Stockholm
Planet Earth
Peoples' Planet
26th October, 2025
Baba Kadiri,
Some of those who are not on this list are still turning green with either envy or avarice
As I watched this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt11HkvPvr4&list=WL&index=20
I found myself thinking fondly of Wofa Akwasi :who was forever anchoring traditional wisdom at the lotus feet of Pa Ijebu
Mazi Baba Kadiri - Mercy ! The deafening silence ! No protest poetry or music from Charles or Chidi. Not a whisper, not a sound, not even "The Sounds of Silence " But maybe it's going to be just like the beginning of The Last Poets' Bird Song :
"Everything was silent
And then Ma Rainey spread Black News"
Me,
I'm not asking for
The Baba Kadiri Peace Prize
all I'm asking is
please
give me some
"poetic licence" -
but not for frivolity.
Hopefully, what I'm going to say is not criminal, is not a crime, and does not violate any Naija or cyberspace legal codes. At least it was not illegal for John Lennon to croon Imagine:
"Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try, no hell below us, above us, only sky, imagine all the people livin' for today, Ah, Imagine there's no countries, It isn't hard to do, nothing to kill or die for, and no religion, too, imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one, I hope someday you'll join us and the world will be as one; Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can; no need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man, imagine all the people, sharing all the world. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one."
The wider picture: The world in which we live!
As you know, King Rapper Donald J has renamed the Pentagon "The Department of War." No nonsense Trump is thereby putting Putin on notice. As he ( MAGA megalomaniac ) has often said, "The United States has The Greatest Military in the world" and just in case you dear listener may have been entertaining any doubts, he adds, "by far".
When Trump talks like that he reminds me of one Emeka Ojukwu who in a fit of braggadocio announced to the world : "No force on earth can defeat Biafra"
Famous last words.
Trump of course would take offence at being compared to Ojukwu - he'd jokingly probably ask, " O-juk who?" Trump doesn't even like being compared with Barack Obama and showed no sympathy for John McCain being referred to as a war hero : "He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, okay ?"
Just in case you may be wondering what Trump would be thinking about the eminent Emeka Ojukwu's wanna be successor Nnamdi Kanu, who has not only been captured but is awaiting trial for treason, Trump probably also looks upon Kanu as a loser and a troublemaker, the kind that would want to start RUFUS, an Independent Black Republic in the United States by advocating violent, by any means necessary, armed secession from the United States and declaring himself "The leader of the indigenous Black People of Savannah Georgia."
You see how Trump is putting down the slightest movement that shmells of insurrection - he has already deployed the National Guard to Chicago and of course will be deploying the National Guard to places where rebellion is threatening the peace of the United States or the possibilities of Making America Great Again -and just as Brother Buhari initiated Operation Python Dance ( https://www.bing.com/search?q=Nigeria+%3A+Operation+Python+Dance ) as a timely response to lawlessness , so too if Trump was the President of Nigeria, secessionists would think more than twice. Trump is even thinking of adding Canada and Greenland to Alaska -to make the US greater than ever, whilst secessionists are thinking of subtracting themselves from the greatness of a United States of Nigeria, clearly, Trump's sympathies would not be on the side of the miscreants
I shudder to imagine what's in store for New York, if Trump's man Curtis Sliwa loses to Zohran Mamdani who is already being tarred and feathered as "a communist" and "an antisemite" in what Jesse Jackson once referred to as "hymietown" -namely, New York, the most Jewish populated city on this planet…
According to this line of reasoning, without Python Dance 1 2 3. 4 the likes of IPOB would have flourished and without making a statutory example of Nnamdi Kanu more IPOBs and self-proclaimed , armed Biafran Messiahs would arise.
In my view, it now mostly depends on Brer Kanu - if he stands up in court defiant, arrogant and unrepentant who believes that he has done no wrong and would gladly repeat all his follies, all over again and again because he believes that's the only way , he might lose the only capital that he has at the moment -at least with those who may be neutral: some Sympathy .He'sin the unenviable position of a black dude who has been charged with the rape of a white woman , anywhere, in not Igboland but in Oyiboland :On the day of the trial the alleged victim turns up in her favourite, transparent red, mini-skirt and when, like Graham Green the all -White Jury sees what they see and imagine what they imagine, " Fenella Lak Good Poke " - in their heats they come to what they ingaine to be their infallible conclusion :The Nigger Must Have Done IT ! If the accused appears smiling -the jury thinks - he did it and he's still smiling. If it appears he's looking remorseful ,the jury thinks - ah - he did it and now he regrets. West of all if he appears defiant and disdainful of jury, the jury thinks, " We're going to screw him for good " From that point of view it would be better for Kanu to show a slightly penitent mien than to be exceedingly confrontational, because after all, many people have died, yes, and how many deaths does it take till he knows, that too many people have died?
Before AYCF's three months ultimatum urging all Igbos living in the North to relocate at the same time as all Northerners in the Southeast should vacate Igboland, there had been calls that all Igbos in other parts of Nigeria should return to the their homeland in the Southeast for the purpose of seceding from Nigeria. On November 21, 2015, the online Vanguard Nigeria carried the headline, "Return Home, MASSOB tells the Igbo. Https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/return-the-southeast-massob-tells-igbo/ The article was written by the duo of Vincent Ujumadu and Francis Igata. MASSOB is another Biafra separatist organisation, with the long name, Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra led by a lawyer named, Ralph Uwazurike. On November 2015, Igbo Leaders, according to online Nigerian Vanguard, blamed Biafra agitation on the neglect and marginalization of the Southeast. The report was compiled by Francis Igata and Anayo Okoli. Https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/biafra-agitation-reveals-seast-neglect-marginalization-igbo-leaders/ When Arewa Youth Consultative Forum in June 2017 declared that the North was no longer going to live in the same country with the Igbos of the Southeast and wrote to the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, to allow Biafra to secede, opportunity arose for the Igbos to end their neglect, marginalization and persecution in Nigeria. Instead, Igbo elites suddenly discovered that the Igbos are in every nook and cranny of Nigeria trading and prospering and that they stand to lose trillions of naira with mass exodus of Igbos back to the Southeast, considered to be a pond when compared to Nigeria which is a deep and wide ocean, a natural habitat for the Igbos who are just like whales. In the online, Sun News of Saturday, 23 September 2017, the Governor of Imo State Owelle Rochas Okorocha, said the following as a consequence of AYCF ultimatum, "If there is crisis, there is no Hausa man in Imo State or Igboland who has a duplex. There is no Yoruba man who has a room and a parlour or a duplex or a 20 million investment anywhere. But the Igbos have trillions of Naira investments in Lagos, Abuja and everywhere and the same people are looking for secession. These people are kind. If they ask you to go now, what happens; you lose those properties to Lagos, and the Southwest; you lose your properties in the North and so on, and all of us are keeping quite and supporting IPOB. We thought we are getting at the Federal Government. It was very childish and those who are behind this should stop. Https://sunnewsonline.com/igbo-have-more-to-lose-if-nigeria-breaks-okorocha/ Sun News is owned by the former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu. See also, https://igbolive.com/igbo-play-worst-politics-in-nigeria-okorocha/
On Sunday, September 17, 2017, the Deputy Senate President of Nigeria at the time, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, got an article published in the usaafricadialogue-google-group concerning agitation for carving Biafra out of Nigeria. He explained that the greater part of the South-South for fear of becoming a minority in another Sovereign State would not be part of Biafra. He also asserted that Rivers State and Delta State, including the Anioma cultural zone, which is Igbo, will not be part of Biafra. Under the subtitle: Economic Implications, Senator Ekweremadu wrote, "Southeast's political future should therefore be put in context of its economic interest and survival. The Igbos have larger chunks of their investments outside the Southeast. Our people have invested heavily in every nook and cranny of Nigeria. They are into trading. Imagine a situation where a Republic of Biafra would have to depend on Nigerian passports to travel out. Writing under the sub-title, Social Considerations, Senator Ekweremadu wrote, "Although international system seek to guarantee the security of lives of people and their properties on either sides of the divides, should there be a self-determination process that leads to the emergence of a new Nation, such guarantees are not absolute and difficult to enforce, especially in a society such as ours. The Quit notice and the hate spewed by the Arewa Youth to Ndigbo point to the fact that all is not well." Based on what was at stake, Igbo elites and politicians shuttled to the North to appeal to Northern leaders not to allow AYCF to execute their plan to eject the Igbos from the North and Northerners from the Southeast.
