Is the Rivers “Aboki Must Go” Protest an Attempt to Pit Hausa-Fulani Against Igbos Ahead of 2027?

BY MOHAMMED BELLO DOKA

I suspect that what is unfolding around the Rivers “Aboki Must Go” protest is being deliberately or opportunistically amplified to pit the North against the Igbos for political gain. A local crisis in a non-Igbo state is being reframed as Igbo hostility, seeding mistrust between two regions whose cooperation could reshape power ahead of 2027. The danger is clear: if Northerners turn on innocent Igbos over events they had no part in, any meaningful alliance that could challenge the current political order weakens immediately. That is why Nigerians must stay calm, reject provocation and expose this divisive narrative — because anyone willing to inflame ethnic hostility to secure victory is showing a readiness to set the country ablaze and rule over the ashes. Such politics must be confronted and shamed by citizens who refuse to be turned against each other.

Some may argue that the protest happened in Rivers State — not the South-East — so why bring Igbos into the discussion at all?

The answer is simple and real: many Northerners do not clearly distinguish between South-South and South-East. To them, anyone from the South who is not Yoruba is often assumed to be Igbo — broadly labelled Inyamuri. That perception is already visible in reactions spreading across Northern social media spaces. Many responses are framing the Rivers protest as an “Igbo thing,” despite the fact that Rivers is not an Igbo state and the protest was not an Igbo mobilisation. Some comments have revived memories of the Biafra war. Others are sharing documents about the 1966 coup.

This misidentification is not harmless. It creates exactly the kind of Hausa-Igbo suspicion that can ignite retaliation against innocent people.

And this is where Nigerians must think deeply and ask hard questions.

Is it possible that the chaos around the Rivers “Aboki Must Go” narrative is being amplified in a way that pits Hausa-Fulani against Igbos for political reasons?

Nigeria is already entering the atmosphere of 2027 politics. Across the country, observers discuss the possibility of a North–South-East political alignment — combinations that could significantly reshape electoral outcomes. Any serious coalition between major Northern voters and South-East voters would change national power calculations.

So Nigerians must ask a simple political question: who benefits if Hausa-Fulani and Igbo mistrust rises before 2027?

Certainly not ordinary citizens. Hausa traders depend on Igbo markets. Igbo traders depend on Northern markets. Families, transport routes and supply chains link both regions daily. Violence between them would destroy livelihoods on both sides.

Yet the rhetoric spreading online is pushing exactly toward that hostility. Rivers is being framed as “Igbo anti-Aboki protest.” Old war memories are being revived. Collective blame is being suggested. Fear is being stirred.

Why?

Is this coincidence — or manipulation?

Another troubling observation deepens suspicion. A noticeable number of social media accounts bearing Igbo names are claiming that Rivers people are Igbo or presenting the protest as connected to the South-East. Whether deliberate or opportunistic, this reinforces Northern misperception. It strengthens the narrative that the Rivers protest equals Igbo hostility.

Either the mischief was present from the beginning, or some actors are now exploiting the situation to widen ethnic tension. Nigerians must be honest about this possibility.

Because once Hausa-Igbo mistrust ignites, the political consequences are obvious: any cooperation between those regions weakens. Alliances fracture. Communities retreat into ethnic camps. Electoral bridges collapse.

This is why Nigerians must remain calm and refuse provocation.

The Rivers protest began as a local reaction to a killing and insecurity fears in one community. But the slogan “Aboki Must Go” travelled nationally. And once ethnic language spreads nationally, it can be weaponised politically.

If violence breaks out in Northern cities against Igbos because of Rivers, those Igbos will be rightly offended. They did nothing wrong. They were not in Rivers. They did not protest. They did not kill anyone. They are citizens living and trading peacefully in the North. Targeting them would be injustice.

And injustice always breeds more injustice.

Retaliation against innocent Igbos would also trigger fear and anger in the South-East. Northerners living there could face backlash. Economic exchange would suffer. National tension would rise. Who gains from that chain reaction?

Certainly not the Nigerian people.

So Nigerians must ask: are citizens being pushed to fight each other while deeper national problems remain untouched?

Nigeria’s biggest enemy today is not any tribe or region. It is bad governance and systemic failure.

Millions of Nigerians across North and South live in poverty.
Food prices have surged beyond the reach of ordinary families.
Unemployment and underemployment affect youth everywhere.
Maternal deaths remain among the highest globally.
Insecurity continues in multiple regions.

These crises affect Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and every other Nigerian alike.

So why should Nigerians turn anger against each other instead of against the conditions destroying all communities?

Why should a trader in Kano see an Igbo neighbour as enemy because of events in Rivers?
Why should an Igbo trader in Kaduna fear retaliation for a protest he never joined?
Why should citizens inherit blame for crimes committed elsewhere?

These questions expose the danger of ethnic manipulation.

History shows that when Nigerians are divided along ethnic lines, attention shifts away from accountability. Citizens argue among themselves while governance failures continue unchecked. Division benefits those who prefer Nigerians distracted rather than united in demanding change.

This is why Nigerians must be wiser now.

Hausa-Fulani and Igbo communities have coexisted for generations. Their economic and social ties survived war, coups and crises. That relationship must not be destroyed by misperception amplified for political gain.

So Nigerians must ask plainly:

Are we being encouraged to see each other as enemies before 2027?
Is ethnic fear being seeded where cooperation once existed?
Are old historical wounds being reopened to influence future politics?
Who benefits if Hausa and Igbo distrust grows again?

These are legitimate questions citizens must examine calmly.

What must not happen is violence. Violence against Igbos in the North would be wrong, unjust and self-destructive. It would punish innocents, deepen division and confirm the very hostility narratives being spread. It would also shift attention away from the real struggles Nigerians share: poverty, insecurity, inflation and governance failure.

Nigeria’s crisis is not Hausa versus Igbo. It is citizens versus hardship. It is people versus broken systems. It is society versus bad governance.

When Nigerians fight each other, those problems remain.

So Nigerians must refuse every attempt — deliberate or opportunistic — to set one ethnic group against another. Citizens must recognise how easily local conflicts are reframed nationally. They must verify facts, reject collective blame and protect inter-ethnic peace.

If Nigerians remain calm and refuse provocation, any attempt to pit Hausa-Fulani against Igbos will fail. But if anger replaces reason, the damage will reach far beyond Rivers.

This is why understanding must spread faster than rumours.

I call especially on Hausa readers and citizens across the North: share this clarification widely. Explain that Rivers is not Igbo land. Explain that Igbos in the North are not responsible. Explain that Nigerians must not fight each other over misinterpreted events. Let truth travel before tension does.

Because Nigeria does not need more ethnic enemies. It needs citizens united against the real causes of suffering.

The final question Nigerians must ask themselves is simple:

Will we be divided by narratives — or united by reality?

Mohammed Bello Doka can be reached via [email protected]