Unscrupulous as ever, some politicians in their desperation to win at all costs used the 2023 elections to stoke ethnic animosities that are now threatening to run out of hand. A petition has been filed against one political campaign strategist at the International Criminal Court, another has been arrested by police in Lagos for advocating the incursion of a proscribed violent group in Lagos to “defend” an ethnic group and impose curfews. The cyberspace and even some mainstream media areawash in incendiary speeches and videos. Leaders of the country’s various ethnic groups must rise above the fray, rein in their people, and seek only lawful and constitutional means to address differences to avoid plunging the country into a conflagration.

It started as the usual antics of politicians to play the ethnic card to sway voters, but soon accelerated into mutual threats, hateful videos, twisted and false narratives of the country’s historical past and ugly partisanship by all sides in favour of their respective electoral choices. Unchecked, the ethnic brickbats are accentuating entrenched divisions that could ignite violence.

As the hate comments, memes, historical revisionism and ethnic bigotry spread,the federal and state governments need to urgently douse the situation.

Stoked mainly by supporters of two rival political parties, and their candidates, and the provocations of hooligans backing the All Progressives Congress, tension rose among some residents of Igbo and Yoruba extraction in Lagos before, during and after the elections. While the parties gained support across the various nationalities, some voters viewed the elections mainly through the narrow prism of ethnic solidarity.

Unfortunately, both the Lagos State Government and the police failed to act very strongly against the hooligans, transport union thugs and political agents who were making threats and harassing voters in markets, neighbourhoods, and registration centres. Their reaction by way of statements disavowing the perpetrators and warnings were too tame. They failed to correctly gauge the passions aroused and their possibility of these metastasising amid the general gloom of a population traumatised by insecurity, poverty, poor governance and seething discontent.

During the elections, reports indicate that in 146 polling units out of the over 13,325 in Lagos State, there were cases of voter intimidation and disruption. Although these were nowhere substantial enough to change the final governorship election outcome, ethnic jingoists on both sides have gone global.

Apart from the verbal and written antagonistic commentary, some voters were threatened and, in some cases, physically assaulted during the presidential and governorship elections in Lagos and Anambra states.

In Lagos, transport union thugs and hooligans were seen in uploaded videos profiling and threatening residents and dispersing voters in some strongholds of the Labour Party, including PUs in Oshodi, Ajao Estate, and Eti Osa. In a viral video, a lady was harassed and assaulted by co-passengers on a bus when she declared that the APC presidential candidate would emerge as president-elect.

Similarly, in a video reported by Channels TV, an elderly man who voted for the APC was beaten up by LP supporters in a polling unit in Anambra.

In the charged and emotive run-up to the elections, elders on all sides, either because they backed some candidates or fear of the social media mob that had become dangerously virulent, kept silent or made only tame noises.

More importantly, the tension should remind all Nigerians that the fundamental issue of nationhood among the over 250 ethnic nationalities that has constantly been swept under the carpet, has to be addressed. Nigeria, as the late statesman, Obafemi Awolowo, pointed out over 70 years ago, is not a nation, but an amalgam of nations. Blending them into a coherent whole necessarily requires a constitutional arrangement that will devolve considerable autonomy to the units. This will reduce the contest for the centre. It will also reduce ethnic tensions considerably.

Sadly, a minority but social media loud persons from the most educated and supposedly sophisticated parts of the country are falling for the dirty tricks of politicians and descending into emotional, and childish verbal ethnic skirmishes. Some in the diaspora are stoking the embers. One Simon Ekpa, resident in Finland, has resumed the xenophobic hate-mongering characteristic of IPOB that lessened only with the arrest and ongoing prosecution of Nnamdi Kalu, its leader.

Ancient accusations, false narratives and rewriting of history are all over the place. Misuse and abuse of social media through doctored speeches, videos and old films repackaged as current are being shared without thorough scrutiny.

The utterances of the presidential and governorship candidates who sought to leverage ethnic localities to win elections, coupled with the unguarded comments of their aides contributed to the quagmire.

The politicians failed to caution their supporters strongly enough. Police failed to act decisively in cases where rights and public peace were threatened.

The same police and the State Security Service that move with speed to harass, detain, and prosecute critics of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and some governors have been tardy in dealing with the purveyors. Nigerians should focus on real socioeconomic and developmental issues that affect the generality of the citizens and seek those who are qualified, capable, experienced to solve the country’s problems.

The apex social-cultural groups, Afenifere, and Ohanaeze Ndigbo, have not done enough. They should rise to the challenge, consult widely, meet and map out common strategies to contain the vocal minority stoking ethnic hatred.

In the same manner, diaspora associations should rise above the scrimmage. Yoruba activists reported one of their own, Adeyinka Grandson, for making vile videos in the UK; he was arrested, prosecuted, and jailed by a London court. Such responsible behaviour is needed by everyone.

Ethnic bigotry led to the 1966 killings in the North, which eventually culminated in the Nigerian Civil War 1967-70 in which about one million persons died. Similarly, hate speeches, andethnic bigotry preceded the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which 800,000 persons were killed.The violent breakup offormer Yugoslavia into seven countries was stoked by ethnic animosities and propaganda.

Buhari should intervene, calm nerves, and mobilise all political leaders at every level, and constitutional institutions to call a halt to the brickbats. Police and the SSS should act decisively against those who break the laws. Gatekeepers of the Nigerian media, without abridging the right to be heard, should exercise the highest level of professionalism, and upgrade their fact-checking processes to filter out the outright lies, distortion and cloned videos circulating. Faith-based organisations should enlighten their members on the dangers of ethnic strife.

Crucially, the situation should remind Nigerians of the unresolved National Question; all stakeholders, instead of engaging in ruinous, self-destructive ethnic wars instigated by politicians and social media mobs, should make the restructuring of Nigeria into a true federation the urgent and overriding national priority.