However, IPOB intensified their activities throughout the Southeast and, at least, on an occasion invaded Port Harcourt to enforce seat-at-home order. Lawlessness in the Southeast continued and IPOB under Kanu's leadership published a map of Biafra covering not only the old Eastern Region, but extending to parts of Benue, Plateau and entire Edo and Niger Delta States. That was the situation when President Muhammadu Buhari returned to Nigeria from medical vacation and he ordered the army to dismantle all the road blocks mounted by IPOB in the Southeast and to flush out IPOB. In the subsequent army drive called operation Python Dance, all IPOB road blocks were dismantled and most of their Eastern Security Forces were degraded and incapacitated. Nnamdi Kanu who was still on bail for treason charges escaped and fled the country to Britain. Thus, when his trial resumed in October 2017, he was not in court, meaning he jumped bail. Luck ran out of Kanu as he was arrested and repatriated from Kenya to Nigeria in 2021. Since then the trial has been on-and-off according to the legal and criminal system of justice in Nigeria. By the way, four other persons, Benjamin Madubugwu, David Nwawuisi, Bright Chimezie Ishinwa, and Chidiebere Onwudiwe were co-defendants in the treasonable fellony trial with Nnamdi Kanu but nothing has been said or heard about the fate of those fellows. What we are only hearing is, forgive and free Kanu. As the old Nigerian aphorism goes, if one forgives a fox for stealing a chicken, next time it will steal a goat.S. Kadiri
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>
Sent: 25 October 2025 20:15
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Igbophobia and the Politics of Manufactured Enemies: A Reflection on Nigeria's Fragile CohesionRadio Biafra Transmitters installed on MTN masts in Enugu and Anambra States had operated for three months before they were detected. Before then Kanu had already gone abroad soliciting for guns to fight for his Biafra. Https://www.tori.ng/news/11786/see-radio-biafras-director-nnamdi-kanu-soliciting-for-guns.html After the illegal Radio Biafra transmitters in Anambra and Enugu States were detected the online Tori carried the news. Https://www.tori.ng/news/12067/exposed-pictures-of-nnamdi-kanu-and-his-radio-biafra.html
Despite the seriousness of his crime he was eventually granted bail and Kanu returned to the Southeast. He organised Eastern Security Guard and road blocks were mounted throughout Southeast and wayfarers were being charged. Stay at home order on Mondays was issued to the people of the Southeast and violators were seriously battered while the pacified Governors of the Southeast States looked on. The climax came in May 2017 when the President Mohammadu Buhari was away on a long medical vacation and his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, was acting President. The Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) and its counterpart, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASOB), led by Ralph Uwazuruike, ordered sit-at-home on May 30, 2017, to commemorate the declaration of Biafra on May 30, 1967, by the then Lt-Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. The order was hundred percent obeyed to the extent that even government offices and banks were closed throughout Southeast States.
On Tuesday, June 6, 2017, a group named Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (ACYF), a coalition of socio- political groups in Northern Nigeria, issued a three month ultimatum for all Igbos in the 19 Northern States to vacate the region. At a Press Conference in Kaduna, the AYCF National President, Yerima Shettima, claimed that a successful sit-at-home protest organised by Igbo groups was a threat to national security. One of the groups that formed the AYCF, was Northern Emancipation Network and its President, Abdul Azeez Suleiman read the resolution of the AYCF at the Press Conference thus, "With the effective date of this declaration, which is today, Tuesday June 6, 2017, all Igbo currently residing in any part of Northern Nigeria are hereby served notice to relocate within three months and all Northerners residing in the Southeast are advised likewise." A part of the letter written to the Acting President Osinbajo read, "From today, June 6, 2017, when this proclamation is signed, the North, a critical player in the Nigerian project, hereby declares that it will no longer be disposed to coexisting with the Igbos and shall take definite steps to end the partnership by pulling out of the current federal arrangement." https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/2017/06/19/northern-group-calling-for-exit-of-igbos-writes-osinbajo-asks-him-to-allow-biafra-republic.html With the AYCF's action, IPOB and MASSOB would appear to have achieved victory to exit Nigeria and all the Southeast Governors and the Southeast officials at the federal level should have welcomed the AYCF proposal to balkanize Nigeria peacefully. To be continued.S. Kadiri
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>
Sent: 21 October 2025 23:44
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Igbophobia and the Politics of Manufactured Enemies: A Reflection on Nigeria's Fragile CohesionSince it appears that Mr. Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju will not answer my question about if his posted message: THE VENOM of FEMI FANI-KAYODE - APC Spokesman, copied from latter's Twitter page represent the personal views of Femi Fani-Kayode or that of the APC, I want to establish that Mr. Adepoju's venomous message has nothing to do with the main topic under discourse, "IGBOPHOBIA AND THE POLITICS OF MANUFACTURED ENEMIES. Femi Fani-Kayode was Minister of Aviation under PDP led Federal Government of President Olusegun Obasanjo that ended on May 29, 2007. However, Femi declared for APC in June 2013 at Ado Ekiti, in Ekiti State and it was not until February 7, 2014 that he officially registered as a member of APC in his home ward in Ile-Ife. When it was being contemplated that Mohammadu Buhari and Bola Ahmed Tinubu should run on a joint ticket for the 2015 Presidential election, Femi Fani-Kayode initiated a revolt against what he termed "Muslim-Muslim Presidential ticket." Consequently, he announced his exit from APC on June 2, 2014. I am yet to read or know that he has rejoined APC, much less being their spokesman. Noteworthy here is that Femi Fani-Kayode was yet to be a member of APC when he wrote three serial articles in 2013, concerning the relocation of 14 Igbo vagrants in Lagos by Governor Babatunde Fashola to their home State in Anambra with subsequent protest by the then Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, which in turn caused the former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, to say, "Lagos is no man's land." The title of the three articles which were published in online Nigerian Vanguards and Premium Times Nigeria was, "THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT THE IGBO." Those who spew venomous statement deserve venomous response and only the Igbo-phyle extremists will object to that principle of tit for tat. Disheartening in this case is that Mr. Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju regarded not only Femi Fani-Kayode's responses to the ethnic warriors as "venom," but he dishonestly tried to link them to the ruling APC political party.
