Igbo Must Go Hashtag: Obasanjo Breaks Silence, “We Own This Country Together”

• Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed concern over the social media campaign promoting a tribal war against the Igbo in Lagos state and the southwest regions
• Obasanjo condemned the development, asserting that such sentiments undermine Nigeria’s unity
• The elder statesman also dismissed the controversial claims about his Igbo paternity, noting that "it is laughable"

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has reacted to the call on the Igbos to vacate Lagos and the southwest region.

Obasanjo: "No one should be driven away from any part of the country"

Recall that a post made by @Lagospedia on X (formerly Twitter) went viral and generated reactions on the social media platform.

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The post on July 27, 2024, asking Lagosians to brace for a massive #IgboMustGo protest from August 20 to 30, 2024, has further fuelled tensions and stirred a fresh controversy in the polity.

Reacting to the development, the former president said he doesn’t believe anybody in Nigeria should be driven away from any part of the country, declaring that, “we own this country together.”

He added:

“Having ensured that the Yorubas, Igbos and Hausas all came together to fight the war of unity in Nigeria, and “not to fight Igbos to go, but to come. So if anybody says to me, that somebody should leave any place, he will be the one to leave.”

Obasanjo made this assertion when he received in audience the leadership of Ndigbo Amaka Progressive Market Association, an umbrella body of major markets in Lagos State held at the boardroom of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Abeokuta, Ogun State, Vanguard reported.

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In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo who did not speak much further, said the leadership of the group reached out to him to support the establishment of the Owerri Central Market positioned to be the best of its kind in the country, Daily Trust reported.

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• Obasanjo finally reacts to claim his father is Igbo
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"Igbo must go hashtag": Atiku tasks Tinubu

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president and PDP candidate in the 2023 presidential election, called on President Bola Tinubu's government to take action on those behind the Igbo Must Go hashtag.

The PDP leader, in a statement on Thursday, August 1, said Nigerians need to learn from the Rwanda example and resist any division move.

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Obasanjo identifies major cause of poverty in Africa: “They were deceiving us with initiatives”

According to Atiku, Nigeria's Constitution gave the right to live and work anywhere to every Nigerian, and the Igbo should not be denied that fact.

Source: Legit.ng