…Over Support For Gov. SANWO-OLU
No doubt, both the presidential and governorship elections in Lagos threw up a lot of bad blood and tribal rivalry between the Yorubas and Igbos in Lagos. The confrontation by the Igbos as expressed largely on social media, claiming Lagos is no man’s land in one breath and in another breath insisting they own Lagos because of their economic value to the state sparked off a great deal of friction between the two tribes. The very worst happened when Labour Party’s Peter Obi defeated Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos at the presidential election held a couple of weeks ago. And of course, the ever boisterous Igbos took to the streets and social media to celebrate and gloat over their victory. This left the Yorubas fuming and livid with rage. A few Igbo traders have been harrassed, a particular market dominated by Igbos was razed down by fire by perpetrators yet unknown and several fireworks erupted in several parts of Lagos, with the Yorubas declaring that anything short of a Sanwo-Olu victory will bring unrest to the Igbos. On their part, the Igbos too swore that they would do everything within their power to ensure they vote Governor Sanwo-Olu out of office and vote in their preferred candidate, Gbadebo Chinedu Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party.
But not all the Igbos in Lagos shared the sentiments of their restive youths. Not all of them wanted Governor Sanwo-Olu out of office. Indeed, there has been a major division amongst the Igbos in Lagos as to whom they should support during last Saturday’s governorship election. There have been several groups of Igbos resident in Lagos who have come out publicly to dissociate themselves from the group of Igbos agitating they want to take over Lagos. This group of Igbos agree it is unfair of them to take for granted the love shown to them by the Yorubas who have been extremely accommodating. Their position is that Governor Sanwo-Olu has been a fantastic governor who has been fair to all tribes in Lagos including the Igbos and so deserved to get a second term in office.
One of such groups was a concerned Ndigbo group that appealed to all residents of the state to consider the experience and scorecard of each governorship candidate vying for office and described Sanwo-Olu as the most experienced of all the candidates.
Speaking during a press conference, the coordinator of the group, Chibunna Ubawuike, alongside the group’s patron, Igwe Ikechukwu Ojede, and secretary, Ozoemena Nliam, said Sanwo-Olu’s re-election would be in the interest of the Ndigbo in the state.
Ubawuike explained that a vote for Sanwo-Olu became imperative because his administration had performed without discriminating against any tribe in the state.
He, therefore, urged Ndigbo in the state to give unflinching support to governor Sanwo-Olu’s re-election bid as he had continued to provide an enabling environment for businesses and other tribes to thrive in Lagos and beyond.
Ubawuike said, “Governor Sanwo-Olu has made tremendous and integrated development as well as performance in various sectors while turning Lagos into a construction site with massive infrastructural gains, which had brought about investments while building cordial relationship with the Igbos hence the need to vote for him.”
Also speaking, the Patron of Concerned Ndigbo Lagos, Igwe Ojebe, described Sanwo-Olu as an honest man who had been doing well and can take Lagos to the next level of success to make life better and more comfortable for residents. The Secretary of Concerned Ndigbo Lagos, Ozoemena Nliam, who said he benefited from the free payment of WAEC by the Lagos state government while in school and got married to a Yoruba woman in Lagos, appealed to his kinsmen to come out en masse on Saturday to cast their votes to re-elect Governor Sanwo-Olu.
He said, “Lagos State is a cosmopolitan state and it accommodates all tribes. The last presidential election and the Lagos State governorship election coming March 11 for me is a different ball game. On March 11, we should all wear our thinking caps. The President-elect (Asiwaju Bola Tinubu) who is the modern-day leader and architect of Lagos State, has done so much.
“I am appealing to my Igbo brothers to know that Lagos State has its pattern and that patterns favour everybody that lives in Lagos as long as you live and respect the law. Governor Sanwo-Olu, who has a second term bid, will do well for Igbo because I must admit he has done well and he will keep doing well. He has done a lot in continuation of the legacy of Asiwaju.”
Another group declared it’s support for Goverrnor Sanwo-Olu even as many of the Igbos appeared to have made up their minds to vote for GRV of the Labour Party. The Ndigbo group held its press conference at Ikeja Airport Hotel on March 9 and called themselves Concerned Igbo Stakeholders. They put together a letter of Apology to Lagosians which they presented to the media at the press briefing. They also dissociated themselves from the hostilities shown by their brothers towards Yorubas in Lagos and promised they would go out en masse to vote for Sanwo-Olu. Here are extracts of the Apology letter:
We, as Igbos living in Lagos made up of traditional rulers, market leaders, Market women, youths, civil society organizations, town unions and other categories of Igbo population in Lagos State as follows;
That we endorse and pledge support to the incumbent Governor of Lagos, His Excellency, Babajide Sanwo-Olu in his re-election bid. Our support for him is anchored on his performance, competence, cordial relationship with Igbos and his grand vision for Lagos, which has greatly favoured Igbos in the last four years.