On Friday, 17 October 2025, Mr. Cornelius Hamelberg accompanied his post with a video-link titled, "Igbos are on trial, this is a war against the Igbos." Thus, the ongoing trial of Nnamdi Kanu is being interpreted as the persecution of all Igbos, born out of Igbo-phobia. This alleged injustice to Nnamdi Kanu now embracing all Igbos, how did it start?
On October 14, 2015, the person now identified as Nnamdi Kanu was arrested, not in Onitsha, not in Aba, not in Enugu, not in Owerri or in any of the towns and cities of the five Southeast States, but in Lagos, at the Golden Tulip Essential, Lagos Airport Hotel located at 42/44,Murtala Mohammed International Airport Road, Ikeja, Lagos. He was found in Room 303 with a girl named Maryam Ibezimakor and with all his broadcasting and communication gargets set for use. Nnamdi Kanu had checked in into the hotel under the name of EZEBUIRO NWANNEKAENYI. His Nigerian Passport gave his names as NWANNEKAENYI NNAMDI NGOZICHUKWU OKWUKANU while his British Passport identified him as NNAMDI KENNY OKWU KANU. Before Kanu's arrest in Lagos, Radio Biafra has been transmitting throughout Nigeria where Kanu was broadcasting that Buhari had died and that it was a Sudanese look alike that was sitting as Nigeria's President. In his broadcast, he called Nigeria was a Zoo. Breakthrough in the DSS investigation came when the house of one of Kanu's collaborators, Benjamin Madubugwu, situated at UBULUSIUZOR, IHIALA Local Government Area of Anambra State was searched. What the DSS found included two pump-action guns loaded with ammunition, one Emerald pump-action gun with serial number: TS870-113-0046 and one Delta Magnum pump-action with serial number 501. Next to be arrested was David Nwawuisi, a telecommunication maintenance Engineer employed by Ericsson Company in Nigeria to manage 45 MTN sites. The 29-year-old Nwawuisi had installed a Radio Biafra transmitter on an MTN mast in Ngwo, Enugu State. Nnamdi Kanu, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi were to be arraigned in court on December 23, 2015, but it was stalled. (To be continued)
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of ogunlakaiye <ogunl...@hotmail.com>
Sent: 18 October 2025 23:34
To: USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Igbophobia and the Politics of Manufactured Enemies: A Reflection on Nigeria's Fragile CohesionDear Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju, I want to know from you if the "VENOM OF FEMI FANI-KAYODE" copied by you from his Twitter page and posted on this platform were personal views of Femi Fani-Kayode or that of the political named, APC? My question becomes necessary since I am not aware that Femi Fani-Kayode is a spokesman for APC.Thank you in advance for your response.S. Kadiri
On Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 9:37:26 PM UTC+2 Oluwatoyin Adepoju wrote:
The Venom of Femi Fani Kayode
APC Spokesman
From his Twitter Page
1.
The single greatest lesson that the 2023 presidential election has taught us is that God will NEVER allow a practising sodomite and his repugnant retinue of perverts, pimps, fraudsters, court jesters, degenerates, monkeys, slaves and malefactors to lead Nigeria. 2.
... They can best be described as wake up calls and the propositions and counsel that are being suggested and offered must be considered by all the relevant stakeholders in Yorubaland generally and Lagos particularly before it is too late. Clearly thanks to the insulting ways and disrespectful tone, words and attitude of those that came from the east to settle amongst us yet covet our land and seek to destroy everything we value and stand for, Yoruba nationalism has come alive again. Our gullible liberalism and naive wokeism has resulted in a dangerous, hard line and pronounced backlash which is fuelled by anger and which cannot be easily managed and contained. Our people are now counting the cost of our innocent yet disastrous open door policy and disposition as a direct consequence of the excesses and provocative actions of the Ibos in Lagos. And what is that cost? If you really want to know let's go back in time a little. Permit me to take you on a walk down history lane. When Nnamdi Azikiwe, the NCNC and the Igbo State Union tried to take over Yoruba land in the 1952 Western Regional elections he lost to Obafemi Awolowo and the Action Group by a very narrow margin. I believe it was by two seats in Parliament and Action Group was saved from a Zik victory only because they went into an alliance with the Ibadan Peoples Party which gave them a majority of two in Parliament! That is how close it was. Had it not been for that Zik, an Igbo man, would have been elected as the first Premier of the old Western Region and the Yoruba would have eventually lost EVERYTHING including their language, culture, heritage, land and values. After his defeat Zik packed his bags and said the following famous words: "I shall return to the east from whence I came". Thereafter he went back to the old Eastern Region to be elected Premier. 71 years later the story appears to have repeated itself. The Ibo, this time led by one Peter Obi, a shady and manipulative trader who was fuelled, strengthened and emboldened by his relative success and gains during the presidential election in the state two weeks earlier, tried to forcefully take over Lagos in the 2023 Governorship election by intimidation, threats and propaganda and by fielding a young and impressionable man by the name of Chinedu Rhodes-Vivour who neither speaks nor understands Yoruba, whose family derives from Sierra Leonne and Opobo in Rivers state, who has strong sympathy for IPOB, who was part of those protestors that wreaked havoc and set Lagos on fire during the Endsars riots and who, like his misguided, violent and aggressive supporters, claimed that Lagos is a "no man's land" as his candidate. Thankfully they failed and the young man was roundly defeated by Jide Sanwo-Olu, a young, diligent, hardworking, civilised, decent and focused administrator and bona fide Yorubaman. It is now time for Peter, Chinedu and all their Obidient supporters to follow Zik's noble example, tread the path of honor and either respect us and live with us in love and peace or go back to the east "from whence they came" . They will do far better there. We in the South West must do a lot of soul-searching and educate the liberals in our midst about the dangers of being too kind, too charitable and too accommodating to the alien land grabbers and usurpers that have infiltrated our territory. We can show them charity, love and kindness but this must never be at the expense of our values, identity, dignity, culture or heritage. We must endeavour to ensure that history does not repeat itself again, that this terrible cycle of our Ibo brothers repaying our good with ingratitude and subterfuge stops and that they never have the temerity and effontry to claim that Lagos, or indeed any other part of Yorubaland, is theirs again. (FFK) 3. [http://mar%2020,%202023/]March 20, 2023 RESPECT US OR LEAVE!
