The much-anticipated ministerial reshuffle under President Bola Tinubu’s administration has finally been done, with the political sphere now clear on who has been appointed, reassigned, and even sacked. Amid the shifting portfolios, one of the most unexpected appointments has been that of Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, who has been named the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. 

What makes this appointment particularly interesting is that Mrs. Ojukwu belongs to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), a party different from the president’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Bianca Ojukwu’s appointment evokes a long history of tension between the South-East and the Nigerian state. Since the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970, the South-East has often felt marginalized politically, economically, and socially. The war, which was fought over the attempted secession of the Eastern Region (under the banner of Biafra) from Nigeria, left deep scars and unresolved issues of national integration. Despite formal reintegration after the war, many in the South-East feel that the region has not been fully reconciled with the Nigerian state, particularly in terms of political representation and economic development.

Against this backdrop, Bianca Ojukwu’s appointment raises a host of questions.

Here we ask: Is Bianca’s appointment a genuine effort at national reconciliation, or is it a calculated political move? Could this mark a new chapter in South-East politics and its relationship with the federal government? More broadly, what does this appointment signify for the future of Nigerian unity and the role the South-East will play moving forward?