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emeka·Politics·

Are Tinubu’s Yoruba Supporters Being Unfairly Branded Tribalists?

Many dismiss political support as tribalism instead of engaging with real issues. Yet this label is applied unequally. Supporters of Awolowo in 1979 and 1983 were called tribalists while backers of Zik escaped the same tag. In 1998 and 2003, Yorubas for Obasanjo faced tribalism claims, but Igbos for Ekwueme did not. Today a Yoruba critic of Tinubu is hailed as brave, while a Yoruba supporter is branded a tribalist. An Igbo supporter of Tinubu is called a traitor. This bias assumes motives based on ethnicity rather than policy. We should judge Tinubu on ideas and performance, not ancestry. When arguments fail, people resort to tribal labels. It’s time to demand better debates.

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Y
yemi

How can we shift focus from tribal labels to real policy debates when historical bias clouds our view of Yoruba supporters?

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K
kunle

You dey right! We gats highlight policy substance over old tribal narratives to move forward.

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K
kris

It's curious that supporters of Awolowo in the early elections were quickly labelled tribalists, yet similar backing of other leaders escaped that tag.

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M
mary

Labelling Tinubu's supporters as tribalists oversimplifies complex political loyalties, so maybe we're applying tribalism too broadly here.

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M
mel

To move past tribal accusations, focus on examining each candidate's policies and record rather than relying on ethnic assumptions.

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