₦airaland Forum

By Chimamanda Adichie


A few days ago, the Oba of Lagos threatened Igbo leaders. If they did not vote for his governorship candidate in Lagos, he said, they would be thrown into the lagoon. His entire speech was a flagrant performance of disregard. His words said, in effect: I think so little of you that I don’t have to cajole you but will just threaten you and, by the way, your safety in Lagos is not assured, it is negotiable.
There have been condemnations of the Oba’s words. Sadly, many of the condemnations from non-Igbo people have come with the ugly impatience of expressions like ‘move on,’ and ‘don’t be over-emotional’ and ‘calm down.’ These take away the power, even the sincerity, of the condemnations. It is highhanded and offensive to tell an aggrieved person how to feel, or how quickly to forgive, just as an apology becomes a non-apology when it comes with ‘now get over it.’
Other condemnations of the Oba’s words have been couched in dismissive or diminishing language such as ‘The Oba can’t really do anything, he isn’t actually going to kill anyone. He was joking. He was just being a loudmouth.’

Or – the basest yet – ‘we are all prejudiced.’ It is dishonest to respond to a specific act of prejudice by ignoring that act and instead stressing the generic and the general. It is similar to responding to a specific crime by saying ‘we are all capable of crime.’ Indeed we are. But responses such as these are diversionary tactics. They dismiss the specific act, diminish its importance, and ultimately aim at silencing the legitimate fears of people.

We are indeed all prejudiced, but that is not an appropriate response to an issue this serious. The Oba is not an ordinary citizen. He is a traditional ruler in a part of a country where traditional rulers command considerable influence – the reluctance on the part of many to directly chastise the Oba speaks to his power. The Oba’s words matter. He is not a singular voice; he represents traditional authority. The Oba’s words matter because they are enough to incite violence in a political setting already fraught with uncertainty. The Oba’s words matter even more in the event that Ambode loses the governorship election, because it would then be easy to scapegoat Igbo people and hold them punishable.

Nigerians who consider themselves enlightened might dismiss the Oba’s words as illogical. But the scapegoating of groups – which has a long history all over the world – has never been about logic. The Oba’s words matter because they bring worrying echoes of the early 1960s in Nigeria, when Igbo people were scapegoated for political reasons. Chinua Achebe, when he finally accepted that Lagos, the city he called home, was unsafe for him because he was Igbo, saw crowds at the motor park taunting Igbo people as they boarded buses: ‘Go, Igbo, go so that garri will be cheaper in Lagos!’
Of course Igbo people were not responsible for the cost of garri. But they were perceived as people who were responsible for a coup and who were ‘taking over’ and who, consequently, could be held responsible for everything bad.

Any group of people would understandably be troubled by a threat such as the Oba’s, but the Igbo, because of their history in Nigeria, have been particularly troubled. And it is a recent history. There are people alive today who were publicly attacked in cosmopolitan Lagos in the 1960s because they were Igbo. Even people who were merely light-skinned were at risk of violence in Lagos markets, because to be light-skinned was to be mistaken for Igbo.

Almost every Nigerian ethnic group has a grouse of some sort with the Nigerian state. The Nigerian state has, by turns, been violent, unfair, neglectful, of different parts of the country. Almost every ethnic group has derogatory stereotypes attached to it by other ethnic groups.

But it is disingenuous to suggest that the experience of every ethnic group has been the same. Anti-Igbo violence began under the British colonial government, with complex roots and manifestations. But the end result is a certain psychic difference in the relationship of Igbo people to the Nigerian state. To be Igbo in Nigeria is constantly to be suspect; your national patriotism is never taken as the norm, you are continually expected to prove it.

All groups are conditioned by their specific histories. Perhaps another ethnic group would have reacted with less concern to the Oba’s threat, because that ethnic group would not be conditioned by a history of being targets of violence, as the Igbo have been.

