•Babajide Sanwo-Olu
The Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has called on the public to ignore the viral threat on social media X, demanding Igbo citizens to leave Lagos State in the next one month.
According to the threat, all South-Easterners must vacate Lagos State, or face massive protests slated to hold from August 20 – 30, 2024, reports The Nation.
In the same vein, the South East Caucus of the National Assembly condemned alleged ethnic profiling of Igbos in the face of ongoing protests in parts of the country.
It also called on security agencies to fish out the brains behind the hate messages and prosecute them.
The faceless group promoting the threat to Igbo in Lagos had also instructed all South-West citizens in the South-Eastern part of the country to come back home.
But in a swift reaction yesterday, Sanwo-Olu said the Lagos State Government was not in support of the proposed protest.
Sanwo-Olu wrote: “The attention of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has been drawn to a post by LagosPedia, a social media handle on X (formerly Twitter) that calls on the Igbo to vacate Lagos and Southwest of Nigeria and brace up for a massive hashtag #Igbomustgo protest from 20th to 30th August, 2024.
“The Governor of Lagos State and, indeed, the Lagos State Government wish to distance themselves from the reckless, divisive and dangerous rhetoric, saying Lagos remains home to every Nigerian citizen regardless of their ethnic nationality.
“Governor Sanwo-Olu views the post as not only reckless and divisive but an attempt to sow a seed of discord between the Yoruba in the Southwest and other tribes, especially those who have made Lagos their permanent place of abode.”
The governor then appealed to Lagosians not to allow any person or group of individuals to create tension in the state.
He called on the security agencies to promptly investigate those behind the handle and bring them to justice.
“Mr. Governor enjoins Lagosians to ignore the post and any post of that nature, promising to double his efforts towards ensuring lasting peace in the state,’ the statement added.
The governor’s stance followed a call by a former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, Abubakar Atiku, on the federal government to investigate, arrest and prosecute promoters of the threat.
The South East Caucus of the National Assembly yesterday condemned alleged ethnic profiling of the Igbo in the face of ongoing protests in parts of the country.
The caucus also called on security agencies to fish out the brains behind the hate messages and prosecute them in line with the Cybercrimes Act and other extant laws of the country.
The Caucus made these demands in a statement signed by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Leader of the South East Senate Caucus) and Rt. Hon. Igariwey Iduma Enwo (Leader of the South East Caucus of the House of Representatives) in Abuja.
The statement reads in part: “The attention of the South East Caucus of the National Assembly has been drawn to the unfortunate and dangerous ethnic profiling of Igbos in the ongoing mass protests across the country.
“For the records, the Igbo nation, in obedience to the advice of their leaders – Governors, Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, parliamentarians and others in the private sector – had taken a reasoned and strategic decision not to participate in the ongoing nationwide protests. This is evident in the relative calm experienced in the five South Eastern states.
“We are, therefore, surprised and disappointed that Igbos are still made scapegoats and targeted as instigators of protests, as shown in several statements (such as the Igbo Must Go hashtag and call by a certain ‘Lagospedia’ X (Twitter) handle and videos seen online.
“This dangerous ethnic profiling is unwarranted and must stop. It was such profiling that led to the millions of deaths in Nigeria from the 1950’s to the unfortunate civil war in 1967 to 1970.
“Elsewhere in Africa, it led to the genocide in Rwanda and the xenophobia in South Africa. Such should not be our fate again in Nigeria.
“We demand therefore that the security agencies bring to book the purveyors of these hate speeches in line with the Cybercrimes Act and criminal laws of the country.
“We continue to appeal to Igbos across the country to stay away from the protests and remain law abiding.”
