By Casmir Igbokwe
Regrettably, there appears to be an unwritten plan to deal with Igbo people in some parts of Nigeria for their perceived vote against Tinubu as President of Nigeria in the 2023 general election. The defeat of Tinubu in his stronghold, Lagos, by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, particularly infuriated the powers that be in Abuja and Lagos. They never envisaged such defeat and they blamed it all on the Igbo, even though a good number of Yoruba and some other tribes also voted against Tinubu in that election.
It was the then Director, Media and Communications of the Bola Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation, Bayo Onanuga, who exposed the Igbo-phobic mindset of the current rulers. Onanuga, who has been rewarded with the position of Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, deployed hate speech against the Igbo before and after the elections. Some other chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) also made incendiary comments against the Igbo, threatening them not to come out and vote during the election. Even Tinubu’s wife, Oluremi, had made some uncomplimentary remarks against the Igbo ahead of the general election in 2019. She was heard saying in a viral video that “we will entreat all the deities of Lagos to chase Igbo people out.” These are the people on the corridors of power today who want us to sing, “In brotherhood we stand.”