Among all contestants for the tasking office of Lagos State Governor in the coming election, Sanwo-Olu is the best; tested and capable so we urge all Igbos to vote for him on Saturday for the continued benefits of Ndigbo.
We state unequivocally that Lagos is neither an Igbo State nor a no-man’s land, as some provocatively state. Although Lagos was a former federal capital, it wholly belongs to Yorubas. We therefore dissociate ourselves from any claim that contravenes the fact that Lagos is a Yoruba state and emphatically state that Igbos are not subscribers to the weird position, marketed by mischief makers that Lagos is a no-man’s land. And we pray that we may never use our mouths to say that Lagos is no man’s land because Lagos is not a no-man’s land. It is Yorubaland.
We state that a lot is at stake given the investment of our people in Lagos. Only a thoughtless tribe without minds of their own will toil with their destiny. Ndigbo will never toy with their destiny, their interests, their investment and their security in Lagos by going into any needless confrontation with the Yorubas who have been very accommodating, very hospitable and very cosmopolitan to Igbos in Lagos. While we thank the Yorubas for their understanding, we ask them to see those who want to instigate a fight between Yorubas and Igbos for their devious and selfish political interests, as not representing the Igbos as we urge Igbos to reciprocate this tolerance by voting for Sanwo-Olu and APC House of Assembly candidates this Saturday.
We want the Yorubas to equally understand that in last week’s presidential election, our son Peter Obi was on the ballot and that this generally drew the sentimental support of many Igbos, who voted for him. The result has shown that while majority Igbos voted for their son, majority Nigerians voted for our President-elect. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. While this is understandable, we urge the Yorubas not to see the voting pattern last Saturday as an act of hostility but of democratic choice. This Saturday, Nigerians will vote on the governorship, election and we see it as a great opportunity for Igbos in Lagos to show that we are not political enemies of the Yorubas by voting en mass for Gov. Sanwo-Olu as no Igboman is contesting for the governorship of Lagos. Igbo should show love to Yoruba by voting Gov Sanwo Olu
We note that our South East region is troubled and has become a hotbed of insecurity and not safe for Ndigbo for a long time now. In this period. Lagos has absorbed millions of Igbos and their businesses fleeing from the insecurity in the South East. Gov. Sanwo-Olu has been particularly accommodative and the Yorubas have been magnanimous in taking in these Igbos. The governorship election is a payback time and Igbos should be careful not to show themselves as hostile and aggressive guests to Yorubas as that will spell doom for millions of Igbos, living peacefully and safely in Lagos and doing their businesses without let or hindrance. Let us vote Sanwo-Olu because he represents the interests of all Lagosians.
We want to assure the Yorubas that Igbos are not greedy as to plot to take over Lagos as some miscreants and hoodlums intent on causing crisis, are saying. We want Yorubas to know that those provocative statements and boasts are not by true Igbos. That such expression of ingratitude are made to drive wedges between the harmonious understanding Igbos enjoy with Yorubas in Lagos for over a century now. We want to assure Yorubas that Igbos are very much committed to this beneficial relationship and would do nothing to harm it. We will use the next Saturday election to demonstrate our commitment to this understanding and further cement our relationship with the Yorubas by voting massively for Sanwo-Olu who we project to enjoy massive victory in the gubernatorial election this Saturday.
Concluding: We totally and unconditionally declare that Igbos in Lagos will come Saturday, vote for the re-election of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and APC state assembly candidates and we urge every Igbo man in Lagos to do so for our overall interest.
It is clear that it was not all the Igbos that were bent on making a nuisance of themselves by contesting for the ownership of Lagos with the Yorubas. There is a different group of Igbos who have been sensible, discerning and sincere enough to understand that they have not been fair enough to their hosts and the only way they can pay back in good measure for the love and hospitality accorded them by the Yorubas is to go out en masse and vote for governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu whom many of them admit has been a great governor who has had an iimpressive first term. Without a doubt, Sanwo-Olu enjoyed qute some support from the Igbos during the election and it reflected in the sizeable chunk of votes he got from them.
-WALE LAWAL
(08037209290)
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