The ongoing war of words between social commentator Isaac Fayose and nightlife mogul Cubana Chief Priest has taken an unexpected turn—not because of a new insult traded between the two men, but because of who is now agreeing with Fayose, and what he is saying about his own people.
A Facebook post authored by a self-described "pure breed Igbo man" has gone viral, throwing a match into an already volatile debate about Igbo political culture, wealth, loyalty, and the lingering question of Nnamdi Kanu's detention.
'If You Feel Insulted, Study History'
The post, which has been widely shared across multiple platforms, opens with a declaration of ethnic identity before delivering a sweeping critique of Igbo political behaviour. The author writes:
"I am a pure breed Igbo man - no regrets, no surrender. But, if you are my fellow Igbo brother and sister and you think that what Mr. Isaac Fayose said is false, then, you have to rethink again. In fact, if you feel insulted, study history."
The reference is to Fayose's earlier video, in which he declared in Pidgin English:
"Thank God say I no be Igbo by tribe. That tribe, they are so easy to buy. You just hold money and power, they will follow you like puppy dog". Fayose had specifically invoked Nnamdi Kanu's continued detention in Sokoto prison as evidence that Igbo elites had "moved on" while their kinsman remains incarcerated .
The Facebook author does not dispute this characterisation. Instead, he doubles down.
'Politically, Igbos Play the Worst Kind of Politics'
"Politically speaking, Igbos play the worst kind of politics. They are too loud (including me). They can easily compromise for money (proven over and over)."
The author then reaches for historical evidence to substantiate his claim, pointing directly at the instability that marked the South-East's tenure as Senate President between 1999 and 2007.
"Just between 1999 and 2007 when the position of the Senate President was zoned to the South East, how did it turn out?"
The record is instructive. In the space of eight years, the South-East produced five Senate Presidents: Evan Enwerem (June–October 1999), Chuba Okadigbo (October 1999–November 2000), Anyim Pius Anyim (November 2000–June 2003), Adolphus Wabara (June 2003–April 2005), and Ken Nnamani (June 2005–2007) . No other geopolitical zone has experienced such rapid turnover in the country's number three political office. Scholars and commentators have long attributed this instability not to external forces but to internal elite competition described by one analyst as a "maniacal change of batons" driven by "the pull-him-down syndrome" .
'El-Rufai's Brothers Resisted. Can We Say the Same?'
The post then pivots to a stark contemporary comparison. Just this week, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, from Cairo to find security operatives waiting. Reports indicate that agents of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) attempted to detain him without producing a formal invitation or warrant. El-Rufai declined to accompany them, and his international passport was allegedly "physically snatched" from an aide .
Crucially, the incident did not unfold in silence. According to multiple accounts, bystanders at the airport—described by El-Rufai's counsel as "ordinary Nigerians"—surrounded the scene and "insisted loudly that he could only be arrested upon a legitimate process" . These citizens, from the North, offered visible, public resistance.
The Facebook author draws a painful contrast:
"Just today at the airport, it was El-Rufai's brothers from the North who resisted the DSS and EFCC officials from arresting him. I doubt if Igbo brothers can do that."
'We Are Fantastic at Business. Politics? We Are Still Learning.'
The author does not spare his own ethnic group in his assessment of economic versus political achievement.
"We are fantastic at entrepreneurship, building businesses and turning terrible situations around. But, when it comes to politics and regionalization, we are still learning."
This distinction echoes a recurring theme in the Fayose-Chief Priest feud. Cubana Chief Priest, who has aligned himself with President Tinubu's City Boy Movement and declared support for the 'Renewed Hope Agenda', has defended his political choices as those of a businessman employing over 1,000 people . "I have chosen my path – business and politics," he stated, adding that he cannot afford to "fight the government" .
Fayose's counter-argument, however, has consistently tied wealth to political responsibility. In their exchange, Fayose challenged Chief Priest's source of wealth, comparing him unfavourably to convicted fraudster Hushpuppi and suggesting that "if we were in a normal country where they check wealth, you would be in jail by now" .
The Facebook author's intervention suggests that, for some Igbo observers, the tension between economic success and political cohesion remains unresolved—and that the current realignment of wealthy Igbo figures toward the Tinubu administration has reopened old wounds.
'No Regrets, No Surrender'
The post ends without equivocation. The author offers no apology for his critique, no softening of its edges. He is Igbo, he affirms, and he is not wrong.
The reaction has been predictably fierce. Some commenters have accused the author of internalised prejudice and betrayal. Others, including a user identified as "iamkenpaul," praised what they described as an Igbo man willing to "give it to my fellow Igbos wey no get sense" . One commenter, "bulliion," directly referenced the Fayose-Chief Priest feud: "I thought Chief Priest said, if MNK is not released, that they will not get a single vote from the east and that's fact. Chief Priest has chosen his pocket now".
What This Means
The significance of this intervention lies not in its originality—similar critiques have been made by Igbo intellectuals for decades—but in its timing and its source. It emerges at a moment when the Fayose-Chief Priest feud has become a proxy battle for a larger question: what does political loyalty mean for a region whose most prominent detainee remains in government custody while its most visible businessmen dine with his captors?
Isaac Fayose has already answered that question with characteristic bluntness. Cubana Chief Priest has answered it with defiance and a business card.
Now, an Igbo man on Facebook has answered it with history, disappointment, and the uncomfortable admission that the critique may not be entirely wrong.
And that, perhaps, is what makes this post sting more than any insult Fayose could muster. It is not external attack. It is internal reckoning.
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