₦airaland Forum

Yungwizzzy: being born again is an attitude. they're people who respond to alter calls almost every crusade they attend. what are they?

Born severally !

Igbo and the governance of Lagos
on August 11, 2013 at 3:14 am in
Special Report
By Kayode Samuel
Three fashionable fallacies lie at the
root of prevailing Igbo outlook to Lagos,
the former federal capital. The first is
that Lagos is a no-man’s land with no
indigenous population.
The second is that Federal Government
money was used to build Lagos into the
huge metropolis that it has now
become. This argument goes further to
claim that since the “federal money”
allegedly belonged to all Nigerians, the
political control of Lagos should, willy-
nilly, be open to just about anyone and
everyone who claims to be a Nigerian.
The third fallacy is that Lagos is a
hunting ground, a jungle city where all
being “joiners”, the predatory instinct
must rule. By this pernicious thesis,
Lagos is a place in which regardless of
one’s roots – or the lack of it – one can
seize the trophy. It is an el-Dorado
where anything goes and in which
everything, including political authority,
is up for grabs since the place does not
belong to anyone anyway!
These are erroneous claims, now being
given new life in the current debate on
Igbo participation and representation in
the politics and governance of Lagos.
Granted, the continued perpetration of
these fallacies is not restricted to Igbo
elements. Others, including some
Yoruba (especially those that Lagosians
refer to as ara oke– upland people), are
equally guilty of the first if not all of
these fallacies.
But the current debate marks the first
time that an institutional claim to the
governance of Lagos would be made by
a non-Yoruba group. The
commentators, Joe Igbokwe and
Uchenna Nwankwo, among others,
have done well in marshalling the
arguments from the Igbo perspective.
Spokesmen of Eko Pioneers, a group of
Lagosians, have answered back from
the other side. It is a debate that
should be encouraged rather than
stifled.
The fallacies are, of course, easily
dismissed. The Yoruba identity of Lagos
is not in doubt, regardless of its
ethnically mixed composition. If the
“no-man’s-land” claim were to be true,
then Lagos must be the only metropolis
anywhere in the world without an
indigenous population.
Concerning the use of “federal money”
to develop Lagos, four points need to
be made. First, Lagos was a thriving
metropolis even before the British
created Nigeria, its prosperity being
due more to its strategic location rather
than its administrative designation.
Second, it is doubtful that the people of
Lagos were consulted before their city
was made the Nigerian capital, or that
they were forewarned that being
conferred with such a status would
mean that they would lose their city to
stranger elements.
Third, rather than invoke the “federal
money” argument to dilute a people’s
right to control their land, the rest of
Nigeria, and, in particular, the Igbo,
should be grateful to the people of
Lagos for availing them of a conducive
environment in which lives and
property are relatively safe and in
which the throats of settlers are not
routinely slashed by sponsored zealots
as happens elsewhere in Nigeria.
Fourth, and perhaps most tellingly,
only a fraction of what is now Lagos
State was ever under the central
government. Strictly speaking, only
four of the present twenty local
government areas in Lagos State –
Lagos Island, Eti Osa, Lagos Mainland
and Surulere – were in the then Colony
of Lagos.
The rest belonged, first to the
Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and
subsequently to the Western Region,
before the state creation exercise of
1967. Lagos was also not the only city
on which federal money was spent.
(Calabar was once the capital and so
should also qualify as a recipient of
“federal money”.)
As for Lagos being a hunting ground,
the self-defeating logic of this
argument is clearly brought home to all
of us – aborigine and settler alike – by
the frightening crime statistics in the
state.
Perhaps before I go further it is
appropriate that I state my
qualifications for pronouncing on this
matter, aside of course from my rights
as a citizen of Nigeria. From my father’s
side, I am a Yoruba of Awori descent
with strong Egba links. My mother
however happens to be Igbo from
Owerri in Imo State.
Based on these affiliations, I can claim a
fair measure of familiarity with the
issues in the current debate on both
sides. I understand the feelings of
Lagosians on this matter. I am also fully
apprised of the passions and pressures
that drive Igbo into internal economic
exile and which impel their push for a
place in Lagos.
While I empathize with the Igbo
condition, I share the interest of all