Many responses to the Oba’s threat have mentioned the ‘welcoming’ nature of Lagos, and have made comparisons between Lagos and southeastern towns like Onitsha. It is valid to debate the ethnic diversity of different parts of Nigeria, to compare, for example, Ibadan and Enugu, Ado-Ekiti and Aba, and to debate who moves where, and who feels comfortable living where and why that is. But it is odd to pretend that Lagos is like any other city in Nigeria. It is not. The political history of Lagos and its development as the first national capital set it apart. Lagos is Nigeria’s metropolis. There are ethnic Igbo people whose entire lives have been spent in Lagos, who have little or no ties to the southeast, who speak Yoruba better than Igbo. Should they, too, be reminded to be ‘grateful’ each time an election draws near?

No law-abiding Nigerian should be expected to show gratitude for living peacefully in any part of Nigeria. Landlords in Lagos should not, as still happens too often, be able to refuse to rent their property to Igbo people.

The Oba’s words were disturbing, but its context is even more disturbing:

The anti-Igbo rhetoric that has been part of the political discourse since the presidential election results. Accusatory and derogatory language – using words like ‘brainwashed,’ ‘tribalistic voting’ – has been used to describe President Jonathan’s overwhelming win in the southeast. All democracies have regions that vote in large numbers for one side, and even though parts of Northern Nigeria showed voting patterns similar to the Southeast, the opprobrium has been reserved for the Southeast.

But the rhetoric is about more than mere voting. It is really about citizenship. To be so entitled as to question the legitimacy of a people’s choice in a democratic election is not only a sign of disrespect but is also a questioning of the full citizenship of those people.

What does it mean to be a Nigerian citizen?
When Igbo people are urged to be ‘grateful’ for being in Lagos, do they somehow have less of a right as citizens to live where they live? Every Nigerian should be able to live in any part of Nigeria. The only expectation for a Nigerian citizen living in any part of Nigeria is to be law-abiding. Not to be ‘grateful.’ Not to be expected to pay back some sort of unspoken favour by toeing a particular political line. Nigerian citizens can vote for whomever they choose, and should never be expected to justify or apologize for their choice.
Only by feeling a collective sense of ownership of Nigeria can we start to forge a nation. A nation is an idea. Nigeria is still in progress. To make this a nation, we must collectively agree on what citizenship means: all Nigerians must matter equally.

midolian:
Nice one op..expect the rigid minded igbos to come and litter this thread with insults.

chibwike:
Igbos now would be living in fear

bugativeron:
ON THE OBA OF LAGOS THREAT TO IGBOS IN LAGOS.

