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THIS year, 2023, is the 72nd anniversary of the birth of ethnic politics in Nigeria and we have marked it with a bang – with the most virulent strain of the malady, since its official birth in 1951. Incidentally, this anniversary was marked in Lagos – its birthplace – with the anti-Igbo campaign of 2023 politics in Lagos.
Unknown to the less-discerning, the anti-Igbo campaign witnessed in Lagos this year had nothing to do with any recent villainy of the Igbo man in Lagos. It was a strategy to shoo away the kite that was already flying low and a ploy to sell a “bad market” and drive attention away from the real issues. It was flowing from the same fountain of desperation that produced the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC. The Muslim-Muslim ticket, we must know, was not born out of Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s love the Islamic religion. Nor love for the North. It was simply his “strategy” to gain acceptance in the Muslim-dominated North and eventually win the presidential election. As for the South, he felt he could “take care of things”, any which way. But he had underestimated three great forces that were to work against him as the elections approached. First was the groundswell of opposition against the Muslim-Muslim ticket. The Christian North and South, as well as enlightened non-Christian politicians in both North and South felt it was not good for the country. For that, APC did not stand a good chance to win the presidential election.
Secondly, the Youth of Nigeria saw in Peter Obi, not Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the symbol of the new Nigeria they have been praying for. They queued behind Obi-Datti of Labour Party and were indeed vehemently opposed to Tinubu-Shetima ticket of the APC. They came from different parts of the country, but the most visible leaders of the pack were Yoruba youths like Falz (Femi Falana’s son), Mr. Marcaroni (Adebayo), etc. They were and are not just Igbos.
The third force against Asiwaju was the baggage of his past and present which gave a battering to his image in the days leading to the election. There were issues about his health, drug past, unexplained wealth, etc. These were so much that some people were just asking “what is this man going to do there”. Though most of the allegations remained unproven in any court of competent jurisdiction, the Jagaban stood condemned in the courts of public opinion. In fact, one person mused “if there was a 5% chance that what Tinubu is being accused of is true, would you make him your company treasurer? If not, why do you want to foist him on the whole nation”. Jagaban’s image by February 25 was so bad that it was obvious he was going to perform poorly in the presidential elections as projected in all the opinion polls. It was not an Igbo thing. It was not Yoruba thing. And it was not an Hausa thing. In fact, most enlightened and educated Yorubas, like most people of other ethnic groups, made it clear that they were not going to vote APC. A friend told me of the estate where he lives in Lagos, that his neighbors to the left and right, who are Yoruba Moslems were proud to announce after the presidential election on February 25, that they voted for Obi/Labour Party. Those three forces against Tinubu/APC were formidable and produced a nation united in hope of a new Nigeria emerging out of the elections. But that unity soon took a dent.
By the time the presidential election results began to trickle in on the evening of 25th of February and 26th and fully showed on the 27th, the Tsunami that had a landfall in Lagos, as in other parts of the country, was unimaginable. Despite the obvious disenfranchisement of some people and the snatching of ballot boxes where it was believed Labour Party won, Obi/Labour Party still took Lagos.
The BAT Campaign was stunned! This is a demystification of the Jagaban! The shock was so much that the BAT Campaign strategists had to come up with something. It was no longer about the presidential elections. That was gone. It was now about the future – the survival of the Jagaban Dynasty; and the immediate future was the gubernatorial election in Lagos. If what had happened on the 25th of February was to repeat on the 11th of March, originally scheduled for the gubernatorial election, APC would lose Lagos State to Labour Party – with all the ugly implications for APC and the Jagaban Dynasty. The Tinubu strategists needed a magic wand! A new message that would confront all the three forces against the Jagaban was desperately needed. The one-week extension of the gubernatorial election by INEC was necessary to convey this new messaging. And the strategists had to go to the archives to fish out a strategy that worked in the past – the ethnic card used in 1951 by Awolowo and the Action Group against Zik and the NCNC. For those who still care to read a bit of political history, I would recommend two great books – Nigeria: Background to Nationalism by JS Coleman and Ethnic Politics in Nigeria by Okwudiba Nnoli. These two books graphically describe the birth of ethnic politics in Nigeria, 72 years ago.
In 1951, the British colonial government in Nigeria had introduced the Macpherson Constitution. This constitution was a turning point in the history of Nigerian politics because it made the regional governments more powerful and had, for the first time, provided for a general election that year.
In much the same way that Peter Obi captured the imagination of the Nigerian youths in 2023, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, by his oratory and charisma, had captivated the Nigerian populace in the years leading to the 1951 elections. Based in Lagos, it was obvious that his party, NCNC, was going to sweep the seats in the Western House of Assembly and proceed to form the government there; in addition to sweeping the Eastern Region (the NPC traditionally took the North). Obafemi Awolowo and the newly formed AG were faced with defeat in Lagos and the West.