trueborn Yoruba people in maintaining
and possibly deepening the Yoruba
character of Lagos. And no one should
have to feel apologetic about that.
The Igbo, perhaps more than any other
Nigerian group, are in a vantage
position to appreciate a people’s
attachment to their soil and the
unbreakable linkage between a people
and their land and language.
A critical aspect of that linkage is the
exercise of cultural and political
authority over a land space to which
one has aboriginal claim. More than
any other group in Nigeria, save
perhaps the Fulani Bororo, the Igbo
move around the country a lot for
considerations of geography and
economics.
Unlike the Fulani, however, the Igbo
often become sedentary in large
clusters in the lands they move into,
including Lagos. This naturally raises
an interest in participation in the public
affairs of their places of domicile. Yet, a
legitimate interest in participation
cannot translate into a contest for
control, which is the way the current
claims are being canvassed and
construed.
Pan Nigerianism
Advocates of the Igbo claim to Lagos
often refer to the putatively halcyon era
of pan-Nigerianism spanning the 1930s
to the 1950s. It was a time, we are told,
when all Nigerians lived as one and
when it did appear that all ascriptive
barriers had dissolved in the ferment of
nationalist politics. This period has
become a favourite reference point for
people with all kinds of agenda. But
was the reality not indeed less
glamorous? There was, no doubt, a
fortuitous convergence in those times.
An emergent commercial and educated
elite needed to come together in the
nationalist struggle to send the British
away and so the city of Lagos, which
was the hub of that struggle, seemed
to have become a melting pot
overnight.
Yet, the hometown unions remained
strong and affectations to unity were
soon exposed as only skin-deep as the
struggle to ensure the departure of the
British transitioned into the struggle
over who would succeed the departing
oligarchy. This is the reality that we
continue to live with to date. And it
would be asking a lot to expect that
Lagos should offer itself as the guinea-
pig for experimenting with the
possibility of a new pan-Nigerian vision.
Especially since there is as yet nothing
on ground to suggest or guarantee that
such a gesture would be reciprocated.
As things now stand, the Igbo in Lagos
must decide what they really want from
the state: participation, or
representation, or control. Currently,
their spokespersons seem to be using
the three terms interchangeably,
raising the spectre of a hostile take-
over. This approach is bound to be
resisted by a people barely recovering
from the debacle of the June 12
annulment and the devastations of the
Abacha persecution in which they saw
the Igbo – with some admirable
exceptions – as having played a less
than salutary role.
The attitude and outlook of a majority
of Igbo political elite and indeed
common people to the June 12 crisis
was mercenary if not malevolent. Many
Igbo seemed to have approached the
crisis with a revanchist agenda borne of
deep-seated animosity and ill-will. How
so?
Civil war
It is a well-known fact that some Igbo
still blame the Yoruba for having
“pushed” the Eastern Region into the
civil war only to back out at the last
minute. This line of argument further
raised and reinforced the unfounded
stereotype of Yoruba people as
unreliable. It has been peddled for so
long that many have come to believe it.
As Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler’s
Minister of Propaganda once famously
said, tell a lie persistently over a long
time and people start to believe it to be
the truth. Anyway, hostile interests
within and outside Nigeria that have
reason to fear the rise of a southern
solidarity of the type that was
emerging with the UPGA party of the
1960s have also invested strenuously
in promoting and perpetuating this lie.
Yet, without seeking to diminish the
harrowing and often heroic sacrifice
that the war entailed on the Biafran
side, the truth is that the Nigerian Civil
War was largely the consequence of a
North and East alliance of brinkmanship
whose cardinal objective and principle
was the isolation of the West. It is said
that the falling out of friends is often
the most vicious. So, Igbo political elite
are in no position to seek to build a cult
of victimhood around themselves or to
sermonize about the politics of bad
faith that led to the war.
Beginning with the NCNC-NPC coalition,
through the Action Group crisis, to the
declaration of a state of emergency in
Western Nigeria, the creation of the
Mid-West Region, all through to the
treasonable felony trial, many Igbo
political leaders of the time seemed to
have deliberately lent a hand or at least
acquiesced in stoking the northern
