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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