Umahi and disappointing act of ethnic baiting

Minister of Works, David Umahi

Last week, there was an uproar over the demolition of some property to make way for the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road. Many Nigerians condemned the speed with which the place was demolished, noting that it was not good for the image of Nigeria as regards the quest to attract investors, especially at a time like this when the economy has received some hard knocks.

Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, was one of those who criticised the act. In a tweet titled “Lagos-Calabar Highway: FG adamant on a Misplaced Priority,” he said among other things:

“Contrary to reason and the necessity for compassion in public policy, the Federal Government has commenced the controversial Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.

“The outcry against this project has been overwhelming due to the current situation in the country. However, reports as of yesterday indicate that demolition of businesses and residences in the designated right of way for the project has commenced from the Lagos end.

“The sight of this insensitive demolition is heart-wrenching. Livelihoods are being wiped away, lifetime investments are being wasted, and jobs are disappearing as bulldozers roar through. The homes of the elderly are being overturned by the power of bulldozers.”

The Minister of Works, Mr Dave Umahi, responded to Obi’s comment by accusing him of trying to incite Igbo people against President Bola Tinubu:

“When you condemn people, you bring judgment upon yourself. And that is what he (Peter Obi) has done. And I think he’s inciting some of the people in the South-East who are not well informed. He is inciting them. And gets them into trouble. And he doesn’t go to fight for them. Wisdom is a defence. And I want our people to have wisdom because I am involved.”

It was a thoughtless and embarrassing comment for a minister to make. But it was not surprising that he made it.

The comment had no correlation with the matter. Obi did not mention anything Igbo in his comment, neither did he insinuate it. He spoke purely as a Nigerian and most importantly as a leader of the opposition. He was playing his role as an opposition leader, which is a very important part of democracy.

Last week, the leader of the opposition in Canada,  Pierre  Polievre, known for his hard criticism of Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, went overboard on the floor of the House of Commons by calling Trudeau a “wacko prime minister.” The Speaker asked him to withdraw the comment. He replaced wacko with… The Speaker told him that he didn’t ask him to replace it with another word but to withdraw it. Polievre stood up and said he was replacing wacko with extremist… The Speaker suspended him for the rest of the day’s sitting. Members of his party walked out with him. Afterwards, he was interviewed by the media, he still called the prime minister “wacko.”

In the United States, Donald Trump, former president of the country, and current leader of the opposition, was fined $9,000 for breaching the court’s gag order on him, $1,000 for each of the nine comments he made against… He was warned that if he continued to breach the order, he could be jailed.

The interesting aspect of the Canadian and American examples was that they went overboard. But despite that, they were addressed in their individual capacities. Their ethnic group was not dragged into it (let people not assume that Whites don’t have ethnic groups). Their religion was not dragged into it. Their family was not dragged into it. Because it is politics, the only thing that can be dragged into such an issue is their political party.

But not in Nigeria. Everything in Nigeria rises and falls on the power of ethnicity and religion. These twin factors have been keeping Nigeria away from greatness. People would easily point at leadership as Nigeria’s problem, but that is not entirely true. The problem is that Nigerians will not even vote for the best candidate at any election because of nothing else but ethnic and religious attachments. Also when they choose to oppose or support the action of a leader, you can easily see that it is based on ethnicity and religion. For example, someone will criticise one leader for announcing the construction of a road and praise another leader for announcing the construction of a road.

What Umahi did, therefore, was not surprising because it is the blood that sustains the life of Nigerians. Some people would argue that Umahi is Igbo too and could not be said to be against his ethnic group. But that would be a ridiculous point to push forward. In the politics of sycophancy that rules in Nigeria, the first thing that can be thrown under the bus is one’s ethnicity. It is worse for Igbo politicians in Nigeria. Since the Nigerian Civil War ended in 1970, many Igbo politicians have resorted to throwing their people under the bus to be accepted by other Nigerians. Especially for many who nurse secret presidential ambition, they believe that if they don’t say things against their ethnic group, people from other parts of Nigeria will not trust them. Umahi did the same thing all through the tenure of Muhammadu Buhari as president. If Peter Obi were the president, Umahi would probably have joined the Labour Party and changed his tune.

What Umahi did by dragging the Igbo into something that does not concern them was intentional and tactical. It was meant to achieve a result. Many people tried it during the 2023 presidential campaign period. It was meant to create a phobia for Obi because of the 2027 election.

When the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project was announced, the first prominent person that criticised it was Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party. Naturally, the presidency responded to him. But the response from the Tinubu administration was direct to the person of the former PDP presidential candidate. No reference was made or insinuated about his ethnic group. That was the way to respond to political criticism.

Tinubu was in the opposition for many years. While in the opposition, he constantly criticised and even ridiculed those in government. He was seen as playing his role as a member of the opposition. He was commended for playing his role well. It is disappointing that under his administration, dissent is regularly demonised with a resort to ethnic baiting. It started during the campaign when key members of his campaign team and supporters like Bayo Onanuga, MC Oluomo, and others made inciting ethnic comments, yet they were not cautioned. Rather they were given political appointments after the election. That should not be encouraged.