Mind you, I am not a fan of late Lucky Dube but my attention was captured by few lines of his lyrics that pop up while checking Facebook reels. It goes, “It takes a million people to build up a good reputation but it takes one stupid fool to destroy everything….”
Ever since I heard this song, I have been ruminating over the wordings. Honestly, it takes only a stupid fool to destroy a reputation built over the years by a million people. Going by the character of Reno Omokri, the self-made spokesperson to Tinubu’s government, he may be considered as that ‘stupid foool’ trying to destroy the reputation of the Igbos who don’t seem to agree with his new found political Messiah, Tinubu.
Igbos are known to be go-getters, hard workers, pathfinders, and jinx breakers. But here is one Reno Omokri, trying to repaint the Easterners with a new colour not known to anybody apart from him. I thought the constitution of Nigeria permits citizens to live and work anywhere without prejudice, but why is Tinubu, elected to uphold the constitution, going haywire against a section of Nigerians?
Before now, I had stated in my X account that Reno Omokri’s single mission under President Tinubu’s administration is to discredit the 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi before the next presidential election.
The aim is to tarnish his image and dissuade his followers from seeing him as a man that means well for the country. However, a careful content analysis of Omokri’s consistent attacks on the Igbos, underscores another mischievous dimension in his quest to sit pretty before his pay masters. He has metamorphosed from attacking Peter Obi and his followers to attacking Peter Obi’s kinsmen.
It can be recalled that while reacting to the demolition of Landmark Beach by the Federal Government to give way to the much criticised Lagos-Calabar Coastal line, Moghalu’s wife, Maryanne Onyinyechi Moghalu, in a post via X on Wednesday, said anyone investing in Lagos does so at their peril.
She wrote, “Invest in Lagos at your own peril. Best practices requires adequate and sufficient compensation for affected properties. This should be vigorously pursued.”
Omokri’s response to the above statement credited to the wife of the presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party, YPP, Maryanne Moghalu was nothing than a sheer display of hate for the wife of the ex-presidential candidate. To start with, Moghalu’s wife has a guaranteed freedom from the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to exercise her right to free expression and she did that within the confines of the law.
A cursory assessment of unfolded events in Lagos since after 2023 General Elections, can confirm that there is a subtle conspiracy by powers that be to quell the popularity of the Igbos in Lagos State. The Federal Government in conjunction with Sanwo-Olu’s administration is pursuing this igneous mission without stint of human sympathy.
For instance, the destruction of the spare parts market in Gbara, Jakande, Lekki before the election mostly occupied by the Igbos was a shocker many have not recovered from. The destruction/demolition of Computer Village in Ikeja by Tinubu’s daughter which was said to have been instigated by Army Officers Wives Association was another clear evidence of hatred for the Igbos.
The continuous threat of the Alaba International Electrical Market at Ojo Alaba, the continous threat of the spare parts sellers at Ladipo market, Mushin Area also in Lagos, the destruction of the spare parts market at Olodi Apapa in Lagos, the destruction of houses mostly built by people from the East in various Estates in Mainland and Lekki.
The lastest being Hopeville near Sangotedo in Ajah/Lekki axis with spurious reasons, the laughable reason the half mad man Wike used in destroying the N11billion Naira Estate Development by Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu that was bulldozed by Mr. Wike in Abuja despite 2 court orders restraining him. Very Surprising is that he did this without obtaining any court approval is convincing evidence that there is a concerted effort to either exterminate the Igbos from Lagos and wherever they may be or weaken their dominance in the state and in other parts of Nigeria.
Did Reno Omokri actually expect Moghalu’s wife to keep quiet and watch the continuous harassment of her kinsmen and destruction of their property by those they elected to protect their lives and property? The answer is NO.
Reno Omokri must know Moghalu’s wife is a woman of class not given to vituperation. Her statement on the destruction of Landmark Beach was a representation of views of many well meaning Nigerians. Reno, a paid defender of Tinubu’s bad leadership should have explained to Nigerian why the Federal Government resorted into destroying such heavy investment despite available options earlier agreed upon. Reno should have also let Nigerians know why the Federal Government started a project of such magnitude without conducting Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA.
If Reno Omokri has chosen to be the ‘stupid fool’ in Lucky Dube’s song, let him begin with the destruction of his family reputation not that of the Igbos.