brazenness that eventually resulted in
the pogroms and the war. Nor should it
be forgotten the games that were
played with the status of Lagos, with
the establishment of a Federal Ministry
of Lagos Affairs under northern
headship but with copious NCNC
concurrence.
Similar treatment
But not to digress. With the defeat of
Biafra, many Igbo in secret (and
sometimes not too secretly) wished
that the Yoruba too should receive a
similar treatment someday soon. That
day seemed to have arrived with the
June 12 annulment and the crisis it
unleashed. For some, the June 12 crisis
appeared to have presented the Igbo
with a perfect opportunity to get back
at the Yoruba and permanently cut
them down to size.
In executing their now famous exodus
from Lagos at the time, many Igbo had
said that they feared (hoped?) that
another war was afoot, this time with
Yorubaland as the theatre. Igbo political
elite seemed to have offered
themselves all too eagerly to bringing
about such a confrontation. The role
played by the likes of Sam Ikoku, Uche
Chukwumerije, Walter Ofonagoro and
Clement Akpamgbo, to mention a few,
in adding fuel to the fires of the crisis
would for a long time be remembered
in the annals of infamy.
No doubt, the annulment and the
ensuing crisis sorely tested the political
maturity of Yoruba people and their
elite. Fortunately, the Yoruba refused to
bite the bait and managed to come out
of the annulment crisis without a
shooting war. There were, of course,
several battles and notable casualties
along the way. But, in the end, there
was no war of the scale that had been
feared – or hoped! How this was
accomplished remains a tribute to the
leaders of the pro-democracy struggle,
a struggle that is yet to come to an end
and of which Lagos remains the
epicenter.
Igbo in governance
Feelings still run deep and memories of
what many saw as malevolent
undercutting could remain for long. It is
partly in this context that many
Lagosians situate current calls for
expanded Igbo presence in the
governance of Lagos. Many will
shudder to contemplate the fate of the
June 12 struggle if during that struggle
political power in any part of the South-
West had been in the hands of people
hostile to Yoruba interests. What extent
of damage would Chukwumerije have
wrought if he had just one kinsman as
an ally sitting in a sensitive local
government chairmanship or
governor’s office in the South-West in
those terrible days?
Still, the work of building a united
Nigeria must continue as we cannot
afford to dwell for too long on past
injuries and grievances. The Igbo input
into this great work can be both
positive and progressive, but not
necessarily involving their ruling Lagos.
Indeed, I think they have their work cut
out for them. My view is that the Igbo
are barking up the wrong tree in this
whole matter over who rules Lagos.
What do I mean by this?
The Igbo are such a leading and
(hopefully) enduring part of the
commercial landscape of Lagos. At this
point in time, what they should be
doing is lending their voice and energy
to advocating for a reversal of what
appears like a deliberate federal
abandonment of the former capital,
which has made doing business in
Lagos all the more difficult.
The movement of the seat of the
Federal Government to Abuja was
ostensibly meant to un-clutter the
environment of governance and
deepen our country’s unity by giving
everyone a sense of belonging in the
nation’s capital.
But the move soon fell victim to
elements whose knack it is to snatch
defeat from the jaws of victory in every
good policy. The movement has been
implemented as a punishment for the
Yoruba and possibly as a reprisal for
the central role that Lagos played as
the seat of the pro-democracy
opposition. Against this background,
the attitude of many Lagosians to the
Igbo quest for control is that they
should commence it in Abuja and its
area councils. After all, they say, Abuja
is the only Federal Capital Territory that
we have.
Federal presence
But speaking seriously, Igbo claims to
an expanded role in the governance of
Lagos cannot be pursued in an
atmosphere of intentional federal
abandonment of Lagos. Governor Bola
Ahmed Tinubu of Lagos State has been
making a case for renewed federal
investment in Lagos, given the peculiar
heavy demands on the state and its
role as home to all. Rather than
fantasizing about taking over the
Alausa seat of government or
occupying commissionership positions,
the Igbo in Lagos should lend their
weight to the push for special federal
recognition for the needs of Lagos, to
further enable the state continue to
play its role as a safe, liberal and
prosperous home for all.
Samuel, a former columnist with
Vanguard, had caused this article
to be published (in two parts) in
Vanguard of 3 May 3 and May 10,
2002.

