Chief Bode George, former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has condemned recent calls by some anonymous groups urging Igbo people to leave Lagos, calling it “arrant nonsense” and “sheer stupidity.”
Speaking to Pathway News in Lagos, George, a retired army officer and Lagos indigene, dismissed the campaign as baseless and illogical during an interactive session on the state of the nation at his office in Ikoyi.
“It is nonsense. I say it is arrant nonsense. Why should we be saying that the Igbo people should leave?” George questioned. “We have grown up with them here. I have known them. We played local football together.”
He suggested that those advocating for such divisive rhetoric are not true Lagos indigenes. “In Lagos, we welcome traders. Bring your wares, we look at them, we buy them, you make your money, we give you land to build. That is the culture of Lagos,” George explained. “Those who are proposing this nonsense have no bearing, no family connection to Lagos.”
Recalling historical ties, George pointed out that Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo leader and Nigeria’s first president, was the political protégé of his great-grand uncle, Sir Herbert Macaulay. “Why are you fighting them? Does it make sense?” he asked, noting the significant contributions of the Igbo to Lagos since its creation in 1967.
“To me, such a campaign is idiotic. Very idiotic. They should stop,” George urged, asserting that those spreading hate were likely not Lagos indigenes but rather individuals from neighboring states.
“They should just shut up. If they have a right to come here, why are they blocking others? The Igbo have their own contribution to make. They are buying houses and building houses. They are contributing to the development of economic activities in Lagos. They are most welcome,” George added.
The recent social media campaigns, which gained momentum during the #EndBadGovernment protests, drew the attention of President Bola Tinubu, who in a national broadcast urged Nigerians to reject such ethnic sentiments, affirming that Nigeria has no place for divisive rhetoric.