"Don't stay in Lagos, and benefit from the leadership, infrastructure and economy Lagosians built over time, yet carry resentment towards them. You threaten violence and de-market Lagos on social media. You have options. Behave or relocate!" -
. Let me open this short contribution by saying that I completely agree with the views expressed above by Pastor Reno Omokri. Let us hope that those he is attempting to offer such wise counsel appreciate & accept it before it is too late. I am constrained to go further by saying that I also share the views of my dear friend, brother & colleague, Omo Oba Bayo Onanuga, who reflected the views and thoughts of millions of our fellow Yorubas when he expressed deep and legitimate concerns about the attempt by the Ibo community in Lagos to take over our land and claim it as theirs. This is something that they themselves would never tolerate members of any other ethnic nationality to attempt to do in the east and neither would any of us try it. The truth is that if you insist on living in someone elses land or territory you must respect them. And as they say, respect begets respect. If you must live amongst us kindly refrain from poking your fingers into our eyes simply because we gave you the space & afforded you the opportunities that you have refused to offer us in the east. We do this because we are a decent, civilised, kind-hearted, peace-loving and just people who believe strongly in the ethos of charity, plurality of community, efficacy of racial and religious harmony, peaceful-coexistence & full & unfettered integration. That does NOT however mean that we are fools. Our history proves that we are slow to anger but irresistible in battle. It is not wise to provoke us or raise our sleeping sword. Being too kind, accommodating & charitable has its price and it appears that we the Yoruba may have learnt this the hard way. Opening up your home to a stranger & being your brothers keeper is one thing but giving him your head & all that is dear to you on a platter of gold is quite another. The truth is that the Ibo in Lagos are no longer welcome by the people of Lagos. And unless they change their attitude quickly & drastically it may well be better for them to go home. As a consequence of recent events & the outrageous & insulting "Lagos is a no man's land" battle cry & mantra which many Ibos in Lagos espouse & constantly bellow & mouth, many of our people believe that Alaba Int. Market, Computer Village, Trade Fair & other places that they have occupied & taken over should be evacuated & vacated & converted to schools, deep sea ports, housing estates & amusement parks. That is the level of anger & view of millions of our people today & we ignore those views at our peril. They also believe that we should act fast & make the necessary changes in our attitude to non-Yoruba settlers and aliens and reflect on our propensity for being too "woke" & too liberal in our dealings with them. This view was ably reflected by
when he tweeted the following a day after the Governorship election in Lagos. He wrote, "Congrats to putting an end to the issue of real ownership of Lagos. Going forward, let there be a review of the following: Land ownership and rent law. Elective & appointive policy. Ethnic concentration of markets. Limits to liberalisation culture. Teaching of Yoruba history. Be wary of usurpers!" Points taken & forceful, compelling & lucid they are too. In his own contribution
again reflected the mood when he tweeted the following: "We voted in Lagos today not along political lines but along the lines of heritage. We voted for our pride. We made a statement that our liberal nature should never be abused. What we won't attempt in yours, do not force on us. We voted to retain Lagos". These are insightful and incisive contributions & they must be taken seriously. 4. March 16, 2023
Conversation
By the grace of God on Saturday 18th March Babajide Sanwo-Olu will be re-elected Governor of Lagos state by a wide margin in a free and fair election which will be devoid of acrimony and violence. From that day on the bestial, venal, foul-mouthed and vile-tempered gutter rat called Jandor will crawl back into the sewer that it came from and rot away in the dustbin of history, never to be remembered again, whilst it's beleaguered, accursed, festering, moribund and dying party, the PDP, will finally be buried. On that day the Obidients will be taught the lesson of their lives and NEVER again will they have the audacity and effontry to say that Lagos is a "no man's land". On that day water will find its level, evil will bow before good, darkness will flee before light, giants will crush dwarves and never again will a bunch of insatiable and insufferable ingrates and rappacious and covetous aliens seek to occupy any part of Yorubaland and claim it as their own. To be sure, there is a place in Lagos for EVERYONE to live in peace and harmony regardless of tribe or faith but let them NEVER forget that she belongs to the Yoruba. Those that live in Lagos but that think and say otherwise or that maintain that she is a "no man's land" are not worthy of being described as honored, respected and welcome guests but rather reckless, greedy, vainglorious, and dangerous land grabbers, adventurers and usurpers who are NOT welcome in our midst or worthy of our civility and courtesies. Meanwhile let every Lagosian keep the peace and shun violence despite all provocations and insults on that day. The way to defeat and overcome our collective enemies and detractors is not by threatening, attacking, insulting and visiting them with thuggery and violence, as they are doing to us, but rather by maintaining our decorum, self-restraint, civilised disposition and self-respect and peacefully voting Jide back into power. That is the way to honor the memory of our reverred ancestors, redeem our self-respect, restore our dignity and secure our future as a people. May God guide us and grant us victory. 5.
Those that believed that Lagos is a "no man's land" have been roundly defeated, badly humiliated and finally taught the lesson of their lives by voters today in a peaceful, free and fair election. The matter is settled and the message is 8-fold: 1. That God answers prayers even in the most complicated situations and difficult circumstances , that He is able to deliver us from the hands of our strong enemies and the enemy within and that He rules in the affairs of men. 2. That Lagos belongs to the Yoruba. 3. That
remains Governor of Lagos state regardless of the threats, plotting, scheming, rantings and rumblings of envious, hate-filled, bitter, demon-possessed and satanicallly- inspired men. 4. That guests and aliens that reside in Lagos must know their place and NEVER claim the state as their own again. 5. That the liberal open door policy to guests and aliens must be reviewed and reforms and laws put in place to protect and secure the culture, identity and rights of the Yoruba in Lagos and to confirm and re-affirm the indisputable and incontrovertible fact that Lagos is not only part and parcel of the SW but also belongs to the Yoruba. 6. That motor park touts and sewer rats like Jandor and those that wish to sell their heritage and race down the river and join forces with those that claim Lagos is "no man's land" like Gbadebo have no place in the politics of Yoruba land. 7. That the fraternal alliance and strong political bridge that has been built between the people of the SW and the people of the North must NEVER again be broken and must be preserved and protected until the end of time. 8. That patience, good planning and a firm and strong resolve to do what is right, to maintain the peace, to honor God, to challenge and defy satan and to stand up for the truth always wins the day. These are the messages that have been sent and lessons that have been learnt over the last few days and weeks as regards events and the elections in Lagos state and we shall never forget them. Never again will ANYONE say that Lagos is a no man's land. Eko Akete, Ilu Ogbon! Eko O gba gbere rara o!