Can't believe some people still don't get that this is a joke...Satire...I tire o.

Jungle justice is NEVER right....

All these OP dem just like to start some rumour, there is a diamond encrusted bottle type dt cost dt much..(na d bottle really and not the content)..ds guy bought the much cheaper version , less dn 90k in naira, check todays punch for the true story..

^^^^ I think u two need a room

iamsexy: I laugh each time I hear people call this a suspended bridge

Dont blame em...It's a cable stayed bridge

@eko ile, well done sir and more grease to ur gears, i like the way you tackle some people that don't see anything good in the Fashola administration, everyone can see he is a breath of fresh air from what we are used to in this part of the world.....But you seem to see no negative in his administration, that is where i would disagree with u...my folks actually think me as a Fashola Apologist but i have had times where i was his harshest critic too...am not a psycophant...am sorry o, but the way you seem to defend all his actions and his inactions would make u seem like one..not just on this particular topic but am speaking generally..so is there anything you think this administration has done badly and care to highlight.

obadiah777: WHO CARES ? LET ME SEE HIM TAKE IT WITH HIM WHEN HE DIES THEN I WILL BE IMPRESSED

A poor man won't also take all his trash to heaven when he/she dies so...which one do u prefer.


Would you rather die rich or die poor ?

Wht about the introverted extrovert or the extroverted introvert....I believe no one is absolute joor, sometimes am all of the above..(Most times actually) but @ other times...I want to go clubbing, meet random people and just generally go crayzyyy

Absolute Rubbish...it doesn't bother me and my folks anyway...i think those that are bothered are people who do it on their sedans as in after market things ( and probably too dark )...make i see the policeman wey go stop me dey yarn dust untop my factory tinted windows..

What is it with people and taking pictures...even if it of a dead body...so disrespectful...all these camera phones have made people lost their damn minds...RIP to the Dead.

...And mayb play a little game of guess wht vehicle it is, like ds ones...two different brands though

As an Automobile enthusiast and dealer (the latter na for my mind o), I see a lot of really vehicles and I know a lot of people would like to see the interior of the machines and the best place to be is such vehicles is the driver's seat, I call it the cockpit...some of these wonder on wheels actually does feel like one is in a private jet's cockpit...so I'll start by posting these...enjoy!

Nice on OP, also hv taught about ds and except God would erase dt part of us I.e boredom when doing something repetitive, then I guess eternal really wud suck ! But am sure hell wouldn't be better.

FACT : Most Nigerians that get their degrees from foreign universities have this sort of superiority complex, like they could just walk into any company and land a juicy job, well sorry to burst you bubble, that is no longer the case, piece of advise, once u land @ MMIA, drop the accent (fake or otherwise) and become a Nigerian, learn how to relate and humble urself a bit...yeah I know spending all that money isn't easy but u know what, nobody really cares anymore...so do your research and don't believe people promising you jobs (na bobo) and I believe you can still land that job, I know peeps wey no know anybody @ their place of work yet landed the job
PS:somebody made mention of how employes would bypass his foreign degree and go for even a third class graduate from a Nigerian University, this is an example of the superiority complex I talked about,apart from this as an insult to a third class or Nigerian University degree holder, some of the most intelligent minds I have come across are third and 2.2 class degree holders and yes from Nigerian Universities...I guess @ the end of the day, you would have to proove you can function in my company because as for me, if u like get your degree from the sun, all that matters is are you the guy am looking for!

The dream of the average person living in Lagos is to one day own a house in Lagos but there is Lagos and there is "Lagos", for example there are parts of Lagos i would not even consider owning property at, the wahala is not even worth it abeg so as a realtor and real estate enthusiast, I carried out a serious research (indeed) and i came up with a list of the 10 most desirable locations to own a house, provided money wasn't a constraint, taking into considerations that there are gated communities (estates) everywhere in Lagos where it would seem like you are balling in Monaco even but I’ll try not to include these estates like NICON Town, Carlton gate, you get my point.
.....so here is my list based on parameters like traffic patterns, general security situation, nearness to CBD's, Airport and the likes

10. Yaba/Akoka and environs: Yaba area of Lagos is a mix of commercial & residential properties and it is easily accessible from most part of the state, some really nice estates are also springing up around there plus it hosts quite a number of institutions, there are lot of bars, clubs and hotels for those that like a bit of living pleasure, and e-centre is always a good place to hangout at.

9. Surulere and Environs: Yezzir, good old surulere…..well it may not be revered as it was decades ago but surulere is still a nice place to work and live, not forgetting the numerous malls springing up, the redeveloped Adeniran Ogunsanya mall comes to mind

8. Apapa GRA and environs: i know when you hear of apapa, what readily comes to mind are container laden trailers and terrible traffic caused by the trucks entering and exiting the ports nearby but apapa still commands one of the highest prices on properties, both commercial and residential, a lot of "old money" resides there and foreigners too, in fact Apapa in the past used to be known for its expatriates status, surely it isn't what it used to be but Apapa "head still dey there"

7. Ajah/Lekki 2 and environs: Ajah has really come a long in terms of development and its proximity to the business hotbed of VI and Lagos Island has had a positive effect on its development plus the addition of posh estates around the place is also a good thing but there are dots of shanties also, not to mention the never ending traffic…..”gosh, if only I could afford Lekki Phase 1”, you might find yourself thinking as you drive home on a stressful Monday evening.

6. Oniru Estate/ Lekki 1: Very few places in the continent of Africa has attracted as much real estate development as these axis (of the rich) but a major downside for me is that this place like many nice places in Lagos is overpriced, the prices of properties are artificial, I just hope the bubble does not burst soon, that would be bad market for me.

