LAGOS
— AS outrage greeted the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu’s alleged death threat and
curse that Igbo will drown in Lagos lagoon within seven days if they did not
vote for the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Mr
Akinwunmi Ambode, the Oba, yesterday, said he was misquoted and clarified what
he told Igbo leaders, who visited him.
In a
statement by Chief Lateef Aderibigbe Ajose, Opeluwa of Lagos, the traditional
ruler said he called on Igbo chiefs to show appreciation to Lagos State by
supporting his candidate, Ambode, for continuity of excellence as they had
earlier promised.
The
statement read: “My attention has been drawn to a publication in a national
newspaper where HRM Oba Rilwanu Akiolu was alleged to have threatened Igbo in
Lagos to make them vote for Ambode.
“Last
Sunday, all honorary Eze Ndigbo in Lagos paid a courtesy call to HRM Oba
Akiolu. At the meeting, the visitors praised the Oba for his fatherly support
for and co-operation with Igbo in Lagos. They assured him of their continued
good neighbourliness with other tribes in Lagos and to support everything that
will further strengthen that harmony.
“Oba
Akiolu on his part acknowledged the enviable performance of Governor Babatunde
Fashola and his contribution to the growth of investments in Lagos. He gave the
assurance that he is not disturbed or angry with South-East and South-South
votes for President Goodluck Jonathan as perceived by the Eze Ndigbo.
“The
Oba, thereafter, called on the Igbo chiefs to show appreciation to Lagos State
by supporting his candidate, Mr. Ambode, for continuity of excellence as they
had earlier promised.
“He
assured them of his continued support and assistance and the meeting ended with
the traditional breaking of kolanuts, alligator pepper, bitter kola and pouring
of libation. It was within this context that the tradition of Lagos with regard
to the lagoon came up. It was noted that whoever works against the throne and
the interest and peaceful co-existence of Lagos would end up in the lagoon as
per tradition.
“Oba
Akiolu stated further that the Igbo people have not betrayed the throne. Lagos
has also not betrayed the Igbo people. Lagos has done so much to make the Igbo
comfortable and to prosper. For this, we expect reciprocal respect and
understanding. The Oba of Lagos prays that the Lagoon and the throne will
continue to bless and protect all those who reside and visit Lagos.
“Oba
Akiolu is the father of all, irrespective of tribe, religion or political
persuasion. In Lagos, we have an old traditional proverb that relates to the
Lagoon. The lagoon is unique to Lagos. The proverb stresses the need for unity
and understanding when you do business in an environment and in this case when
you live and do business in Lagos. Oba Akiolu prays for peace for the land of
Lagos and prosperity for all its inhabitants.”
Outrage
greets threat
Meanwhile,
the polity was awash with outrage, yesterday, over the Oba’s reported threat.
The umbrella body of Igbo socio-cultural organisations, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, went
into an emergency meeting yesterday over the issue.
Dr.
Josef Onoh, son of former governor of old Anambra State, late Chief C. C. Onoh,
vowed to drag the Oba to the International Criminal Court, ICC, over the
alleged threats, even as Ohanaeze Youths Council, OYC, gave the Oba 48
hours within which to retract and unconditionally apologise to Ndigbo in Lagos over
the threat.
Condemnations
and criticisms also came from Chief Olabode George, Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, Mr
Tony Nwulu (Oshodi-Isolo Rep-elect), the Lagos State Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), Afenifere, Igbo Youths Movement (IYM), Aka-Ikenga and Igbo
Professionals Lagos (IPL), Oodua Youths Congress, Oodua Democratic Coalition,
Yoruba Thinktank, Oodua Nation in Diaspora and United Self-Determination
Platform of Oodua, among others.
We
must build Lagos together — Ambode
This
came as Ambode restated his commitment to lead a government of inclusion where
every Lagosian, irrespective of tribe or ethnicity, is carried along in the
quest to make Lagos greater, if elected.
He
spoke, yesterday, while receiving a donation of buses from the Nigeria
Progressive Ambassadors at an event held at the APC party headquarters in Ogba,
Lagos.
He
said: “Every group in Lagos is safe in my hands as governor. I will not
discriminate against any religious or ethnic group. It is our Lagos and we must
build it together.
“In
my acceptance speech after the primaries, I made this note that I will be a
governor for all and Lagos will be safe in my hands. I want to build on the
foundation of unity, peace and progress and development laid by my
predecessor.”
Ohanaeze,
Igbo leaders meet
Disturbed
by the issue, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo went into an emergency meeting to take a
stand on the Oba’s threats to allegedly make life unbearable for Ndigbo, if
they did not vote for his candidate.
President
General of Ohanaeze, Chief Gary Igariwey, said: “All the Igbo leaders in
Lagos will meet tonight (yesterday) on the issue. Once they are through, they
will communicate me and an official stance will be made known.”
Meanwhile,
political groups and individuals in Enugu State have lashed out at Akiolu over
his comments, insisting that the royal stool had become political.
Reacting
to the Oba’s stance, Commissioner for Inter-Ministerial Duties, Enugu State,
Mr. Beloved-Dam Anike, said:
Oba Okiolu of Lagos
|
A
political think-tank, Enugu Unity Forum, EUF, spoke through its chairman, Chief
Tahil Ochi, saying: “Igbo and Yoruba have had cordial relationship. The issue
of election should not bring the relationship to a halt. The Oba should remove
politics from the relationship and preach peace, unity and not war. As an Oba,
he should be the father of all.”