Action Group had to devise a message of “Igbo domination” of Western politics and it became the campaign mantra. They actively used Awo’s newspaper, The Tribune, to push this messaging. In fact, in one of the widely quoted editorials, Tribune asserted that it was an “insult to all westerners for Zik to be contesting for the house of assembly in the City of Lagos.”, and then asked “all true born westerners “to vote for “western solidarity “. It did not matter that notable Yorubas like TOS Benson, Adeniran Ogunsanya and the like, were NCNC leaders. In fact, Yoruba leaders of NCNC were projected as saboteurs. Zik was told to go back to his “Eastern homeland “to contest the election and leave the West alone. Action Group was said to have made juicy promises to NCNC partymen who could jump ship. Nobody talked about issues again. The focus was on how to stop Igbos from “dominating Western politics”. The ethnic card was so successful for AG that NCNC lost the majority position in the election held later that year and became in opposition in the West where it had hitherto led. And being aware of a plot by the AG to ensure he would not be elected from the West to the Federal House, Zik had to leave Lagos in 1953, to save his political career. And that further deepened ethnic tensions in the entire country. Zik went back to Enugu. He had to drive away Eyo Ita, an Ibibio who was the Governor of Eastern Region to take over the position. That became the beginning of the mistrust between the Igbos and the ethnic minorities of the south east – from the Ibibios to the Anang, Efik, Ogoni, Ikwerre and the rest. That has not been healed till today.
So, Bayo Onanuga, Femi Fani-Kayode, Dele Aleke, etc, only had to go back to the 1951 playbook, 72 years after. The exact phrases about “Igbo domination”; “Igbos going back to the East”, “true Yorubas” were in use once again! And while Tribune was used massively in 1951, Jagaban’s media trio of The Nation newspaper, TV Continental and Radio continental were on hand in 2023. To support this was the New Media. The campaign managers were astounded at the success of their strategy. It caught like wild fire.
The sad thing is not that it worked, but the number and caliber of people that fell for it. It was as if a spell had been cast on an entire populace. Practically every Yoruba person suddenly had a negative word against the Igbo. You would ask someone “what is the issue?” and the answer would be “it’s enough for the Igbos in Lagos”. Some accused Igbos of arrogance, others accused them of building on Yoruba ancestral lands; others said Igbos should just go back to Igboland. For what particular offense, you are not told. It was 1951 all over again. And it is always the ambition of one man setting a people against the other.
To show that they are “true born westerners “people you have respected all your life fell for this strategy from hell and began to act as if you have always been enemies. The Muslim-Muslim ticket was no longer an issue. All of a sudden, Christian leaders in the South West did not see anything wrong again in the Muslim-Muslim ticket. Tinubu’s character was no longer in discussion. His health challenges disappeared. Some of the Yoruba youths who were on the vanguard of the search for a New Nigeria became confused by the actions of their elders who were calling them names for having sympathy for Obi and Labour Party. The campaign topic for the gubernatorial election became, “Igbos cannot rule Lagos”, despite the fact that Igbos had no candidate. Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour – scion of one of the most famous Lagos families – became a “traitor” and a non-Yoruba, simply because he was in an “Igbo Party”! Wao!
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People were falling over themselves just to fall in line and be politically correct. Igbo bashing became an opportunity to show literary prowess and demonstrate erudition. The one that gave me anguish of heart was not about Prof Wole Soyinka. No, it was a piece by Venerable Segun Agbetuyi, former CEO of Omega Bank. That is a former bank CEO, now archdeacon (next to a bishop in the Anglican Church). I wept for the nation and I wept for the church of God. The man wrote that article with so many things against Igbos, just to be seen as a “true Yoruba man”. Of course, many people had declared that they are “first and foremost Yoruba before being Christian”. He forgot his Articles of Religion, his vow to fight manfully under the banner of Christ! He chose the cause of Oduduwa over the cause of Christ! Oh, how many people are prepared to dishonor God because of Tinubu’s ambition! How many people are heading to hell just because of one man’s ambition!
Just to belong, even the Vice President, “Pastor Prof” as he is fondly called in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) circles, Yemi Osinbajo, had to ignore the Muslim-Muslim ticket so as to be “Omo oluabi “. The Vice-President never said anything against the Igbos, nor anything in their Favour. Never once did he raise a voice to condemn the attack on Igbos, many of whom are his congregants in the church. He maintained a studied silence while mayhem went on.
To show you how much unity the ethnic card was able to achieve, not too long ago, former Deputy Governor of Lagos, Femi Pedro, who was disgraced out of office by Tinubu, was the one who represented Tinubu at an event in Lagos. Who says “western unity” has not been achieved!
One sure proof that all the anti-Igbo campaign was just about the 2023 politics (specially to stop another party from taking over Lagos) is that no key political actor has been saying anything again about the Igbos going back to the East. Why? The prize was won. The objective of the campaign has been achieved.
My only regret is that 72 years after the birth of ethnic politics in Nigeria, instead of burying it, we gave it a fresh breath of life, leaving a future generation to deal with the hatred, the mistrust, the evil thereof. Just because of one man’s ambition. And just because of a desperate strategy dreamt up by some people to divert attention. And boy, the strategy worked! Unfortunately, what many people have done this time would determine their place in eternity. May God help us.
