The South East caucus of the house of assembly have warned against the profiling and scapegoating of the igbos in the ongoing nationwide protest against the federal government
The South East caucus noted that the Igbos, following the advice of governors, Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, parliamentarians, and private sector leaders, decided not to engage in the protests.
This decision has contributed to the relative calm observed in the five South Eastern states.
Hashtags on the internet like _#IgbosMustGo have been trending on social media platforms as a result of threats of vacating the Igbos out of Lagos state
The Caucus expressed disappointment in a statement jointly signed by the leader of the Senate and House of Reps Caucus, Eyinaya Abaribe and Igariwey Enwo;
“The attention of the South East Caucus of the National Assembly has been drawn to the unfortunate and dangerous ethnic profiling of Igbos in the ongoing mass protests across the country.
“For the records, the Igbo nation, in obedience to the advice of their leaders- Governors, Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, parliamentarians and others in the private sector- had taken a reasoned and strategic decision not to participate in the ongoing nationwide protests.
“This is evident in the relative calm experienced in the five South Eastern states.
“We are, therefore, surprised and disappointed, that Igbos are still made scapegoats, and targeted as instigators of protests, as shown in several statements (such as the Igbo Must Go hashtag and call by a certain ‘Lagospedia’ X(Twitter) handle) and videos seen online.”
The statement also pleaded with the Igbos to be law abiding and stay away from the protest adding that similar events had led to civil war in the past
“Elsewhere in Africa, it led to the genocide in Rwanda and the xenophobia in South Africa. Such should not be our fate again in Nigeria.
“We demand therefore that the security agencies bring to book the purveyors of these hate speeches in line with the cybercrimes act and criminal laws of the country.
“We continue to appeal to Igbos across the country to stay away from the protests, and remain law-abiding,” the statement said.
