By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – AHEAD of the 2027 general elections, a presidential aspirant under the platform of the National Rescue Movement, NRM, Francis Onyema, Tuesday, condemned critics of Obi Cubana and Cubana Chief Priest for joining the ‘City Boy Movement’.

According to Onyema, they cannot be faulted for joining the movement, saying “We’re all City Boys by culture”, while speaking on the how some Nigerians openly without shame sell their votes for a pittance or allow themselves to be recruited to disrupt the process of free and fair elections.

He lamented that some Nigerians see every electoral cycle as an opportunity to make money or take something back from the political class. It is even more troubling and unacceptable that this culture now shapes our sense of judgment at the polls.

He said: “I have followed the continuous bashing of Obi Cubana and Cubana Chief priest on the internet – Igbo’s illustrious businessmen who joined the Tinubu’s inspired City Boy Movement.

“I have carefully examined the situation and found that those who criticize these businessmen for joining the City Boy Movement are themselves equally immersed in the same distasteful practice of patronage politics that has largely contributed to producing incompetent leaders in Nigeria.

“However, the persistence of this give-and-take form of politics suggests a troubling pattern, because it implies that we are all City Boys by culture.

“It is our way of life to perceive politics as a means to advance our personal interests. As long as this mentality prevails, individuals who derive political relevance from wealth and access, rather than competence, will continue to dominate Nigeria’s political space.

“What difference does it make to criticize the likes of Obi Cubana for joining the Movement when some among us sell their votes for a pittance or allow themselves to be recruited to disrupt the process of free and fair elections?

“What difference does such criticism make when there is no place for sacrifice in the task of nation-building? For many, elections are simply about what can be gained in the moment.

“It is unfortunate that many of us see every electoral cycle as an opportunity to make money or take something back from the political class. It is even more troubling and unacceptable that this culture now shapes our sense of judgment at the polls.

“I have always emphasized that elections must be a contest of ideas. Until this becomes our political culture, the likes of Obi Cubana and the City Boy Movement will continue to shape our political environment in ways that ultimately serve personal aggrandizement.”

Meanwhile, he emphasized and maintained that, “We can stop this rot by electing leaders on the basis of convincing plans to address our problems and, most importantly, by recognizing that building a nation requires sacrifice, not the election of leaders simply because they were former governors or because they possess a political structure.”