Ohanaeze Ndigbo condemns #IgboMustGo campaigns in Lagos, seeks intervention

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has expressed deep concern over orchestrated ethnic profiling, hate-speech, incendiary and inflammatory rhetoric and outright demolition of the Igbo property, as well as liquidation of their sources of income in Lagos State in the last few years.

It, however, decried especially the most recent campaign being planned for August 20-30, 2024, which has called on Lagosians and every Southwest stakeholder to prepare for a massive protest of #IgboMustGo.

An X handle, named ‘LagosPedia,’ had recently demanded “the forced relocation of Igbo people from Lagos and other South West states within one month.” The hashtag #IgboMustGo also called on all “Yoruba living in the South East to return to the South West.”

But reacting to the development in a statement in Enugu, Ohanaeze Ndigbo recalled that in June 2023, a video went viral on social media showing Musiliu Akinsanya, alias MC Oluomo, where he issued a threat to Igbo residents in Lagos State to “either vote for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) or stay at home.”

It added that based on Oluomo’s doltish tantrums, political thugs went on a rampage carrying out civil-war-era-style eye tests to determine who was an Igbo and who was not.

The statement, signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the organisation, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, added that in 2015, the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, issued a threat to Igbo living in Lagos State “to either vote for the governorship candidate of the APC, Akinwunmi Ambode, or else they will die in the lagoon.”

It said that following the trend, Special Adviser to the President on Communications and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had issued a serious warning to Igbo in Lagos over the 2023 elections.

The statement added: “In June 2023, several buildings belonging to the Igbo were demolished at the Alaba International Market.”

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, while commending the Afenifere, Lagos State government and notable Yoruba leaders, especially former President Olusegun Obasanjo for their stand, however, said that unless there are manifest consequences for the vexatious dispositions of the anti-Igbo promoters, the trend was bound to continue.

It, therefore, called on well-meaning Nigerians to take steps to protect the Igbo and their property in Lagos State.

The state government has however reiterated the need to dismiss inciteful and divisive comments targeted at creating ethnic-based crisis in the state, even as it called on law enforcement agencies to investigate the matter.