-East what others refused to do.”
On paper, these projects look impressive. Ebonyi Governor Francis Nwifuru has gone as far as declaring Tinubu’s interventions the most significant since his state’s creation in 1996. As expected, federal Works Minister Dave Umahi insists all South-East governors, PDP, APC, or Labour, are on board with Tinubu’s vision.
But scratch beneath the glossy press releases, and the cracks begin to show.
The Cycle of Betrayal
The South-East has seen this movie before. A federal government rolls into town, flags off projects with pomp, newspapers splash photos of smiling governors beside bulldozers, and Abuja loyalists declare a “new dawn.” Yet two years later, the same roads are abandoned, contractors unpaid, and the people left with nothing but dust and frustration.
Take the Second Niger Bridge: celebrated for decades, budgeted repeatedly, politicized endlessly. Today, Tinubu’s men boast that “30% of the cost has been paid,” but Nigerians in Onitsha and Asaba know better, completion is still shrouded in uncertainty, and the project has become another tool of electoral bargaining.
The Enugu–Port Harcourt highway? Successive governments have commissioned, re-commissioned, and re-awarded it. Communities along the corridor joke that the road has seen more ribbon-cutting than actual tarmac. Will Tinubu finally finish what Obasanjo, Jonathan, and Buhari could not? Or will he add another layer to the betrayal?
The Fiscal Mirage
Tinubu’s defenders point to the fuel subsidy removal as the game-changer, arguing that it “freed up resources” for states like Enugu and Ebonyi to pursue development. Indeed, Governor Peter Mbah admitted his administration could not have financed ongoing projects without subsidy removal.
But let’s not romanticize the pain. The subsidy removal has pushed millions into deeper poverty, with transport, food, and energy costs spiraling out of control. Whatever “freedom” it gave state governments, it came at the expense of ordinary citizens who can no longer afford basic survival. For the South-East, a region built on commerce, micro-trading, and mobility, this policy has been a hammer blow.
So while Abuja hails “reforms,” the Igbo trader in Aba and the mechanic in Onitsha ask a more direct question: how do we eat today? How do we move goods when transport costs rival profits? Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” rings hollow when the so-called hope crushes the very people it claims to uplift.
Symbolism Without Equity
Yes, appointing Dave Umahi as Minister of Works is politically symbolic. Yes, awarding multi-billion-dollar rail and road contracts sounds impressive. But let’s be brutally honest: the South-East remains structurally sidelined.
Federal capital allocations still favor the North-West and South-West disproportionately.
National mega-projects like the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway skirt the South-East rather than integrate its commercial hubs.
Electricity refinancing packages promise “national” relief, but Aba, Onitsha, and Nnewi still grapple with epileptic power that strangles their industries.
Inclusion on paper is not the same as structural justice. And the South-East is being told, once again, to clap for crumbs.
The Security Blind Spot
Even the best highways mean nothing if insecurity renders them death traps. The South-East continues to battle kidnappings, killings, and militarization. Trailers of traders and food distributors are extorted at countless checkpoints. Families live in fear of both gunmen and trigger-happy security operatives.
Yet the Tinubu government’s approach has been overwhelmingly militaristic: send more soldiers, mount more checkpoints, silence dissent. Development cannot thrive in an atmosphere of fear. Federal projects will remain fragile showcases unless paired with deliberate policies that restore trust, de-escalate violence, and build community confidence.
The Political Calculation
Let’s not be naïve: Tinubu’s sudden “love” for the South-East is as much about political survival as it is about development. His electoral base in the region is weak, his legitimacy fragile. By throwing money at roads and railways, and by empowering Umahi, he hopes to soften the narrative of Igbo marginalization and peel away resentment.
But this is the oldest trick in the Nigerian political playbook: use infrastructure as patronage, not policy. And history tells us what happens when projects are tied too tightly to an incumbent’s personal brand, they collapse with him, leaving behind skeletal structures and bitter memories.
The Verdict: Seeds or Mirage?
To be fair, Tinubu has done more in two years for the South-East than some administrations managed in eight. But the region cannot afford to be deceived by short-term optics.
The South-East doesn’t just need asphalt; it needs structural equity. It doesn’t just need showpiece projects; it needs industrial revival in Aba and Nnewi, logistics integration of Onitsha into the national supply chain, and fair fiscal allocations that match its population and productivity. Above all, it needs peace and security, without which no investment will stay.
Until those fundamentals are addressed, Tinubu’s interventions remain a fragile bridge between promises and betrayal.
Final Word
The South-East has been betrayed too many times to clap for half-measures. Tinubu has planted seeds, yes, but seeds do not feed a starving people. Only consistent funding, political sincerity, and structural equity can transform these seeds into fruit.
Anything less is just another episode in the long, bitter story of Abuja’s empty promises to the South-East.
By Chima Nnadi-Oforgu
Duruebube Uzii na Abosi
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 
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