Reno Omokri has intensified his criticism of former Anambra State Governor and ex-presidential candidate, Peter Obi, accusing him of ethnic bias in the way he recognises Nigerian athletes, particularly those of Igbo origin.
The renewed criticism was contained in a separate post on Omokri’s official Facebook page, where he questioned Obi’s decision to single out only some Nigerian players who featured in the 2026 Super Bowl, while allegedly ignoring others from different ethnic backgrounds.
Omokri recalled that Obi initially praised Nigerians who played in the 2026 Super Bowl but mentioned only Michael Onwenu and Uchenna Nwosu, both of Igbo origin. He noted that Obi later released another post acknowledging other players, including Boye Mafe and Olusegun Oluwatimi, but only after public criticism.
According to Omokri, this sequence of events raises questions about motive and intent. “Is that not evidence of a guilty conscience?” he asked, while querying why the former Labour Party presidential candidate waited until he was criticised before recognising non-Igbo players.
In his latest post, Omokri argued that the Super Bowl incident fits into a broader pattern, alleging that Obi has consistently failed to individually recognise Nigerian athletes in other major international competitions.
“Please fact-check me: Nigeria has won many international sporting awards, medals, and tournaments since 2023, including WAFCON, the Women’s Afrobasket Championship, and the ITTF Africa Senior Championships, among others,” Omokri wrote.
He further stated that Nigerian athletes competing for other countries have also qualified for major global events such as the World Cup, the OAAF, and the World Athletics Championships, yet Obi allegedly did not single them out for individual praise.
“But in all of these events, Peter Obi has never singled out and individually named the Nigerian players or players of Nigerian origin in these sporting events,” Omokri claimed.
He argued that Obi’s decision to specifically name Super Bowl players was unusual and, in his view, revealing. “But yesterday, in a statement, Peter Obi took the extraordinary step of doing so for players of Nigerian origin who are featuring in the 2026 Super Bowl. Coincidentally, the names he mentioned, Michael Onwenu and Uchenna Nwosu, are from his own ethnic nationality,” he said.
Omokri also pointed out that six players of Nigerian origin featured in Super Bowl 2026, insisting that Obi initially ignored those who were not Igbo. “Even more significantly, there are six players of Nigerian origin playing in Super Bowl 2026, including Boye Mafe and Olusegun Oluwatimi. But because they are not from his own ethnic group, Peter Obi did not mention them,” he alleged.
Expanding the argument further, Omokri said players of Nigerian origin also featured in the 2023 and 2024 NBA Finals without receiving similar individual recognition from Obi.
“Why not? And why did he choose to single out these Nigerians and mention them specifically in 2026, having ignored others?” Omokri asked.
He concluded by framing the issue as a leadership question in Nigeria’s diverse society. “The question is this: can a man who is so unconsciously tribalistic as Peter Obi make a good leader in a multiethnic, multicultural, multiracial, and multi-religious country like Nigeria?” he queried, adding emphatically, “Far from it! Far from it!”
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