A Nation At A Crossroads As Valentine Ozigbo Urges President Tinubu To Champion A Bold New Direction For Nigeria

 

A wave of urgency now hangs over Nigeria’s public discourse as Valentine Ozigbo, former Transcorp Plc President and a frontline aspirant for the 2025 Anambra governorship race, delivers an emotionally charged open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The message, shared against the backdrop of worsening insecurity and deepening national anxiety, presses the Commander in Chief to confront the country’s crisis with unprecedented clarity, fortitude, and strategic reform.

A sense of national fatigue has grown as communities grapple with kidnappings, targeted attacks, and brazen criminal operations. Ozigbo opens his letter by acknowledging this collective despair, describing the emotional toll carried by millions who watch their country struggle to overcome repeated cycles of bloodshed and fear. He explains that his decision to release the message publicly stems from concern that a private plea might never reach the President, given the gravity of the issues.

A growing list of tragedies sets the stage for the call to action. Schoolchildren abducted in Kebbi, churchgoers murdered in Kwara, travellers seized on highways, and a senior military officer brutally killed in cold blood. For Ozigbo, these are not statistics; they represent the painful unraveling of a nation’s sense of safety and shared humanity. He stresses that Nigerians are now wrestling with existential questions about whether sorrow, silence, protest, or hope still hold meaning in a country besieged by violent actors.

A clear reminder echoes throughout his message, anchored in President Harry Truman’s famous assertion that ultimate responsibility lies with the occupant of the highest office. Ozigbo lays out five pointed recommendations, framed not as criticism, but as patriotic counsel intended to strengthen Nigeria and restore national confidence.

A decisive national campaign against insecurity tops his list. According to him, Nigeria possesses the personnel, intelligence, and equipment necessary to defeat violent groups, yet lacks the cohesive political will necessary to act with full force. He maintains that the government knows where the criminal networks operate, who aids them, and which power structures enable their survival. He urges Tinubu to draw an unmistakable red line that signals a total refusal to tolerate violence or protect its sponsors. Leadership, he insists, requires moral clarity and courage, qualities essential to ending the siege on Nigerian lives.

A second point centers on the troubling silence from those once considered the country’s moral compass. He highlights that elder statesmen, religious leaders, public intellectuals, and other influential voices who historically defended national unity have fallen quiet at a dangerous time. Such silence, he warns, isolates the government, weakens national cohesion, and emboldens criminals who thrive in disorder. Ozigbo argues that only the President can summon these moral voices to rise again and galvanize the nation against fear. Silence, he adds, is never neutral; it is a form of surrender.

A structural solution forms the third pillar of his proposals. Ozigbo introduces the Orange Union Model, an idea advanced by the Fatherland Group, which reimagines Nigeria as a union of nations operating under a central defense, foreign policy, and monetary system. He describes it as a framework similar to the European Union, providing regions with autonomy while preserving national unity. He emphasizes that it is not a call for breakup, but an invitation to redesign governance in a way that reflects Nigeria’s diversity and unleashes innovation. Harmonizing this vision through dialogue among the government, The Patriots, and the Fatherland Group, he believes, could become President Tinubu’s most lasting legacy.

A firm rule of law stands at the core of his fourth recommendation. While acknowledging the President’s public criticism of judicial corruption, Ozigbo stresses that judicial decay does not exist in isolation. It thrives in an environment where political actors promote impunity. He points to irregularities within electoral structures and segments of the judiciary as threats to democracy. Nigeria, he insists, must embrace deep reforms such as electronic voting, transparent result transmission, and independent candidacy. Anything less endangers the stability of the republic.

A balanced democracy forms the fifth and final counsel. Ozigbo recounts his personal journey from the Labour Party to the All Progressives Congress, clarifying that he joined the ruling party out of conviction after witnessing internal sabotage within his former platform. Still, he warns that a weak opposition is dangerous for any nation. He encourages the President not to constrain dissent, arguing that healthy competition strengthens leadership and safeguards democracy.

A return to the human cost closes Ozigbo’s message. He recounts the abductions, murders, and brutal attacks tearing families apart. Security, he reminds the President, is the first duty of any state, and when that essential pillar collapses, nothing else can stand.

A sense of urgency underpins every line of the open letter, positioning it as both a plea and a blueprint. Ozigbo signs off as a leadership award recipient, a founder of a civic movement, and a private citizen seeking a country that works for all. His appeal seeks to spark national reflection and inspire decisive action at the highest level, while urging the President to lead with courage befitting this defining moment in Nigeria’s history.

AN URGENT OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT TINUBU

By Valentine Ozigbo

Your Excellency,

I woke up this morning with a weight that has become far too familiar to millions of Nigerians — the ache that comes from watching a nation we love slip repeatedly into cycles of violence, fear, and… pic.twitter.com/GdN8Dd7as2

— Valentine Ozigbo (@valentineozigbo) November 19, 2025