2015 poll: Igbos in Lagos anxious overthe future

The ongoing hate campaign against non-indigenes in Lagos State especially the Igbos is seen as politically motivated and another attempt to intimidate the group. However, the Igbo have been cautioned not to act out of emotion but to think strategically. EZUGWU OBINNA reports

There is growing concerns among Igbo leaders and residents in Lagos State over recent developments in the state with regards to the increasing rate of hate speeches and protests targeting against the Igbo community by their native Yoruba host.

It is the believe of many non-indigenes of Lagos State that if the rising tension between the non-indigenes and their host is left unchecked, it might degenerate into a crisis situation which will have far reaching consequences on both parties.

Only last week, the social media was awash with the report that some Yoruba youths under the auspices of Oodua Nationalist Coalition (ONAC) and the Pan- Yoruba National Alliance (PAYNA) staged protestsmarch against the Igbo along Asawani Road, Isolo Lagos.

Reports had quoted the group’s leader, Mr. Araonye Akinwunmi, as saying that the gathering was to warn the Igbo against their assault on Yoruba heritage and culture.

“This is a symbolic rally to warn against the assault on Yoruba heritage. We are sick of people who trample on our heritage even though they make their millions on our territory,” Akinwumi was quoted to have said in his address.

Meanwhile the said protesters were also said to have distributed thousands of pamphlets with the warning that the Yoruba “will no longer accept the conscious attempt to turn us into slaves on our own land”.

The protester who displayed placards that variously read “Igbo: Respect our culture or go home, “don’t be jealous of Lagos”, create your own Lagos in the East”. “Stop the attacks on Yoruba business or we stop your businesses in Lagos”.

The development is the latest in what has become a regular case of the indigenous Yoruba people of the state making hate-inciting speeches against the non-indigenes and the Igbo responding in the same token.

A few days before the governorship election that produced Governor Akinwumi Ambode, the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu threatened that the Igbo would be thrown into the lagoon if they fail to vote Ambode of the All Progressive Congress (APC).  Jimi Agbaje was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the APC is the ruling party in the state. The statement generated reactions in many quarters especially on social media with the vast majority of Yoruba backing the Oba, a situation that led to very heated exchanges among individuals of the two groups on various online platforms.

Although the Oba later denied making the statements, video evidence was quickly provided to prove the claim. But before long, voices of pan Yoruba groups like Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) rose in defence of the foremost traditional ruler with stern warnings against further criticisms of the monarch.

Few days later, another statement attributed to Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka which was to the effect that the Igbo voted out of greed in the presidential election, again generated tension between the Igbo and the Yoruba.

Soyinka had reportedly stated while delivering a lecture at Harvard that the Igbo voted according to their “stomachs” during the recently held elections that saw them vote massively for the PDP. Although the literary icon later, in a statement, disclaimed the statement which first appeared on an online platform.

This new wave of tension, it would be recalled, started two years ago in 2013 when the then governor of the state, Babatunde Fashola deported those he called destitute Igbo in Lagos to the popular Onitsha Head Bridge. The actions of the then governor had led to unfriendly exchanges which set the tone for the continued distrust existing in the state.

Indeed, there is a prevailing atmosphere of uncertainty, especially as it concerns the future of the Igbo in Lagos. A prominent Igbo entrepreneur was said to have quipped in the wake of the recent happenings that he was reconsidering the future of his investments in the state.

Responding to the development, Chief Robert Okoroji, a onetime governorship aspirant in Lagos noted that such threats were calculated attempts by some individuals to intimidate the Igbo and warned the media against paying much attention to their activities as such will only give such individuals the motivation to continue.

“There are certain things we shouldn’t shade light on, especially the media because the more we talk about it, the more it gives them the impression that we are afraid. Already, there is an attempt to intimidate the Igbo on social media. Such attempt should be resisted; they are out to make the Igbo believe they do not belong here in Lagos and that they will be driven home someday.”

“But the hatred towards the Igbo presently is nothing compared to what took place in the 60s that led to the war. The truth however is that the Igbo due to their nature have been subjected to hate, since as far back as the 1940s. In those days, they were being killed in the North by those who were afraid they might begin to dominate them in their place. And such killings were often incited by rulers in those places,” Okoroji said.

He noted that the liberal nature of the Igbo is always a threat to other groups who are traditional monarchy inclined. “The traditional system of the Igbo is always a threat to those who practice monarchy. The Igbo are republicans by nature and are not often used to paying homage to traditional rulers. That’s why some of these traditional institutions are not comfortable with the Igbo.”

“We should understand that this is a new principality, the principality ruled by the Obas, the Emirs and so on; the empires of Oyo and others are old principalities. The new principality is the Nigerian state ruled by the constitution and the constitution of the country provides that every Nigerian has a right to reside in any part of the country he wants and enjoy full citizenship rights,” he said.

“I believe that anyone who has lived in Lagos for over thirty years is part of the state and has the right to aspire to become its governor. That’s why I sought to be governor of the state. It is done elsewhere. As we speak, a Yoruba man, Rotimi Adebayo is the governor of a province in Ireland; another Yoruba man is a member of parliament in Poland. There are many others like that, so why do we keep talking about separation and differences even when we have lived together for over 110 years. The Igbo did not come to Lagos 20 years ago; they have been here for a long time.”

“It is sad that an Igbo or an individual from another ethnic group will stay in Lagos all his life and he is still treated as a foreigner, but if another Yoruba comes to Lagos from Ekiti or Oyo today, he is regarded as a citizen,” he lamented.

Okoroji however cautioned the Igbo to act strategically and think about developing the East. “We should think strategically and not act out of emotion; because we went to war out of emotion, we went to war because we were angry. It shouldn’t be so this time. We should not let anyone intimidate us here, but at the same time we must strategically look to develop the East. What gives these people morale is that they think we are desperate to stay here,” he noted.

Also reacting to the recent developments, Chief Kenneth Nwaguma, the National Coordinator of South East, South-South Political Forum advised traditional rulers of Yoruba extraction to caution their subjects against provocative attacks on the Igbo in Lagos and elsewhere.

Nwaguma who gave the advice on Monday in Owerri while addressing journalists stated that the youths who are making such provocative attacks are miscreants being used by some tribalistic leaders to achieve selfish aims. He further called on the Igbo and other ethnic groups in Lagos to be vigilant and not allow anybody to intimidate them

“We are issuing a serious warning to our fellow occupants of Lagos State that the Igbo and other ethnic groups are equal partners in Lagos State and nobody has the right to threaten any person or tribe residence in Lagos,” he stated.

“Lagos is a metropolitan city being developed by various stakeholders, and according to the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, any Nigerian citizen has right to reside and own property in any part of the country.

“We are mobilizing all the Igbo and other non-Yoruba residents in Lagos State to be vigilant, sensitive, watchful and ready to match force with force, action for action, threat for threat as some of the Yoruba leaders seem to be adopting strategy of psychological humiliation, probably to hoodwink Igbo and other non-Yoruba’s in Lagos State to abandon their investments and flee.”