Lagos And Its Escalating Systemic Igbophobia: It’s Time To Dismount From The Unruly Horse of Tribal Politics

By Dr. Ope Banwo

When a government starts obsessing over street names as a tool for tribal revisionism, you know a dangerous corner has been turned.

The recent, almost comical, effort to rename or “correct” street names in Lagos—especially those perceived to carry Igbo connotations—is not just petty. It’s proof that tribal politics is no longer a whisper in Lagos; it has become state-sponsored graffiti sprayed across the city’s policies, culture, and governance. From the unnecessary fuss over Charly Boy Bus Stop to the quiet erasure of Igbo influence in commercial and cultural spaces, the signs are not just flashing—they are screaming.

And it all boils down to the political trauma of the 2023 elections.

When the Labour Party’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour—a candidate backed heavily by a big section of the Igbo population AND Yorubas too—dared to threaten the APC stronghold in Lagos, tribal alarm bells went off. The response? Vicious rhetoric, suppression, and a subtle but sustained Igbo purge dressed up as patriotism.

Let’s stop pretending. Let’s stop rationalizing. What we’re seeing in Lagos today is not “pro-Yoruba pride”—it’s anti-Igbo prejudice, and it is escalating at an alarming rate.

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9 WAYS IGBOS ARE BEING MARGINALIZED IN LAGOS TODAY

This is not paranoia. These are verifiable patterns of behavior and policy that paint a very clear picture of systemic exclusion:

1. Renaming Igbo-Associated Streets and Landmarks

The Lagos government has started reverting or scrubbing off names tied to prominent Igbo figures or culture, claiming they were “never official.” But the selective nature of these renamings shows it’s more about ethnic sanitization than city planning. Why do these “corrections” always target Igbo-associated names?

2. Violent Voter Suppression in Igbo-Dominated Areas

During the 2023 elections, ballot boxes were smashed, voters beaten, and entire communities threatened simply because they were perceived to be Igbo strongholds. The attacks weren’t random—they were surgical strikes against Igbo political participation.

3. Selective Demolitions of Igbo Trader Markets

From Alaba International to parts of Ladipo and Trade Fair, markets largely built and sustained by Igbos have been bulldozed with zero empathy. While the government claims zoning enforcement, the demolitions are noticeably Igbo-targeted—as if economic sabotage is now a state-sanctioned tool of ethnic retribution.

4. Exclusion from Lagos Political Appointments

Despite forming a massive portion of Lagos’s tax base and voting population, Igbos remain almost entirely absent from government roles. Zero commissioners. Zero senior appointees. Not even symbolic inclusion. Lagos eats from their table but won’t let them sit at it.

5. Hostile Rhetoric from Political Leaders

Politicians and political influencers openly told Igbos to “stay out of Lagos politics” and “vote where you come from.” Some warned them not to “interfere” or “overstep.” When tribal arrogance becomes official language, it is no longer sentiment—it’s state prejudice.

6. Ethnic Targeting in Market Raids & Closures

Over the past year, market raids for “sanitation,” “compliance,” or “safety” disproportionately targeted Igbo-populated trading hubs. These markets were often shut down suddenly, with little due process, while markets in Yoruba zones got warnings and negotiations.

7. Igbo Cultural Events & Expressions Being Marginalized

While Yoruba festivals and cultural events are encouraged, Igbo events are often neglected or red-taped. Attempts to celebrate Igbo heritage in Lagos are subtly blocked or left unsupported—yet this is a city they helped build.

8. Igbo-Supported Candidates Painted as ‘Foreign Invaders’

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, though part-Yoruba, was branded as the “Igbo candidate” and treated like an invader. The real crime? Igbos believed in his candidacy. Suddenly, voting became an act of ethnic provocation.

9. Media and Social Bias Against Igbo Presence

From trending hashtags like “Lagos is not no man’s land” to media slants that depict Igbos as arrogant or overambitious, the cultural narrative is being reshaped to push them to the margins—even though Lagos grew into a megacity with their sweat and capital.

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WHY THIS IGBOPHOBIA THING IS A BAD IDEA — FOR EVERYONE

Let’s be clear: This path leads nowhere good. Here are 5 reasons this tribal madness must stop:

1. It Weakens Lagos Economically

Igbos are some of the most productive economic actors in Lagos. Alienating them is like poisoning your own well and blaming the weather. Markets don’t care about ethnicity—only performance does.

2. It Deepens National Division

If Lagos—a supposedly cosmopolitan city—starts drawing tribal battle lines, how can the rest of Nigeria find peace? The message this sends is: “You’re welcome to invest, but not to belong.”

3. It Validates Extremism

When peaceful political expression is met with suppression, people look elsewhere. Nnamdi Kanu didn’t rise in a vacuum—he rose in a climate where Igbos were repeatedly told they were unwanted.

4. It Makes Nonsense of Democracy

When ethnicity determines your right to vote, contest, or be appointed, democracy dies. What’s the use of PVCs when thugs will beat you for using them in “enemy territory”?

5. It Destroys the Yoruba Legacy of Hospitality

The Yoruba people have historically been among the most tolerant, accommodating, and collaborative groups in Nigeria. This recent wave of Igbophobia tarnishes that proud legacy and shames the ancestors who welcomed strangers.

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MY FINAL WORD AS A PROUD DOIBLE PRINCE OF IJEBULAND

Let me be honest as someone who carries the blood of royal Yoruba ancestry: This is not who we are.

Igbos are not just guests in Lagos. They are stakeholders, partners, and co-builders. You don’t have to love them. You don’t have to agree with them. But you must respect them.

What is happening now is not Yoruba pride—it is Yoruba insecurity dressed in cultural agbada. It is political cowardice masked as heritage defense. And it needs to stop.

The horse we’re riding is wild, tribal, and blind. If we don’t dismount soon, it will throw us all off a cliff.

Let Lagos return to being a beacon of diversity, progress, and mutual respect—not a shrine to petty tribalism.