I think we the igbo's have got a real big problem, we are ranting here and there about the recent threat credited to the Oba of lagos, it seems we haven't learnt any lesson yet. Our igbo leaders have sold out that region to the PDP just because of greed and sending the region to political extinction. Now let us reason together, the Oba of Lagos is not a politician and secondly he never supported the candidacy of Buhari, which he made it open when Goodluck visited him before the March 28 poll, he went to the extent of raining insults on former president OBJ, now he is coming out to create another confusion by his comment, have we sat down to ask ourselves maybe he might be working for the PDP? Because they know the igbo factor in the lagos election, and igbo man can be use to do dirty work, once you grease the palm of an Igbo man, he can sell his dignity. Why are we not seeing the big picture here? Why do we always throw away our golden opportunities to develop the igbo people? Why do we make ourselves to be seen as a betrayer? Lagos under the leadership of Tinubu and Fashola has recognized the Igbo in lagos and have been generous to the igbo even to the extent of appointing igbo's into their administration and allocating juicy positions, it only in Lagos that an Igbo man has been appointed commissioner for budget and planning, it only in Lagos that igbo has been elected local government chairman, other non Igbo states has never done that, yet we allow ourselves to be used against an administration that has been so generous to us. I think we should be ashamed of ourselves because we have a very big issue, during the fourth republic, the Igbo had the senate president and we killed ourselves, we masterminded the impeachment of our fellow brother because of position, it is only the igbo turn that we had 3 senate president in four years, we are the same people who witch hunt down our own blood brothers because of greed, Buhari floated CPC and won some states in the north and today all those governors are still with him up to date, tinubu created ACN and won all 4 states in the west and today they are still with him, Orji Uzo Kalu formed PPA, won abia and Imo, but what happened? They went back to that same PDP that sent them out. You are destroying yourselves, making yourselves inferior to other region, becoming a follower because you have refuse to have a leader as a result of lack of trust in each other, we know Buhari, Babagida, Atiku etc as current leader in the north, we know Tinubu, obasanjo, in the south west, we know Edwin Clark, Anenih, in the south south, who is our own leader in the south east? Ojukwu, who risk his career, life and family for the Igbo nation created APGA and yet he cannot lay claim to the whole of igbo state, this is a shame on us and the worst of it is that, they have sold out that legacy after his demise, former governor Peter Obi is a betrayer, he dumped a platform that gave him 8 years in office, and became a follower, I can still align with rochas, he collapsed his APGA in forming APC, he can be adjudged as a founding member of that party unlike Peter Obi who joined an already existing platform, Theodore Orji can be described as the worst governor in the southeast yet he has the mandate to represent in the senate, Stella oduah has corruption charges hanging on her neck yet she got an heroic welcome in her state and was given the mandate to senate, we openly celebrate criminality and yet we want to be accorded respect, in my own view I think the Oba was even kind, he should have said igbos will be delivered to shekau to deal with them or even put them in a container and bombed. What were you thinking? You think just as you have deprived yourselves an association with the federal government, so they will allow you to make their state loose same too, no way! They want development, lagos has recorded so much progress in the last 16 years without much federal empowerment, have you though how much more progress it will have with the federal might? I pity you and your investments in Lagos. You said you want independent. I laugh, because have always asked where are the leaders that will govern us? Nwazurike formed MASSOB, today you said Jonathan has bought him over, hundreds of MASSOB members are in jail today, they have been denied bail but non of the Niger delta militant were jailed rather the collect billions of naira and they are sent abroad, yet you voted and cast ur support on Jonathan, I was told that it was the south south that betrayed Ojukwu during the war and he lost, thousands of Igbo died, yet you all shout GEJ till 2019, well thank God it didn't come through, because we are daft, he changed his name to Ebele Azikwe and we followed and say he is our brother. APC has come out to tell you to ignore the Oba, Tinubu has come out to do same, he went ahead to asked if the government have not been paying the school fees of igbo children in public schools, 4 igbo children has been given opportunity to become governor in a day in Lagos thru the spelling bee contest, they have enjoyed scholarship to study abroad in Lagos, yet we still shout everyday that the Oba threatened, why didn't ur so called Eze's protest at the meeting? The clapped for him because they are bunch of cowards. Well for me, an Igbo boy, born and breed in Lagos, I am appreciative of that state and will support it. Eko o ni baje.

Segeggs:
and they are chukwudi44, cllynzo9 aka genigrigi, customized13, iichidodo, ngwakwe and barcanista the new Igbo boy who supports losers.

bugativeron:
[s]ON THE OBA OF LAGOS THREAT TO IGBOS IN LAGOS.

