IN SHORT: Nigerian social media is awash with fake quotes and misinformation ahead of the country’s February 2023 elections. But if a quote is published with no details of when and where it was said, it’s likely to be false, as this quote attributed to Musiliu Akinsanya is.
“If APC loses in Lagos, non-indigene should get ready to leave Lagos – MC OLUOMO,” reads a Facebook post published in Nigeria on 10 January 2023.
Musiliu Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo, is the chairperson of the Lagos Parks And Garages Management Committee and the former chair of the Lagos state chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
In October 2022, Akinsanya was included in the presidential campaign council of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party in Nigeria and Lagos state. He also held a rally for the party.
Lagos state is majority Yoruba-speaking, inhabited by the Awori tribe in Ikeja division and the Ogu tribe in Badagry division.
The APC has been in charge of Lagos state since 1999.
No fewer than 16 political parties, including the ruling APC and the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are contesting the 2023 governorship election in Lagos state. It is scheduled to take place in February.
There have been concerns that Igbo-speaking Lagos residents were prevented from voting by APC loyalists in 2019 and from registering to vote in the 2023 elections. “Non-indigene” would be understood as referring to Igbo-speakers in Lagos state.
The claim quoting Akinsanya was also repeated in other Facebook posts. But did he make such a comment? We checked.
No evidence Akinsanya said non-indigenes would leave Lagos state
Akinsanya has been vocal about his support for the APC in the presidential and governorship elections.
But there have been no reports in the mainstream media of Akinsanya saying “non-indigenes in Lagos state should be ready to leave the state if APC loses” or anything like this.
The posts on Facebook give no details of when or where Akinsanya is meant to have said this. This is a red flag that something circulating on social media is likely to have been fabricated.
If Akinsanya had made this controversial statement, it would have been reported by credible news organisations. There is no evidence he did.
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