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By Olamilekan Adigun
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately sack Bayo Onanuga, his Special Assistant on Strategic Communications, whom they described as a notorious Igbo hater.
Onanuga has been accused of making inflammatory statements about the Igbos, particularly during the 2023 elections, which HURIWA believes could incite ethnic hatred and have severe consequences for national unity.
HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, who expressed deep concern over the growing trend of ethnic hate speech in Nigeria, described it as a serious threat to the country’s fragile unity.
He said, “Bayo Onanuga has made it abundantly clear that he harbours deep resentment toward the Igbos, and his statements suggest that he is willing to stoke ethnic tensions in the future.
“His assertion that Igbos will no longer participate in Lagos politics after 2023 is a clear indication of his agenda to sideline and marginalize a significant ethnic group in Nigeria. Such a person has no business holding a strategic communications role in the President’s administration.”
HURIWA argued that Onanuga’s continued presence in the President’s administration sends the wrong message to Nigerians, particularly the Igbo community, who may feel that the President is tacitly endorsing anti-Igbo rhetoric.
However, the association clarified that they do not believe President Tinubu harbours any anti-Igbo sentiments, given his familial ties to the Igbo community.
The organization emphasized that the President’s continued retention of Onanuga in his government could embolden others to propagate hate and incite violence, and urged him to take decisive action to address the growing trend of ethnic hate speech in Nigeria.
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