To the Igbo folks on my TL, why?
There is something that has been bothering me for a long time, and I believe it is time to speak about it openly and honestly.
For years, many Nigerians have heard the phrase "Lagos is no man's land" propagating from red cap wearing profiles. Every election cycle, every major political disagreement, every ethnic controversy seems to bring this conversation back again.
My question is simple, why?
Why is it considered wise to repeatedly make divisive statements that many of your hosts perceive as dismissive of their history, identity, and attachment to a place they call home?
Nobody disputes the fact that Lagos has benefited from the hard work, investments, creativity, and enterprise of people from every corner of Nigeria. The Igbo community, in particular, has contributed immensely to the growth and prosperity of Lagos. That contribution deserves recognition and respect.
But contribution and ownership are not the same thing. When people open their cities, communities, and opportunities to you, should the response be rhetoric that unsettles them?
This is not a Lagos-only conversation.
We saw similar tensions emerge in South Africa. Many of us mocked South Africans when controversies arose over traditional authority structures and claims of influence by immigrant communities. We called them backward. We called them xenophobic. We called them ignorant.
But let us ask ourselves honestly, was it wise to provoke people in ways that fed their fears and insecurities? Was it wise to install an Igbo king in KuGompo?
Whether those fears were justified or not, did confrontation solve anything?
Now we are back here again because of another controversial statement. Another round of anger. Another round of ethnic arguments. Another round of Nigerians attacking each other.
And I find myself asking, when will this end? When will the voices that constantly provoke and antagonize learn that coexistence requires sensitivity?
When will the reasonable and thoughtful members of the community begin to challenge the loud and arrogant voices that keep dragging everyone into unnecessary conflict? When will actual well meaning Igbos start to call out their divisive brothers?
Before anyone misunderstands me, let me be clear. No tribe is entirely good. No tribe is entirely bad. Every ethnic group has its saints and its troublemakers.
But when the loudest voices are also the most provocative, they eventually become the face outsiders see. Fair or unfair, perception becomes reality. That is why silence from the sensible majority is dangerous.
If the loudest people continually make statements that create resentment, and nobody within the community pushes back, outsiders begin to assume those voices represent everyone.
Nigeria already has enough problems. Our economy is struggling. Our young people are leaving. Our institutions are weak.
The last thing we need is another generation growing up convinced that they should view their fellow Nigerians through the lens of ethnic suspicion.
The truth is that millions of Igbo people and millions of Yoruba people live, work, build businesses, raise families, and support each other every day without conflict. That reality should be strengthened, not undermined.
So I ask this not in anger but in genuine concern:
Can we stop saying things that unnecessarily provoke our hosts wherever we go? Can we stop treating every disagreement as a contest for dominance? Can we learn that respect is not weakness, and sensitivity is not surrender?
Because in the end, no community wins when mutual trust is destroyed.
We all lose.
And Nigeria loses most of all. I'm tired.
It's hard to ragebait me nowadays but Illbliss tried. O try.