To God alone be the glory!
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On Sat, 18 Oct 2025, 19:53 Cornelius Hamelberg, <cornelius...@gmail.com> wrote:Dear Baba Kadiri,
As per our telephone conversation, very sad & sorry
that of course you were not misquoting me
you were quoting some spurious Googled materials
and of course , with reference to your assertion that
"we never chose, and had no chance to choose which ethnic group we wanted to be born into. Therefore, it is stupid to judge anyone on account of his/her paternal or ethnic origin which was not chosen/decided by any individual."
you are obviously in essential agreement with the Rt. Hon. William Shakespeare who in circumscribing the tragic hero, ironically, through the mouth of Prince Hamlet, opined
"So oft it chances in particular men T
hat, for some vicious mole of nature in them,
As in their birth,- wherein they are not guilty,
Since nature cannot choose his origin,-
By the o'ergrowth of some complexion,
Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason,
Or by some habit that too much o'erleavens
The form of plausive manners, that these men
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect,
Being nature's livery, or fortune's star,
Their virtues else- be they as pure as grace,
As infinite as man may undergo-
Shall in the general censure take corruption
From that particular fault. The dram of e'il
Doth all the noble substance often doubt
To his own scandal."
The idea of reincarnation was tragically taken to its most negative extreme when the late Chief Sephardic Rabbi Ovadia Yosef of Israel made this statement which he later repented and, recanted and apologised : The six million who perished in the Holocaust were reincarnations of the souls of sinners, people who transgressed and did all sorts of things which should not be done. They had been reincarnated in order to atone
Needless to say that If anybody else said such an atrocious thing, such a one would be charged with antisemitism, and possibly saying saying similar things could result in being accused of Igbophobia / Igbo-foe-bia , abi?
On Saturday, 18 October 2025 at 13:56:46 UTC+2 Salimonu Kadiri wrote:We are all born somewhere by parents with specific tribe(s) that we never chose, and had no chance to choose which ethnic group we wanted to be born into. Therefore, it is stupid to judge anyone on account of his/her paternal or ethnic origin which was not chosen/decided by any individual.
In one of the Googles posted by you, Cornelius Hamelberg, I found the following excerpts, "Yes, Igbo-phobia has been significantly exacerbated by the Biafra War, which intensified marginalization and discrimination against the Igbo people. The brutal conflict and its aftermath created lasting trauma, reinforced stereotypes of Igbo ambition, and led to post-war marginalization of their political and economic interests. This has fueled lasting sentiments of exclusion and suspicion that continue to manifest as Igbo-phobia. On the contrary, I see, in this context, IGBO-PHILIA AND THE POLITICS OF MANUFACTURED ENEMIES. After the war, the only position an Igbo person has never held id the President of Nigeria. The Vice President to President Shehu Shagari between 1979-1983 was Dr Alex Ekwueme, an Igbo person. Of course there are many other tribes in Nigeria that have neither produced President nor Vice President.
Tochukwu Ezukanma writing in the online Sahara Reporters in 2013 averred, "Since the nightmare days when the Igbo defeated, battered and tattered, stumbled out of the last vestiges of Biafra, we have made enormous progress across the whole spectrum of the Nigerian social life and gained the respect and confidence of other Nigerians. Igbo land is landlocked with large tracts of infertile land and a population density three times that of Yoruba land. ....// Our boundless resourceful energies and effervescent entrepreneur spirit are unyieldingly spilling beyond the confines of our regional borders, and have thus driven us to every nook and cranny of Nigeria. OPERATING WITHIN AN EXPANDED FRONTIER - ONE NIGERIA - IS TO OUR (IGBO) ADVANTAGE."
Talking about the influence of the Igbo on the impending 2015 presidential election in the Online Nigerian Guardian of 9 July 2013, the then President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Gary Enwo Igariwey said, "We have the population and the Igbo are the only people with over a 25 per cent spread in any part of this country. WE ARE NOT UNDERDOGS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DECIDE WHO CAN BE PRESIDENT OR WHO CANNOT BE BECAUSE WE HAVE THE NUMBERS." We have to be warry about Igbo-philia extremists shouting and screaming about Igbo-phobia where there is none. On June 18, 2017, Biko Agozino posted on this platform under the caption: IGBOPHOBIA AS A LAMENTATION FOR HELP. For my engagement on that topic see, https://groups.google.com/g/usaafricadialogue/claAPNKgdXiuS. Kadiri
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com>Sent: 16 October 2025 21:41
To: USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Igbophobia and the Politics of Manufactured Enemies: A Reflection on Nigeria's Fragile CohesionStockholm
Mother Earth
Peoples' Planet
Sweden
16th October, 2025
Baba Kadiri,
The saying is that "all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" - and that is what happens when spurious statements are left unchallenged.
On a particular occasion it is reported that Jesus said, " I tell you, if these keep silent, the very stones will cry out"
The other saying is attributed to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels :
"Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth"
And so it is that you Baba Kadiri are a boon to this society, because that was a beautifully executed quod erat demonstrandum and for that you must be commended. It's equally desirable that for the benefit of everybody ( mankind), Mr. Clifford Ndijuhe sees it as his moral obligation to retract those grossly erroneous and misleading aspects of his article that should be retracted in light of your corrections.
