{"id":25465,"date":"2025-10-28T09:11:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T08:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=25465"},"modified":"2025-10-28T09:11:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T08:11:21","slug":"did-obasanjo-claim-igbos-control-lagos-through-ownership-and-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/did-obasanjo-claim-igbos-control-lagos-through-ownership-and-investment\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Obasanjo claim Igbos control Lagos through ownership and investment?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Claim: An Instagram post alleged<\/a> that former President Olusegun Obasanjo said the Igbos don\u2019t need to fight the Yorubas to \u201cwin Lagos,\u201d as most Yorubas live in Igbo-owned houses, and that Lagos would be \u201cempty overnight\u201d if Igbos withdrew their support.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Verdict: False. No credible report or statement supports this. The link attached to the post redirects to random, unrelated Facebook pages. Domain checks also show it\u2019s from a newly registered, unverified site.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the most common tactics for spreading misinformation online is attaching false or exaggerated statements to respected public figures, as people tend to trust leaders, especially former presidents or well-known politicians. These fake quotes spread quickly and are often accepted as truth. Over the years, this tactic has been used to influence public opinion and fuel political debates in Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been a frequent target of such false claims. DUBAWA has, on several occasions, verified and debunked statements wrongly attributed to him here<\/a> and here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Instagram user, @Omalain_cribs<\/a>, claimed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo made comments about the relationship between the Igbo and Yoruba communities in Lagos State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the post, Obasanjo allegedly said, \u201cThe Igbos don\u2019t need to fight the Yorubas in Lagos to win Lagos.\u201d He was also quoted as saying that all the Igbos need to do is ask Yoruba tenants to vacate their houses, terminate their employment where they served as employers, and withdraw them from managing lands as caretakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post attributed further remarks to the former president, claiming he said most Yorubas living in Lagos are tenants in Igbo-owned properties, and that Igbo people now control a greater part of the city through ownership and investment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The supposed statement ended with Obasanjo allegedly saying, \u201cPeace is not weakness, but when you provoke a people who built your comfort, you risk losing it all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Oct. 20, 2025, the post had 9,169 likes, 1,460 comments, and 243 reposts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We reviewed the comments to see what people who responded had to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

@Nebs1881<\/a>, for instance, wrote, \u201cHard to believe such words are coming from an elder statesman. Truly disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 @UchennaOkundu<\/a> replied, \u201cDivide and rule. See politicians using y’all to achieve their aims. Nigerian citizens better borrow sense, they are just playing you against each other for political purposes, love yourselves and fight this bad government together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

@Tutuh212<\/a>  asked, \u201cDid Obasanjo really say this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

