Former presidential aide to Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Reno Omokri, took to Twitter to criticize the leader of the Ohaneaze group for claiming in a trending video that Igbos developed Lagos from a swamp to the mega city it is today.
Omokri questioned the logic behind such a statement, pointing out that cities in Igboland like Enugu, Awka, Nnewi, Aba, Abakaliki, Owerri, among others, are not swamps, yet they haven’t been developed like Lagos. He emphasized the need for elders like Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the President of Ohana’eze Ndi’Igbo, to speak in ways that promote unity in the nation and criticized the provocative nature of the statement. Omokri also drew a parallel with the controversy surrounding insults directed at the Oba of Benin, highlighting the inconsistency in responses.
In his tweet he stated; “Does it make sense to say Lagos was a swamp until Igbos developed it to what it is today, when Enugu, Awka, Nnewi, Aba, Abakaliki, Owerri, and other cities in Igboland are not swamps, yet Igbos have not developed them like Lagos? If you can develop a swamp into a mega city, why have you not developed dry land into heaven? We love our Igbo brothers and sisters, but Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the President of Ohana’eze Ndi’Igbo, should be careful how he talks.” “
We need elders, like Iwuanyanwu, to speak in ways that build unity in our nation. What type of provocative statement is that? That you developed Lagos into what it is today. And these were the same people insulting the Oba of Benin. Did the revered Benin monarch say up to this before one 73-year-old, who should know better, insulted the hell out of him?”