Meanwhile,
Dr. Josef Onoh, son of former governor of old Anambra State, has vowed to drag
the Oba of Lagos to the ICC over the alleged threats.
Describing
the Oba’s utterance as a grievous incitement against the Igbo in Lagos, Onoh
said: “Let it be known that whether Oba Akilou’s threat comes to fruition or
not, I have concluded to take him to the ICC where he will keep company with
the likes of Charles Taylor and answer to human rights charges that will be
preferred against him.”
He
stated that Oba Akiolu, by his threat of sinking Ndigbo into the lagoon if they
voted against APC in the April 11 governorship election for Lagos State, should
be condemned.
He,
therefore, urged his fellow Igbo brothers and sisters to exercise their
fundamental right and vote for who they wanted, irrespective of the threat.
On
its part, Ohanaeze Youths Council, OYC, gave the monarch 48 hours within which
to retract and unconditionally apologise to Ndigbo in Lagos.
The
group in a statement signed by its National President, Mazi Okechukwu
Isiguzoro, said it was a despicable insult on the Igbo nation, home and abroad,
lamenting that the statement was least expected of a royal father in the rank
of Oba of Lagos.
The
group said the Oba must come out to apologise, failing which the Igbo would
take his statement as a declaration of war.
The
OYC also warned that should anything happen to Ndigbo or their business
interests in Lagos in the eventuality of APC’s defeat at the Lagos governorship
race, the Oba should be held responsible.
The
group said: “In as much as we do not want to get involved in Lagos politics, we
want to sound a note of warning that no Igbo should be vilified or persecuted
for his or her electoral choice in Lagos or any part of Nigeria. Every Nigerian
has the constitutional right to reside in any part of the country and
participate in the electoral process based on one’s convictions, and electoral
choice is not a crime.”
Lagos
threat, a plunge to anarchy —PDP
Also
reacting, the national leadership of the PDP condemned “in the strongest
possible terms the emerging height of political recklessness in Lagos
ahead of Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections and calls on
all Nigerians to stand up against such anti-democratic tendencies.’’
In a
statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the PDP
said the Oba’s threat is barbaric.
His
words: “Our response to the Oba of Lagos is that he cannot play God and can
never be God. God owns the universe and every part of it and can never share
His glory with any human no matter how highly placed.
“We,
therefore, call on all Nigerians in Lagos State, all Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and
people of other tribes, all northerners and southerners, all Christians and
Muslims to turn against this unpatriotic stance, by coming out enmasse to vote
for the PDP candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, on Saturday.
“Undoubtedly,
this anti-Nigerian position reminds one of the 2013 inhuman and callous arrest,
detention and eventual ‘deportation’ of non-indigenes by the APC-led government
of Lagos State and confirms fears that the APC is indeed on a mission to
destroy our national unity, balkanize the nation and obliterate the personal
freedom Nigerians enjoy today.
“Already,
the APC has started terrorizing supporters of the PDP with vows to make life
unbearable for them when it eventually assumes power. Our investigation reveals
that many of our prominent supporters have been marked. The process has already
started with threats to the life, family and business of the Chairman of the
Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, for supporting
PDP candidates and helping non-indigenes win some Lagos seats in the National
Assembly on the platform of our great party.
“Indeed,
if these threats on a duly elected state governor and innocent Nigerians
constitute the picture or foretaste of the order of the day when the APC
finally assumes power at the centre, then the nation is in serious danger.
However, the PDP states in very unambiguous terms that Nigerians would not
accept such under any guise whatsoever.
‘’This
is more so because in the last 16 years, our citizens from all walks of life
have seen civility and decorum under the PDP-led administration and would not
accept any attempt by anybody to institute a reign of terror in the country.
“We,
therefore, urge General Muhammadu Buhari, as the leader of the APC, to call his
members and supporters, particularly in Lagos to order, especially bearing in
mind that it was the peaceful atmosphere and the level playing ground nurtured
by the PDP-led administration that created the room for his emergence at the
presidential polls.
“Our
country cannot at this moment afford to slide into anarchy, reign of terror and
deliberate schemes to divide the people for selfish political reasons. The PDP
will completely resist all anti democratic forces from any quarters.
“We,
therefore, charge Nigerians, especially those in Lagos State to stand up
fearlessly and reject the unpatriotic stance of the Oba of Lagos.”
Oba
crossed the line –Afenifere, Yoruba groups
Faulting
the comments credited to the Lagos monarch, a coalition of Yoruba groups said
Akiolu had crossed the line.
Speaking
on behalf of the group, Afenifere spokesperson, Mr Yinka Odumakin said: “We say
with all sense of responsibility that if these were truly the words of
Kabiyesi, he has clearly crossed the line of royal decency, desecrated the
royal stool and violated the electoral laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
and engaged in promotion of hate speech capable of fuelling ethnic tension and
clashes which are against the spirit of peaceful co-existence which we have
achieved in recent years.”
Odumakin,
however, assured Igbo and other non-Yoruba in Lagos that the conduct of Oba
Akiolu is “totally strange to Yoruba culture and a negation of our democratic
character as a people.”
He
noted that one of the most cherished values of proper Yoruba people is the
respect for freedom of choice.
His
words: “We respect the right of Oba Akiolu to drop the crown at Iga and become
Director of Mobilisation for the leader of his party if he so desires, but we
detest his hiding behind the throne to fan the embers of disunity which could
put Yoruba people in harm’s way wherever they are living as settlers.
“Yoruba
people are too civilised to support the primitive intimidation of fellow
Nigerians just as we will not accept such action being visited on our people in
any part of Nigeria.”
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