@Ladyeki<\/a>, excited, said, \u201cHe couldn’t have said it better. Some people will not be happy with this information.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing that this is not the first time false claims have been linked to Obasanjo and considering the statement’s unusual nature, the level of engagement it received, and its potential to mislead people if untrue, we decided to verify it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA conducted a keyword search using the alleged quote and its variations, such as \u201cObasanjo Igbos Lagos tenants\u201d and \u201cObasanjo on Yoruba and Igbo in Lagos.\u201d The search yielded no credible reports, press statements, or news coverage from any reputable Nigerian news outlet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA also reviewed recent news reports and public engagements involving the former president. As of Oct. 18, 2025, Obasanjo\u2019s latest public appearances included the Abeokuta Book Conference<\/a> and the Youth Leadership Dialogue, both held in Ogun State, where his speeches focused primarily on youth development, governance, and African unity. No mention of ethnic relations in Lagos or similar remarks was made in any of those appearances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Instagram post shared by @Omalain_cribs<\/a>, we found a link<\/a> that the user claimed would provide more details about the statement allegedly made by Olusegun Obasanjo. To verify this, we used Google Search to trace where and when it had appeared online. Instead of leading to a credible source or a recognised news platform where such a statement might have been published, the search results showed multiple Facebook and Instagram posts using the same link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of these posts contained different and unrelated stories, ranging from political commentary to viral entertainment content. None of the posts mentioned Obasanjo or bore any connection to the claim shared on Instagram. See post samples here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, <\/strong>here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We contacted former President Olusegun Obasanjo\u2019s media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, who dismissed the claim as false. Akinyemi explained that the statement attributed to the former president never occurred and urged anyone who comes across such information to disregard it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, we conducted a domain search using Whois lookup<\/a> to trace its registration details. The results showed that the website was registered on Oct. 2, 2024, last updated on Sept. 2, 2025, and is set to expire in Oct. 2026. The domain\u2019s short registration period, recent updates, and lack of publicly available ownership details indicate that it is not associated with any reputable media organisation. These findings further undermine the credibility of the link and confirm that it does not originate from a credible source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The claim falls flat. There is no proof, no trace, and no truth. The supposed quote has no verifiable source and, like many before it, survives only through social media repetition, not fact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Claim: An Instagram post alleged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo said the Igbos don\u2019t need to fight the Yorubas to \u201cwin Lagos,\u201d as most Yorubas live in Igbo-owned houses, and that Lagos would be \u201cempty overnight\u201d if Igbos withdrew their support. Verdict: False. No credible report or statement supports this. The link attached to the post redirects to random, unrelated Facebook pages. Domain checks also show it\u2019s from a newly registered, unverified site. Full Text One of the most common tactics for spreading misinformation online is attaching false or exaggerated statements to respected public figures, as people tend to trust leaders, especially former presidents or well-known politicians. These fake quotes spread quickly and are often accepted as truth. Over the years, this tactic has been used to influence public opinion and fuel political debates in Nigeria. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been a frequent target of such false claims. DUBAWA has, on several occasions, verified and debunked statements wrongly attributed to him here and here.  An Instagram user, @Omalain_cribs, claimed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo made comments about the relationship between the Igbo and Yoruba communities in Lagos State. According to the post, Obasanjo allegedly said, \u201cThe Igbos don\u2019t need to fight the Yorubas in Lagos to win Lagos.\u201d He was also quoted as saying that all the Igbos need to do is ask Yoruba tenants to vacate their houses, terminate their employment where they served as employers, and withdraw them from managing lands as caretakers. The post attributed further remarks to the former president, claiming he said most Yorubas living in Lagos are tenants in Igbo-owned properties, and that Igbo people now control a greater part of the city through ownership and investment.  The supposed statement ended with Obasanjo allegedly saying, \u201cPeace is not weakness, but when you provoke a people who built your comfort, you risk losing it all.\u201d As of Oct. 20, 2025, the post had 9,169 likes, 1,460 comments, and 243 reposts.  We reviewed the comments to see what people who responded had to say. @Nebs1881, for instance, wrote, \u201cHard to believe such words are coming from an elder statesman. Truly disappointing.\u201d  @UchennaOkundu replied, \u201cDivide and rule. See politicians using y’all to achieve their aims. Nigerian citizens better borrow sense, they are just playing you against each other for political purposes, love yourselves and fight this bad government together.\u201d @Tutuh212  asked, \u201cDid Obasanjo really say this?\u201d @Ladyeki, excited, said, \u201cHe couldn’t have said it better. Some people will not be happy with this information.\u201d Knowing that this is not the first time false claims have been linked to Obasanjo and considering the statement’s unusual nature, the level of engagement it received, and its potential to mislead people if untrue, we decided to verify it. Verification DUBAWA conducted a keyword search using the alleged quote and its variations, such as \u201cObasanjo Igbos Lagos tenants\u201d and \u201cObasanjo on Yoruba and Igbo in Lagos.\u201d The search yielded no credible reports, press statements, or news coverage from any reputable Nigerian news outlet.  DUBAWA also reviewed recent news reports and public engagements involving the former president. As of Oct. 18, 2025, Obasanjo\u2019s latest public appearances included the Abeokuta Book Conference and the Youth Leadership Dialogue, both held in Ogun State, where his speeches focused primarily on youth development, governance, and African unity. No mention of ethnic relations in Lagos or similar remarks was made in any of those appearances. From the Instagram post shared by @Omalain_cribs, we found a link that the user claimed would provide more details about the statement allegedly made by Olusegun Obasanjo. To verify this, we used Google Search to trace where and when it had appeared online. Instead of leading to a credible source or a recognised news platform where such a statement might have been published, the search results showed multiple Facebook and Instagram posts using the same link. Each of these posts contained different and unrelated stories, ranging from political commentary to viral entertainment content. None of the posts mentioned Obasanjo or bore any connection to the claim shared on Instagram. See post samples here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. We contacted former President Olusegun Obasanjo\u2019s media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, who dismissed the claim as false. Akinyemi explained that the statement attributed to the former president never occurred and urged anyone who comes across such information to disregard it. Lastly, we conducted a domain search using Whois lookup to trace its registration details. The results showed that the website was registered on Oct. 2, 2024, last updated on Sept. 2, 2025, and is set to expire in Oct. 2026. The domain\u2019s short registration period, recent updates, and lack of publicly available ownership details indicate that it is not associated with any reputable media organisation. These findings further undermine the credibility of the link and confirm that it does not originate from a credible source. Conclusion The claim falls flat. There is no proof, no trace, and no truth. The supposed quote has no verifiable source and, like many before it, survives only through social media repetition, not fact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[1571,3812,3815,16],"tags":[],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[4069],"class_list":["post-25465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fact-check","category-headline","category-homepage","category-politics"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-6CJ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":4069,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"rejoice-taddy","display_name":"Rejoice Taddy","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Obasanjo-Olusegun.png?fit=700%2C400&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25465"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25466,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25465\/revisions\/25466"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25465"},{"taxonomy":"verdict","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/verdict?post=25465"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=25465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}