However - still focused on the subject matter under our purview, "Igbophobia and the Politics of Manufactured Enemies", if true - about the current state of health of Mr.Nnamdi Kanu as we are expected to understand from this video testimony " NMA 'Ambushes' Nnamdi Kanu In Court, Insists He Has No Life-Threatening Ailment -IPOB Lawyers React
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4-wFTrfim0&list=WL&index=1)
and other matters concerning Nnamdi Kanu's health issue , I believe that the real danger is being exacerbated by one of Mr. Kanu's legal advocates inflammatory rhetoric in that video, that " the Igbos are on trial, this is a war against the Igbos" and that it should be in the better interests of the Nnamdi Kanu camp to tone down the rhetoric and to lower the temperature, even if they believe that Brother Nnamdi Kanu is representing the best interests of all Igbos…
On Wednesday, 15 October 2025 at 01:00:54 UTC+2 Salimonu Kadiri wrote:A subtitle in Mr. Clifford Ndijuhe's referenced article in the online Nigerian Vanguard reads, "Origins of Ethnic Politics." Here follows excerpts from it: "The Western Region crisis of the 1950s, arguably, marks the beginning of ethnic politics in Nigeria. In the 1951 Western House of Assembly's elections, the National Council of Nigerian Citizens, NCNC, led by Dr Azikiwe, an Igbo, had gained a foothold with 43 seats compared to 37 seats won by the Chief Awolowo-led Action Group, AG. Both Azikiwe and Awolowo won their seats. While Azikiwe won from Lagos, Awolowo won from Ogun (? There was no Ogun then).Given the prevailing parliamentary system of Government, the NCNC, upon the inauguration of the House was to form the government while the AG would serve as opposition. However, a day or two after the election, the AG lobbied some Yoruba members of the NCNC and other members-elect. On inauguration day, before officials embarked on the exercise, 20 NCNC members and six others from the Ibadan Peoples Party, IPP, cross-carpeted to the AG, shooting its members to 57, while the NCNC depleted to 23. Till date, that event, surreptitiously engaged with sartorial flamboyance in Ankara Group Dressing Solidarity, handed the AG a majority, which made it to form the cabinet with Awolowo as premier while Azikiwe became the leader of opposition in Western Region."
Mr. Clifford Ndujihe would appear to have been engaged in fraudulent distortion of history of Nigeria in order to arrive at the conclusion that ethnic politics in Nigeria began in Western Region in 1951. To begin with, when Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe returned to Nigeria in 1938 via the then Gold Coast, the present day Ghana, he met two political parties. They were Nigerian National Democratic Party, NNDP, and the Lagos Youth Movement (LYM). The LYM was founded in 1933 by Dr James Churchill Vaughan, Ernest Ikoli and Samuel A. Akinsanya. When Hezekiah Oladipo Davies returned to Nigeria from London in 1937 as a Lawyer, he joined the LYM, whereby he helped to redraft its constitution and renamed LYM to Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) in 1938. Up to 1937, the NNDP led by Herbert Macaulay had won all elections to the Legislative Council in Lagos. However, in the 1938 Legislative Council election, the NYM defeated NNDP and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe decided to join the NYM. "Among the leaders of NYM at this time," Azikiwe wrote, "were Dr Akinola Maja, H.S.A. Thomas, Jubril Martin and Mr (now Sir) Kofoworola Abayomi. Prominent among its (NYM) BACK-BENCHERS were Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief S. L. Akintola, J. A. Tuyo, Hamzat A. Subair, F. Ogugua-Arah, Shonibare and L. Duro Emmanuel. (see p.309, Zik - The Selected Speeches of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, 1961)" For Azikiwe to regard himself and others as BACK-BENCHERS in the NYM of that time pointed to the calibre of the leaders of the organisation.
In 1940, Dr Kofoworola Abayomi, departed to London to study ophthalmology in United Kingdom and his seat in the Legislative Council was later declared vacant by the Governor. The President of the NYM, Ernest Ikoli declared his interest to contest the election and so was his Vice, Samuel A. Akinsanya. Awolowo supported Ernest Ikoli following the convention in the Movement that where the President decides to contest in an election, he would automatically get it without opposition. On the other hand, Azikiwe supported Samuel A. Akinsanya. While Ikoli contested the election on the platform of NYM, Akinsanya contested as an independent candidate. However, Ernest Ikoli won the bi-election and the matter would have been considered settled democratically. But Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe resigned from the NYM in 1942 together with Samuel A. Akinsanya and others. For Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, it was obvious that the leadership role he had envisaged for himself, as a 'Back-bencher in the NYM,' could not be achieved because of the calibre of the persons at top hierarchy of the NYM. Therefore, he exploited Akinsanya's intransigency against the NYM to resign from it with the aim of scuttling the Organisation.
Lacking a political platform on which he could act, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe launched the first tribal Union in Nigeria in 1943 which he named Ibo Federal Union and installed himself as its President. At its meeting in Port Harcourt on December 28, 1948, the name was changed to Ibo State Union and Azikiwe continued to be its President. It was not until 1948 that Egbe Omo Odudua was formed in Lagos by Sir Adeyemo Alakija, Dr Akinola Maja, Sir Kofoworola Abayomi, Chief Bode Thomas, Chief H. O. Davies, Dr Akanni Doherty and others. Northerners also founded Jamiyyar Mutanen Arewa which later transformed to the political Party, Northern Peoples Congress (NPC). After forming the Ibo Federal Union in 1943; Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe proceeded to single-handedly form the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, NCNC, on August 26, 1944 and appointed himself as its Provisional General Secretary. Thereafter, he wrote to allocate offices in the Party to some personalities and requested each person to confirm if the allocated office was accepted or not (see p.312, ZIK - The Selected Speeches of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe). In spite of the fact that Herbert Macaulay was only two months away to celebrate his 80th birthday, Azikiwe made him the President of the NCNC. It is remarkable that the NNDP of which Macaulay was the President had been winning all elections to the Legislative Council following the implosion within the NYM over Okoli and Akinsanya election crisis. Azikiwe's trick, therefore, was to inherit the well-established oldest political party in Nigeria, NNDP, from the aging Macaulay. Azikiwe succeeded with his trick when Herbert Macaulay died on May 7, 1946 and Nnamdi Azikiwe inherited the NNDP of which he was the president simultaneously with the NCNC. Consequently, in the December 1946 Legislative Council Elections, the NNDP featuring Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, H. P: Adebola, T.O.S. Benson, Dr Ibiyinka Olorunnbe, and Prince Adeleke Adedoyin won all the five seats for Lagos.
Towards the end of 1948, Ibo Federal Union changed its name to Ibo State Union with Azikiwe still being its President, making him to affiliate the Union to the NCNC. Thus, in his presidential farewell message delivered at the close of the IBO STATE ASSEMBLY meeting, convened under the auspices of IBO STATE UNION at Aba on June 26, 1949, Azikiwe said, "Compatriots of the Ibo nation, we have deliberated over affairs of vital importance to the Ibo nation for two days....... Now, the time has come for us to depart to the various corners of Ibo-land. ... Go back to the folks at home and tell them that the sons and daughters of the Ibo nation are alive to their great heritage. ... Tell them that the Ibo stands solidly behind the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, ....." (see p. 246 - 247, Zik - Selected Speeches of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, 1961). May I pause here to inform Clifford Ndujihe that Ibo Federal Union and its replacement, Ibo State Union, preceded Western House of Assembly's election of 1951.