I think we the igbo's have got a real big problem, we are ranting here and there about the recent threat credited to the Oba of lagos, it seems we haven't learnt any lesson yet. Our igbo leaders have sold out that region to the PDP just because of greed and sending the region to political extinction. Now let us reason together, the Oba of Lagos is not a politician and secondly he never supported the candidacy of Buhari, which he made it open when Goodluck visited him before the March 28 poll, he went to the extent of raining insults on former president OBJ, now he is coming out to create another confusion by his comment, have we sat down to ask ourselves maybe he might be working for the PDP? Because they know the igbo factor in the lagos election, and igbo man can be use to do dirty work, once you grease the palm of an Igbo man, he can sell his dignity. Why are we not seeing the big picture here? Why do we always throw away our golden opportunities to develop the igbo people? Why do we make ourselves to be seen as a betrayer? Lagos under the leadership of Tinubu and Fashola has recognized the Igbo in lagos and have been generous to the igbo even to the extent of appointing igbo's into their administration and allocating juicy positions, it only in Lagos that an Igbo man has been appointed commissioner for budget and planning, it only in Lagos that igbo has been elected local government chairman, other non Igbo states has never done that, yet we allow ourselves to be used against an administration that has been so generous to us. I think we should be ashamed of ourselves because we have a very big issue, during the fourth republic, the Igbo had the senate president and we killed ourselves, we masterminded the impeachment of our fellow brother because of position, it is only the igbo turn that we had 3 senate president in four years, we are the same people who witch hunt down our own blood brothers because of greed, Buhari floated CPC and won some states in the north and today all those governors are still with him up to date, tinubu created ACN and won all 4 states in the west and today they are still with him, Orji Uzo Kalu formed PPA, won abia and Imo, but what happened? They went back to that same PDP that sent them out. You are destroying yourselves, making yourselves inferior to other region, becoming a follower because you have refuse to have a leader as a result of lack of trust in each other, we know Buhari, Babagida, Atiku etc as current leader in the north, we know Tinubu, obasanjo, in the south west, we know Edwin Clark, Anenih, in the south south, who is our own leader in the south east? Ojukwu, who risk his career, life and family for the Igbo nation created APGA and yet he cannot lay claim to the whole of igbo state, this is a shame on us and the worst of it is that, they have sold out that legacy after his demise, former governor Peter Obi is a betrayer, he dumped a platform that gave him 8 years in office, and became a follower, I can still align with rochas, he collapsed his APGA in forming APC, he can be adjudged as a founding member of that party unlike Peter Obi who joined an already existing platform, Theodore Orji can be described as the worst governor in the southeast yet he has the mandate to represent in the senate, Stella oduah has corruption charges hanging on her neck yet she got an heroic welcome in her state and was given the mandate to senate, we openly celebrate criminality and yet we want to be accorded respect, in my own view I think the Oba was even kind, he should have said igbos will be delivered to shekau to deal with them or even put them in a container and bombed. What were you thinking? You think just as you have deprived yourselves an association with the federal government, so they will allow you to make their state loose same too, no way! They want development, lagos has recorded so much progress in the last 16 years without much federal empowerment, have you though how much more progress it will have with the federal might? I pity you and your investments in Lagos. You said you want independent. I laugh, because have always asked where are the leaders that will govern us? Nwazurike formed MASSOB, today you said Jonathan has bought him over, hundreds of MASSOB members are in jail today, they have been denied bail but non of the Niger delta militant were jailed rather the collect billions of naira and they are sent abroad, yet you voted and cast ur support on Jonathan, I was told that it was the south south that betrayed Ojukwu during the war and he lost, thousands of Igbo died, yet you all shout GEJ till 2019, well thank God it didn't come through, because we are daft, he changed his name to Ebele Azikwe and we followed and say he is our brother. APC has come out to tell you to ignore the Oba, Tinubu has come out to do same, he went ahead to asked if the government have not been paying the school fees of igbo children in public schools, 4 igbo children has been given opportunity to become governor in a day in Lagos thru the spelling bee contest, they have enjoyed scholarship to study abroad in Lagos, yet we still shout everyday that the Oba threatened, why didn't ur so called Eze's protest at the meeting? The clapped for him because they are bunch of cowards. Well for me, an Igbo boy, born and breed in Lagos, I am appreciative of that state and will support it. Eko o ni baje.[/s]

bugativeron:
ON THE OBA OF LAGOS THREAT TO IGBOS IN LAGOS.

