Between Trump’s “Genocide” claim and the NYT’s Onitsha trader narrative

2026-01-28 - 23:24

By YUSHAU SHUAIB Public debate in Nigeria is increasingly shaped not just by facts but also by emotion, identity, and organised outrage. My recent short Facebook post reacting to The New York Times, NYT, report on an Onitsha-based trader and activist triggered an avalanche of hostile responses — many from individuals identifying as Igbo and largely sympathetic to IPOB and the quest for Biafra. What shocked me was not disagreement; that is part of democratic discourse. It was the coordinated pattern of abuse, libellous language, and unrelated propaganda, even after I deleted some of the very offensive posts of online cabals. A closer look revealed what I often call social media warriors from digital pressure groups — mobilised from coordinated platforms, less interested in dialogue than in silencing alternative views. Surprisingly, my harmless Facebook post that sparked the anger was a simple paragraph, which reads: “They attacked us for calling out the reckless claim of ‘Christian genocide’ that painted all Muslims as guilty. Now they insist that the New York Times report on the Onitsha trader who urged an American strike on the Sokoto Caliphate is an editorial attack on Igbos. Haba! So they finally get the point.” The inciting and provocative reactions to