Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that “phobia” for the Igbo ethnic group still persists in Nigeria.
Obasanjo spoke after national and state elections which were trailed by numerous reports of voter intimidation.
The United States diplomatic mission noted that the use of “ethnically charged rhetoric” before, during, and after the gubernatorial election in Lagos was “particularly concerning.”
However, without refering to the development, the former president who spoke at the one-year-in-office anniversary celebration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, lamented that despite the end of the civil war, in 1970, the perception of Igbo in some quarters is still associated with the phobia.
“On one occasion, after I appointed him (Soludo), as the Central Bank Governor, somebody came to me and said, Wow. you have ruined the economy of Nigeria, I said, how? He said an Igbo woman (Mrs Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala), is the Minister of Finance, an Igbo man, is the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, then you have rarely completed the task of running the economy of Nigeria.

“Now, I don’t know why he said that except what I can call “Igbophobia”, and don’t take that lightly; it remains, it persists.
“And I like what Chief Iwuanyanwu said, I believe on the 13th of January, 1970, Biafra died and was buried, actually in the house of my friend here, Simon Okeke in Amechi. But when you hear the type of thing that was said to me and the type of thing that you know is going on, what do we do with it?,” he queried.
Obasanjo, then advised the dignitaries (Igbo) that graced the occasion to overcome any negative perception of them through friendliness and being good, wherever they reside in Nigeria.
His words, “I believe we have to go back to the scripture which says we must conquer evil with good. And whoever you are, wherever people are being afraid of you, you must make yourselves friendly to those who are afraid of you and earn their friendship by being good to them. That is what we have to do.
“I have personally experienced that. Nothing wins friendship like you being friendly.”