Concerning the results of the elections to the Western House of Assembly in 1951, Clifford Njudihe asserted that while Azikiwe's NCNC won 43 seats, Awolowo's AG won 37 seats. However, Mr. Njudihe narrated that on inauguration day, "20 NCNC members and Six others from the Ibadan Peoples Party, IPP, cross-carpeted to the AG, shooting its members to 57, while the NCNC depleted to 23." If the AG had won 37 seats and it was true that 20 NCNC and 6 others from IPP had crossed over to the AG, then the actual number of the AG in the Western House of Assembly would have increased to 63 and not 57 as claimed by Mr Ndujihe. In 1951, Lagos was a part of Western Nigeria and five seats were allotted to Lagos for the Western House of Assembly Election that year. The NNDP and not NCNC featured candidates for Lagos seats in the persons of Nnamdi Azikiwe, Adeleke Adedoyin, Dr A. B. Olorunmbe, H.P. Adebola and T. O. S. Benson. Although, NNDP won all the five seats for Lagos in the Western House of Assembly in 1951, Azikiwe's NNDP/NCNC never won majority seats as falsely narrated by Mr Clifford Ndujihe. Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, in his ZIK - Selected Speeches Of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe spoke on the result of the election to the Western House of Assembly in 1951 thus, ".... by the time a Constitutional Conference took place at Ibadan, towards the end of 1949, a new Constitution confirmed the carving up of the country into three constituents, as originally conceived by Chief Bode Thomas. Not only that; a new political party had arisen on the horizon of Nigerian politics, with the name of Action Group, and carrying this Thomasian banner of extreme regionalization, it won majority seats at the general election to the Western House of Assembly to form the Government of the Western Region. (see p. 324, Zik: Selected Speeches of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe.) If Nnamdi Azikiwe could admit in writing that the Action Group won majority seats in the Western Region Assembly's election in 1951, from where did Mr. Clifford Ndijuhe get his information that Azikiwe's NCNC won majority seats in the said election? In order for us, Nigerians, to make progress, politically and economically, we must learn to read our history as it is and not as we want it to be.S. Kadiri
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com>
Sent: 10 October 2025 23:51
To: USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Igbophobia and the Politics of Manufactured Enemies: A Reflection on Nigeria's Fragile CohesionStockholm
People's Planet
10th October ( My mother's birthday ! )
Dear John Onyeukwu,
Ideally, I suppose that if a referendum could be arranged to decide the matter, it would be found that many Nigerians would prefer to be confined to prosper in their own self-governing ethnic enclaves and thereby reduce inter-ethnic friction to a bare minimum.
In the meantime we have to contend with the realities of melting pot Lagos, Nigeria's commercial hub with its Ethnic Yoruba majority, just as Anambra has an overwhelming Igbo majority to the extent that Peter Obi won 95 % of the votes in that State in the last Presidential Election.
Right now, the eye of the storm : Igbos in Lagos
Not asking for the impossible, but in the name of peace & love, only asking for a national miracle of dialogue and reconciliation : If Peter Obi could kindly declare some unalloyed support / commitment to ensuring that President Tinubu wins his home state, Lagos State, in the next Nigerian Presidential Election, then "things" could simmer down considerably. But such an impossible miracle is unlikely, and if the temperature is not brought down significantly, dramatically, we could be in for more "flesh and blood breaking down".
Therefore, many thanks for this timely, poignant appeal. The saying is " A stitch in time saves nine". That's why your appeal - your memorandum of understanding, and your deep preach. forward-looking ethical moralising should be widely disseminated, because just like some of the other phobias such as once upon a time " Negrophobia" - that's what it was called back then, the viruses known as antisemitism ("the world's oldest hatred"), Islamophobia, tribalism (distinct from some of the bragging rights of ethnic chauvinism) violent, insane & indiscriminate ethnicity-based antagonisms, and of course rampant racism that is still spreading like a wildfire in The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar, there is nothing as reprehensible and as vile as Igbophobia, no matter where it occurs in Nigeria or elsewhere, and it has been growing in intensity at a very alarming rate, especially in Nigeria where most Igbo people live, as if to add more sorrow to tragic truths such as " Home is where the hatred is "
I like to present myself as an unbiased observer when I say that unfortunately for igbos, as we all know, Igbophobia has been exacerbated by the Biafran war which has left some indelible scars, and any new intimations of separation, IPOB, secession," Lagos is no man's land" etc just resurrects ghosts that can so easily be exploited by politicians who are adept at fanning the flames of divisiveness to their own advantage, especially in their own home territories. Just now, Igbophobia is rearing its ugly head in Lagos more than anywhere else, perhaps - " democratic competition", that's where Igbo presence and Igbo success is most visible outside Igboland and therefore liable to generate some envy, and hostility / xenophobic feelings in those who more properly/parochially speaking care less about titles such as "Cosmopolitan" since they believe themselves to be the real Lagos indigenes and don't give a rat's tail about what someone like our venerable Kwame Anthony Appiah has to preach about "Cosmopolitanism"
Reading some potent diatribes from someone as enlightened as Femi Fani-Kayode one gets the impression that Lagos is the equivalent of what in the Israeli-Palestinian imbroglio is referred to as occupied territory. Conversely, try convincing a diehard Zionist disciple of Jabotinsky, that The City of David otherwise known as Yerushalayim "is a no man's Land" and you'll probably have another war on your hands.
( To be continued)
On Friday, 10 October 2025 at 12:30:07 UTC+2 John Onyeukwu wrote:Igbophobia and the Politics of Manufactured Enemies: A Reflection on Nigeria's Fragile Cohesion
How ethnic fear has become a tool of political survival, and a threat to the moral and economic foundations of our democracy.
