PDP really want to play dirty with their candidate on how Oba Akiolu's chat with friends is taking out of concept. I wonder when chat with friends would be taken as an official declaration from the King.

‘Oba Akiolu’s statement was jocularly to his Igbo friends’

on April 10, 2015 / in News 3:44 am / Comments


By Emma Nnadozie

LAGOS—A Lagos-based lawyer and industrialist, Mr Chukwudi Atueyi, yesterday, gave vivid account of what transpired between Igbo leaders and Oba Akiolu of Lagos State which has resulted in controversy.

Oba Akinolu

The lawyer who regretted the uproar that accompanied the meeting said the Oba’s statement was not directed at the whole Igbos in Lagos but jocularly to his Igbo friends that visited him.

According to him; “All the Eze Ndi Igbo honorary in Lagos went to pay HRM solidarity visit on Sunday and I was fortunate to be among those present at the said meeting. What the Oba said was fully and simply directed to only the Igbos present at the meeting who his majesty considers to be very close to him and should understand him well enough.

“You know when one talks to his very close friends and subjects, he tends to be very free with them, so he was being very free with those present at the meeting and wanted us to realize how serious and close he takes us and our votes, because he cannot imagine us giving him our words only to turn back and do the very opposite.

“He did not force us to the meeting, we were the ones that went to him on solidarity visit, so it would be very evil of us to only go and deceive him there. He only jokingly (at least as it appeared to me then) warned the people present at the meeting who he considers his own people. The said warning that we are supposed to be very conversant with since we have all the “Ëze Ndi Igbo” present there, as that was not the first time we visited him. We are all already aware of the Yoruba culture and understood perfectly what he meant. There was no specific place he referred to all the Igbos in Lagos.

“He was only addressing the Igbos with him present there whom he considers his own people and he simply observed his culture which we all quite understood and this explains why there was applause and laughter at the end of his speech. We were expected to, thereafter, talk to our people in civilized manner to convince them and canvass for their votes if we truly believe we are capable of doing so.

“The tradition of lagoon water threat was directed only to those present at the meeting as culture demands. Though he appeared serious but we all understood it as a joke, that was why we all applauded him and made fun of it there.

“So I suspect serious politics at play here. I wouldn’t know who recorded the speech and decided to play politics with it. It is most unfair to his majesty to be portrayed in this manner and I think I owe it as a duty to speak up before things get out of hand.’’

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/oba-akiolu-addressed-us-his-igbo-friends/#sthash.zbMfrv2e.dpuf

All I could say is that I appreciate when one knows one is wrong and feels remorseful about it.Let's just forget about the statement,because he has already withdrawn the statement from what I can deduce from this write up.

it should berra be a joke.

I agree with the OP. Nigerians are addicted to tribal wars and blowing things out of proportion. The Oba's speech was clearly directed at those who were at that meeting. And i sensed the fraternal humour in it. I wonder if people actually watched that video.

Do you know Ambode graduated as an accountant from University of Lagos at the age of 21?

Do you know he became a Chartered accountant at the age of 24 ?

Do you know he became a fellow of the Institute of chartered accountants at the age of 36 ?

Do you know he was the second best graduating student in WAEC+HSE at Federal government college Warri ?

Do you know JK was a strong Tinubu boy in ACN but left the party when Tinubu decided to pick fashola over him simply because Tinubu felt fashola would do better in governance because he is a lawyer and SAN while JK is a Pharmacist ? Do you know it was the potentials that Tinubu saw in Fashola that now became evident to all of us in the governance of Fashola ?

Do you know Ambode was the Accountant General of Lagos state when Federal Government was not giving Lagos state any Allocation at all for some years(Tinubu was the governor) ? And Ambode/Tinubu had to put creative minds together to run lagos for four years(despite the huge population and responsibility) ?

Do you know Ambode has 26 years of Administrative/accounting experience ?

Ambode is a quiet man and he does not blow his horn too loud, but he is quality, just like Fashola.

Let's put sentiments aside, let's vote in the best interest of lagos.

Ambo, Atide. Eko oni Baje.

I am glad the truth is coming out. Clearly the Oba was addressing those in the meeting with him and not all Igbos and now even those in the meeting are saying they know he was joking.

Pdp politics of tribal division is what will make Jimi lose