Video and audio clips allegedly depicting the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu threatening to invoke the full wrath of his ancestors against the Igbos who are resident in Lagos and decide to cast their votes for the PDP candidate in the April 11th 2015 Governorship elections have caused a major media storm. Some notable APC chieftains and even the Oba's palace have made moves to try to mitigate the statements credited to the Oba and viewed by quite a large number of Nigerians to be highly xenophobic. Indeed the Governorship candidate of the APC in Saturdays elections Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode who incidentally is the Oba's preferred candidate, has stylishly distanced himself from the Oba's purported threat against the Igbos who are resident in Lagos State and who may wish to vote against him.

The full excerpts of the Oba's speech are given below:

“On Saturday, if anyone of you goes against Ambode, who I picked, that is your end. If it does not happen within seven days, just know that I am a bastard and it is not my father who gave birth to me.
“By the grace of God, I am the owner of Lagos for the time being. This is an undivid­ed chair. The palace belongs to the dead and those coming in the future. On Saturday, if anyone of you, I swear in the name of God, goes against my wish that Ambode will be the next governor of Lagos State, the person is going to die in­side this water.
“For the Igbo and others in Lagos, they should go where the Oba of Lagos heads to. When they were coming to the state, they did not come with all their houses. But now, they have properties in the state. So they must do my bidding. And that is the bidding of the ances­tors of Lagos and God.
“I am not ready to beg you. Nobody knew how I picked Ambode. Jimi is my blood relation and I told him that he could never be governor in Lagos for now. The future belongs to God. I am not beg­ging anybody, but what you people cannot do in Onitsha, Aba or anywhere you cannot do it here.”


The Oba's ire may probably have been drawn by the fact that in the Presidential and National Assembly Elections that were held on the 28th of March 2015, the PDP not only garnered a lot of votes for the incumbent President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, its candidates also won five out of the House of Assembly seats up for grabs in the said elections. Three out of the five PDP candidates that won seats in that election were non Yoruba's. They are Oghene Egboh, an Urhobo from the Niger-Delta and who defeated Mr. Ganiyu Olukolu of the APC to clinch the seat for Amuwo-Odofin Federal Constituency 2, Mrs. Rita Orji, who also hails from the South-East who floored Taiwo Adenekan of the APC to secure victory for the PDP in Ajeromi/Ifelodun Federal Constituency and the third winner which came as a sucker punch, Mr. Tony Nwoolu of the PDP won against an incumbent member of the House of Reps in Oshodi/Isolo Federal Constuency 2, Mr.Akeem Munir.
The PDP's candidate Mr. Jimi Agbaje is a cousin to the monarch and he and his party leadership in Lagos State headed by Mr. Tunji Shelle have subtly denounced the actions of the Oba. The erstwhile spokesman for the PDP's Presidential Campaign Organization, Mr. Femi Fani Kayode was not so subtle in his response to the allegations of nepotism against the Oba of Lagos. In a swift reaction he put out this speech:

"The Oba of Lagos’ threat against the Igbos in Lagos that if they do not vote for the APC in the governorship elections on Saturday they should be ready for the consequences and that if they don’t vote for Ambode they should be ready to perish in the lagoon is ominous and unacceptable.
The truth is that we were threatened with ethnic cleansing and religious carnage in the north had Buhari not won the election on march 28th and had Jonathan not quickly conceded defeat and now our traditional supporters are being threatened in Lagos and in many other states.
Let two things be clearly understood. In as much as we all want peace in this country and in as much as Jonathan has graciously and quickly conceded defeat in the Presidential election, this does not mean that we are weak or powerless.
Let it be clearly understood by all and sundry that any attempt to kill or molest our supporters in the north, in the west or indeed in any other part of the country either before, during or after Saturday's governorship elections or any attempt at ethnic or religious cleansing by the APC, their supporters or their friends and agents will be deemed unacceptable and will be met with defiance, contempt and resistance".

The Oba's palace and the APC Lagos State gubernatorial candidate Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode have both put out separate statements in a bid to mitigate the potential harm that the said speech by the Oba may cause. The Igbos on the other hand see themselves as the beautiful bride who must be courted by leading politicians in Lagos and some of them, if comments on social media are to be relied upon, see this election as a means to pay back the APC and by extension the South West, who ensured that their perceived favorite candidate in the Presidential Elections, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan lost his reelection bid to the APC's Presidential candidate, now President- Elect, Rtd. Major General Muhammadu Buhari.
It remains to be seen what the import of the Oba's speech would have on the Saturday April 11th 2015 Governorship Elections in Lagos State and probably beyond.


source: http://ovilarge..com.tr/2015/04/oba-of-lagos-rilwan-akiolus-alleged.html