Lagos Deputy Governor Slams IgboMustGo’ Protest as Baseless Ethnic Bigotry

Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, has firmly denounced the proposed ‘#IgboMustGo’ protest as a baseless attempt to sow division within the state. The planned protest, which has been circulating on social media, threatens to instigate ethnic tensions from August 20th to 30th, 2024.

In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Hamzat labeled the viral post on X (formerly known as Twitter) as absolute nonsense, emphasizing that the state government will not tolerate such divisive actions.

“The issue of the Igbos, I think, is one of the hazards of social media. These faceless people just came up and said Igbos must leave, absolute nonsense,” Hamzat stated. “And that’s why you could see what the governor said; the governor immediately denounced it. Lagos, that’s not who we are. Since we’re all children, we’ve all lived together in the state, and there is no need for people to become ethnic bigots.”

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has also condemned the social media campaign, underscoring the administration’s commitment to unity and denouncing any attempts to create ethnic divisions.

Hamzat further discussed the broader issues contributing to such tensions, highlighting the mismanagement of public commentary and land use as critical problems. “For me, public commentary is a problem in this country, and we might not all agree, but public commentary is a problem, and I will tell you why. How is it that the most important factor is not what we address in our land?” he questioned.

He emphasized the importance of proper land management and physical planning as crucial to the development and prosperity of the region. “We all did economics, and we said land is a factor of production. When you try to manage land, we ethnicize it in this land. So, that is one thing that is—whatever you want to do, everything you’re building, a house here, it’s on land. So, how is it that we don’t manage our land? When you want to manage land, physical planning is the problem of West Africa, bottom line. We will never be rich if we don’t plan our land. But if we want to plan it, what happens? Oh, you do this because he’s Hausa, or he’s Igbo, rubbish! So, the bottom line is let us focus on the real issues.”

The Lagos State government remains steadfast in promoting unity and addressing the real issues affecting the community, rather than succumbing to baseless ethnic propaganda.