I think we the igbo's have got a real big problem, we are ranting here and there about the recent threat credited to the Oba of lagos, it seems we haven't learnt any lesson yet. Our igbo leaders have sold out that region to the PDP just because of greed and sending the region to political extinction. Now let us reason together, the Oba of Lagos is not a politician and secondly he never supported the candidacy of Buhari, which he made it open when Goodluck visited him before the March 28 poll, he went to the extent of raining insults on former president OBJ, now he is coming out to create another confusion by his comment, have we sat down to ask ourselves maybe he might be working for the PDP? Because they know the igbo factor in the lagos election, and igbo man can be use to do dirty work, once you grease the palm of an Igbo man, he can sell his dignity. Why are we not seeing the big picture here? Why do we always throw away our golden opportunities to develop the igbo people? Why do we make ourselves to be seen as a betrayer? Lagos under the leadership of Tinubu and Fashola has recognized the Igbo in lagos and have been generous to the igbo even to the extent of appointing igbo's into their administration and allocating juicy positions, it only in Lagos that an Igbo man has been appointed commissioner for budget and planning, it only in Lagos that igbo has been elected local government chairman, other non Igbo states has never done that, yet we allow ourselves to be used against an administration that has been so generous to us. I think we should be ashamed of ourselves because we have a very big issue, during the fourth republic, the Igbo had the senate president and we killed ourselves, we masterminded the impeachment of our fellow brother because of position, it is only the igbo turn that we had 3 senate president in four years, we are the same people who witch hunt down our own blood brothers because of greed, Buhari floated CPC and won some states in the north and today all those governors are still with him up to date, tinubu created ACN and won all 4 states in the west and today they are still with him, Orji Uzo Kalu formed PPA, won abia and Imo, but what happened? They went back to that same PDP that sent them out. You are destroying yourselves, making yourselves inferior to other region, becoming a follower because you have refuse to have a leader as a result of lack of trust in each other, we know Buhari, Babagida, Atiku etc as current leader in the north, we know Tinubu, obasanjo, in the south west, we know Edwin Clark, Anenih, in the south south, who is our own leader in the south east? Ojukwu, who risk his career, life and family for the Igbo nation created APGA and yet he cannot lay claim to the whole of igbo state, this is a shame on us and the worst of it is that, they have sold out that legacy after his demise, former governor Peter Obi is a betrayer, he dumped a platform that gave him 8 years in office, and became a follower, I can still align with rochas, he collapsed his APGA in forming APC, he can be adjudged as a founding member of that party unlike Peter Obi who joined an already existing platform, Theodore Orji can be described as the worst governor in the southeast yet he has the mandate to represent in the senate, Stella oduah has corruption charges hanging on her neck yet she got an heroic welcome in her state and was given the mandate to senate, we openly celebrate criminality and yet we want to be accorded respect, in my own view I think the Oba was even kind, he should have said igbos will be delivered to shekau to deal with them or even put them in a container and bombed. What were you thinking? You think just as you have deprived yourselves an association with the federal government, so they will allow you to make their state loose same too, no way! They want development, lagos has recorded so much progress in the last 16 years without much federal empowerment, have you though how much more progress it will have with the federal might? I pity you and your investments in Lagos. You said you want independent. I laugh, because have always asked where are the leaders that will govern us? Nwazurike formed MASSOB, today you said Jonathan has bought him over, hundreds of MASSOB members are in jail today, they have been denied bail but non of the Niger delta militant were jailed rather the collect billions of naira and they are sent abroad, yet you voted and cast ur support on Jonathan, I was told that it was the south south that betrayed Ojukwu during the war and he lost, thousands of Igbo died, yet you all shout GEJ till 2019, well thank God it didn't come through, because we are daft, he changed his name to Ebele Azikwe and we followed and say he is our brother. APC has come out to tell you to ignore the Oba, Tinubu has come out to do same, he went ahead to asked if the government have not been paying the school fees of igbo children in public schools, 4 igbo children has been given opportunity to become governor in a day in Lagos thru the spelling bee contest, they have enjoyed scholarship to study abroad in Lagos, yet we still shout everyday that the Oba threatened, why didn't ur so called Eze's protest at the meeting? The clapped for him because they are bunch of cowards. Well for me, an Igbo boy, born and breed in Lagos, I am appreciative of that state and will support it. Eko o ni baje.

midolian:
yes o..only Ngwakwe here, to me is a peaceful fellow.

GenIgrigi:
**grins** Very poor write-up. Couldnt finsh reading. Better start thinking Eastward like innoson and other Igbo millionaires. All these english won't save you.

AmucheJane:
Don't have time to read this rubbish. Arrant nonsense, am sure you are not an igbo guy.

Segeggs:
when will you post my info here?

BTW

how is the lagoon treating you?

I heard the water can be cold at times.