John Onyeukwu (Published on the Backpage of Business am Newspaper of Friday October 10, 2025)
Professor Moses Ochonu's recent Facebook wall commentary on the rise of Igbophobia in Lagos is not merely a historical analysis, it is a moral warning. He exposes a growing political phenomenon where fear and resentment are deliberately manufactured to serve elite interests. This trend reveals a dangerous corrosion of civic ethics, democratic values, and the developmental possibilities of our federation. Nigeria, a country whose strength should lie in its pluralism, now risks becoming hostage to the politics of manufactured enemies. It is a sobering reminder that when leaders manipulate identity for political gain, they unleash forces that neither they nor the state can ultimately control. Such divisive politics chips away at the delicate trust that holds a multiethnic democracy together, replacing shared nationhood with suspicion, and citizenship with ethnic survivalism.At the philosophical level, Igbophobia is not just prejudice; it is a betrayal of the moral contract that underpins citizenship. When political elites sustain their relevance by pitting one ethnic group against another, they corrupt the idea of justice and destroy the moral foundation of democracy. True citizenship cannot thrive where belonging is conditional and humanity negotiable.The current wave of anti-Igbo sentiment represents the collapse of ethical leadership in public life. It teaches ordinary Nigerians that the measure of worth lies not in contribution, but in ancestry. Such a society quickly degenerates into moral chaos, where competence is sacrificed on the altar of conformity, and truth becomes tribal. The resulting moral vacuum fuels cynicism, alienation, and disengagement, the very conditions that allow bad governance to persist. Once truth and morality are subordinated to identity, integrity loses meaning, and civic dialogue becomes impossible. Over time, citizens stop aspiring to shared ideals and retreat into ethnic cocoons, leaving the public sphere hollow, intolerant, and vulnerable to manipulation by those who profit from division.
Politically, as Ochonu rightly observes, this phenomenon is not accidental. It is a well-calculated act of political engineering, tracing its roots to the 2015 election and the strategic alliance between the Southwest and the North that brought Muhammadu Buhari to power. What began as expedient power arithmetic has now metastasized into a culture of ethnic suspicion and targeted hostility.The tragedy is that this politics of polarization yields short-term political capital but long-term national decay. Once ethnic mobilization becomes normalized, no group is safe. When the alliance fractures, as history suggests it will, today's architects of bigotry will themselves become tomorrow's victims. The cycle of hate has no permanent winners, only a country perpetually at war with itself.What we are witnessing, therefore, is the weaponization of identity, a cynical use of ethnicity as political blackmail. It is as much about forging internal cohesion among the Yoruba elite as it is about demonizing the Igbo. Every identity movement that seeks power through exclusion must invent an enemy. The Igbo have merely become the convenient "Other" of the moment. Yet, this manipulation corrodes democratic competition itself, replacing policy debates with emotional warfare and reducing the civic space to a theatre of ethnic fear and elite propaganda.
From an economic standpoint, this politics of prejudice is ruinous. Lagos, the epicenter of this rhetoric, thrives precisely because it has been a magnet for all Nigerians. Its innovation, entrepreneurship, and resilience are the product of diversity. To turn that diversity into a weapon is to undermine the very foundation of the city's success.The informal economy of Lagos, the markets, the small enterprises, the property ecosystem, depends on trust, collaboration, and cross-ethnic cooperation. When fear replaces fairness, the market suffers. Investors retreat, cooperation declines, and communities withdraw into ethnic enclaves. Hate has an economic cost: it breeds inefficiency, discourages innovation, and shrinks opportunity. Over time, even state revenue and urban productivity are affected, as social fragmentation disrupts consumer confidence and local commerce.At the national level, development cannot take root in an environment poisoned by ethnic hostility. Infrastructure, education, and industrial policy require trust and collective purpose. A nation divided in spirit cannot unite in strategy. The human capital that drives growth is crippled when identity determines inclusion. The prosperity that Nigeria seeks depends on a shared sense of belonging; without it, even the most ambitious economic blueprints will fail to take root or yield sustainable progress.The most alarming danger is psychological. Nigerians are slowly being conditioned to view one another not as citizens, but as competitors for survival within a zero-sum state. Once this mindset hardens, even the strongest institutions cannot guarantee stability. The idea of Nigeria collapses long before the state itself does.Democracy presupposes a shared moral space, a minimum trust in the fairness of rules. When identity becomes the rule and justice the exception, elections lose legitimacy, and national cohesion evaporates. A country that normalizes bigotry will soon find that it cannot sustain either unity or democracy. The real tragedy is that such division erodes the emotional glue of nationhood, the invisible sense of mutual obligation that binds people beyond ethnicity or faith. When citizens cease to believe that their fate is intertwined, patriotism dies, and the state becomes an empty shell. The result is not only political instability but moral fatigue: a society too fragmented to imagine a common destiny, and too distrustful to pursue collective progress.To rescue Nigeria's plural democracy, we must rebuild a civic philosophy grounded in fairness, not fear. Citizenship must be reclaimed from the ethnic brokers who profit from division. The media, academia, and faith communities must stop amplifying tribal anxieties and start cultivating empathy and truth. They must become the conscience of the nation, spaces where facts are protected from distortion and humanity is elevated above politics.The Yoruba ronu bigotry that Ochonu critiques is not unique; every region has its variant. But what makes this moment dangerous is its institutionalization. It is now expressed through social media disinformation, political propaganda, and cultural revisionism, tools that can outlast their creators and reproduce hate even without active political orchestration. The normalization of prejudice through jokes, memes, and selective history is reshaping public consciousness, especially among the youth, threatening to make intolerance a civic instinct.Nigeria must choose between the convenience of scapegoating and the courage of nation-building. The former may win elections, but only the latter will build a future. That future demands three things:Firstly, a return to civic ethics and moral leadership that upholds truth as the foundation of governance. The nation must rediscover the moral courage to speak truth to power and demand accountability without bias. Leadership, at every level, should once again be measured not by rhetoric or tribe, but by integrity and a demonstrable commitment to the public good. Nigeria's crisis is not just one of systems, but of sincerity. A new civic ethic must therefore be cultivated, one that treats public office as stewardship, not entitlement.Secondly, a rejection of fear-based mobilization and a revival of issue-based politics that rewards competence over identity. For too long, politicians have weaponized ethnicity and religion to secure power, turning citizens into captives of suspicion. The path forward lies in a political culture where ideas, performance, and accountability take precedence. Electoral campaigns must become contests of vision, not venom, where candidates' debate solutions, not origins.Thirdly, the harnessing of diversity as a competitive advantage rather than a curse, investing in inclusion as a growth strategy. Nigeria's demographic and regional variety can power innovation, creativity, and productivity if the right incentives are built into national policy. From local enterprise to national planning, diversity should be seen as an asset, a force multiplier for prosperity. A Nigeria that values every identity as a contributor to progress will not only grow richer but also fairer, stronger, and freer.Until we do, the dream of a united and prosperous Nigeria will remain perpetually deferred, not by outsiders, but by the enemies we invent among ourselves, and the silence of those who should know better. Our undoing lies not in foreign conspiracies but in the internal fractures we refuse to heal, the prejudices we normalize, and the collective apathy that greets every act of injustice. Until conscience outweighs convenience, and courage becomes the national instinct, Nigeria's promise will continue to flicker, brilliant yet unrealized, within the reach of a people too divided to grasp it together.
John Onyeukwu
http://www.policy.hu/onyeukwu/http://about.me/onyeukwu
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