TheΒ Chief Spokesperson for the Labour Party, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, has said the loud silence by the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over the continuous ethnic profiling and hate propaganda against Igbo in Lagos State as dangerous for Nigeriaβs corporate existence.
He said Nigerians expected that Tinubu as a leader and former governor of the state should have spoken out against the threats and intimidation being targeted at the Igbo and Nigerians from the South/South region in Lagos and any other tribe.
Tanko, said this in a statement mailed to Vanguard yesterday.
He expressed regret that Tinubuβs silence has gone a long way to support the impression in many quarters that β he is the main enabler.β
Tanko reminded Tinubu that there is life outside politics, stressing that the ethnic propaganda war against Igbos and other tribes in Lagos could give rise to internal strife in the country, which may be hard to contain.
He maintained that Tinubuβs failure to call our brothers in the south west who are majorly his supporters to order, also gives the impression that theΒ New York Times was right in describing him as a divisive character.
Tanko said, βWe are worried over what could become of Nigeria, especially grave danger to ethnic war against other tribes, if he presides over Nigeria as its President.
βWe must be reminded that when Hitler started with Communists, everyone kept quiet, he descended on Catholics, everyone kept quiet and he descended on Jews, everyone kept quiet because he is not Jewish, until Hitler descended on all.
βThe story about the Rwandan example is too gory to contemplate. But, the way things are going in Lagos State, where Tinubu is also said to be a settler, shows that Rwanda can happen in Nigeria.
βThis also serves a warning to all concerned citizens brothers nation wide that Nigeria is one and no any tribe should be a targets, for political gain.β
Responding to claims that Tinubu does not want to speak out in order not to hurt the political campaign strategy, which may likely favour his party, Tanko declared that βstatesmanship, more than any virtue is a sine qua non for harmony in a plural society like ours.
βIf am I am Tinubu, I will call my supporters to order and reduce acrimony.
βFor Godβs sake, where is the unity in victory, albeit contested? Why is Lagos election do or die for a president-elect?
βThis a bad omen. Perhaps, Tinubu is angry that majority of voters in lagos did not vote for him.β