Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, on Monday, said the current economic hardship in Nigeria was avoidable. In a statement by its spokesperson, Dr. Chiedozie Ogbonnia, the group also lamented what it described as persistent “Igbophobia” by President Bola Tinubu’s aide, Bayo Onanuga.
Relatedly, as concerns mount over a looming national protest, Nigeria LabourCongress (NLC) appealed to Tinubu to adopt a peaceful approach to resolve the issues being raised by Nigerians. Ohanaeze Ndigbo reminded the presidency that the prevailing hardship in Nigeria was blind to ethnicity. The group added, “Nigerians of all persuasions, North, South, East and West are in pains of diverse forms: excruciating hardships, poverty, Naira downward spiral, incessant kidnappings, banditry, farmers-herdsmen conflict, most terrifying insecurity, joblessness, rising food prices, and cost of living challenges.
” The statement by Ohaneze also said, “Bayo Onanuga’s bizarre dispositions towards anything Igbo” consistently showed him “as unthoughtful, loathsome, cantankerous, uncouth, repugnant and inflammable.” The statement said, “The attention of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has been drawn to a remark by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Chief Bayo Onanuga, to the effect that “the malcontents planning to stage nationwide protests are supporters of Peter Obi, the failed presidential candidate of the Labour Party’”. Ohanaeze said On.