5. Victoria island : VI has become the preferred location for big business to site their corporate headquarters displacing Lagos Island from this position, everybody want to have an office here, which some residents depending on who you talk to may find it pleasing or really as a nuisance, while some landlord are happy, smiling to the bank by leasing out their house to companies, others may not be fond of their next door neighbor who might just be a bank, anyhow VI is still a good place to live and own a property at.

4.Magodo GRA/ Omole Estates: if you are looking for a serene place to live where there is very little traffic except when a neighbor is having a party and very much residential with less commercial activity, the Magodo GRA Phase 2 (shangisha) is your best bet, located just on the other side of Alausa secretariat..With the nearby Omole Estate 1& 2, MKO Abiola Gardens, these places have come to define a visitor’s first impression of Lagos as they enter through the Lagos Ibadan Expressway

3.Ikeja GRA and Environs : Ikeja GRA is beautiful, it is by far the most popular GRA in the city and its location plus nearness to the Ikeja CBD and other nice areas like Maryland, Opebi Allen, ilupeju and the busiest Airport in the country MMIA, not forgetting the seat of power , Alausa makes ikeja GRA a prime location to build that dream home.

2. Ikoyi : From being the colonial quarters of yore to the present day, ikoyi has always worn the tag of where the nouve riche live, after so many of its original swampy lands have been sandfilled and developed into prime lands more than doubling its size, ikoyi continues to attract the elites that want exclusivity. Estates like Northern Foreshore and Parkview are some of the gated estates in ikoyi…..if you are looking to get a slice of ikoyi, you have to pay the price (literarily).

1.Banana Island: First of all (go down low, couldn’t resist…ha ha ha ), I am not a fan of banana island for the simple fact that it is the most grossly overpriced piece of real estate in the world, I could get a 6bedroom mansion in Beverly Hills for example for what it would cost me to get a 1200sq/metres of land in banana island. FACT. But it is what it is after all, this artificial sand filled island Ssection of ikoyi (surprised !) is the ultimate when it comes to where the average Mike (pun very much intended) would want to build his palatial palace, no matter how tacky and ridiculous it may appear to the general population, underground cable and drainage are some of the perks banana island has to offer.


PS: if you disagree with my list as expected, write your or give an opinion and I would love to compare and contrast.

Hello ....my blog has really come of age (for my mind)....it used to be www.makizee-thoughtsaloud..com, a mouthful right? That would make it so difficult to find in a sea of blogs in here, so I changed it to www.makizee..com....that should be easier, don't you all think, well to the business of the day

Abegii...All of shouting "evils of polygamy" BS...was d banker dt got killed (allegedly) by her husby also a result of polygamy or the numerous domestic violence between couples everytime....u all should have evils of marriage then and we can all die single happily..

Phinity318: yea so tru....d day a professsor treked frm his home to lasu it was pulished in the news papeer as a surprising thing.
lmao...africans wn't kill person abeg wid our primitive mentality

Perhaps, it is you and the Africans you roll with that have primitive mentality..wht is wit u people gloryfying anything u see a white man doing, talk about complex, that he is a billionaire and he chose to ride the subway doesn't mean I have to do the same, besides..the facilities in our respective countries are world apart..abi u expect to see Jim Ovia and his likes inside BRT ni...abegii

Okoro2015: Nice Collection.

I disagree on the one that says bats are the only mammals that can fly. Where do you place flying squirell (Oghuru in Igbo Language)?

They don't actually fly, they glide from tree to tree, they can't lift off from the ground.

Born , bred and buttered in Lagos, lived all my life in Lagos, don't think I've bn out of Lagos for a month straight...it's lagos for me mehn

Well, am not married but I taught a girlfriend and her elder sister sef, it took a lot of effort and a truckload of patience (not jonathan)..funny enough, I didn't scream at any of them, now my girl don turn expert for driving while her now married sis just has to keep on learning from her husby...so I think I try small

So I'd advice every man to try it, there may be shouts and screams and a few tears in between but it's an experience worth having..I remember when my dad use to teach mumma how to drive, they would go out smiling and come back home boning each other (dem don fight b dat) but now mehn, mom is a way better driver than pops, no try that woman o.

Forgive me all girls with really close bff's but there is something about waje and omawunmi dt makes me think.. Hmmmn, is there more to this..I remember omawunmi wuz on beat fm to promote one of her singles and waje came along, they are so close , cud they be lesbys or maybe cuz they are from same side, naijadelta things..girls am just thinking aloud here o

as me no kukuma no get village, na to waka pass remain

Mr ibu or ibru actually stole this piece from an online forum (ayaf proof) but it does not take away from the message sha, for those that read vanguard newspaper on monday, this was the most liked comment on their online version.