There can be little doubt that the relocation of the 19 Igbo destitutes
from Lagos state a few months ago was a lawful exercise and that it
was done in the interest of Lagos State.
Consequently I do not believe that Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola
ought to have tendered any form of apology whatsoever to the Igbo for
what he did.
The only redeeming factor is the fact that the apology was obviously
designed simply to calm frayed nerves and I commend Fashola for that
gesture if nothing else. I say this because my understanding is that he
apologized NOT for the deportation itself but for ''the misunderstanding
that arose from it''. There is a world of difference between the two.
I also commend him for admonishing the Igbo to develop their own
region and to decide whether they are ''Igbo before they are Nigerians
or Nigerians before they are Igbo''.
For the purposes of clarification the debate that has been raging in the
land for the last two months, though sparked off by Fashola's
relocations, was more about the curious claim that Lagos state was ''no
man's land'' which the Igbo jointly own with the Yoruba and which they
had developed, and are indeed still developing, with their money and
nothing else.
Fashola and others have said publicly that it is ''absurd'' and
''insulting'' for anyone to call Lagos state ''no-man's land'' and that is
good enough for me.
As long as he did not apologize for saying that, I have no problem with
whatever he may or may not have said about the deportations even
though, had I been governor, I would have handled it differently.
The truth is that the Yoruba way is to apologize not only when you are
wrong but also when you are right if you believe that the other party
has been badly hurt by your actions.
Yet to those from outside Yoruba land that do not share that disposition,
that do not understand that spirit and that cannot even begin to
comprehend it, an apology is nothing less than an admission of guilt
and wrong- doing and a trophy of triumph to those whom it is offered.
It is for this reason that I believe that it was wrong for Fashola to
apologize and that it is important for us to consider the long term
implications of what he has done.
The truth is that in life perception counts for everything. And rightly or
wrongly the perception that most people have, particularly amongst the
Igbo, is that Fashola has indeed apologized for the deportations.
This perception is supported by misleading newspaper headlines which
were drafted and written by journalists who did not bother to read the
text or properly decipher the statement.
Whether anyone likes it or not this latest development is viewed as a
great triumph for the hardline Igbo nationalists and the Governor Peter
Obi's of this world who honestly believe that the Igbo have some kind of
special rights or special status in Lagos and indeed in Yoruba land.
They say and do things in Lagos and other parts of the west that they
dare not do in the north and that they will never allow our people to do
in the east.
This is because they fear the northerners who have often put them in
their place when they cross the line but they have nothing but contempt
for us.
Fashola has now given those within the Igbo community that have this
mindset far more legitimacy, strength and confidence.
In any case now that dishing out apologies is the order of the day and
he has set the precedent, the question has to be asked- will Peter Obi
take a cue from that, be a gentleman and apologize for deporting the
people of Akwa Ibom from his Anambra state as well?
Is Obi that reasonable or charitable? Do those that think like him
believe that what is good for the goose is good for the gander?
I doubt it very much.
Again will Fashola apologize to the numerous northerners that he
deported from Lagos as well and will he apologize to his Yoruba kith
and kin from Oyo and Osun for deporting them too?
I really do wonder how far this new-found large-heartedness and
seasonal expression of regrets will go.
Will it be spread everywhere or is it exclusively reserved for the Igbo?
More importantly, in the spirit of this new rapprochement, will Fashola
secretly concede portions of Lagos state and Yoruba land to them as
well? Will he take my dear egbon and former cabinet colleague, Senator
Adeseye Ogunlewe's counsel, and wholeheartedly accept the
interesting notion that the Igbo have ''married all our daughters'' in
idungaran and isale-eko and that we should therefore give all our land
and territory to them?
Will he give up the patrimony of his people all in the name of trying to
appease the Igbo and get their votes for the APC in the upcoming
governorship election in Anambra state?
If that is the plan I doubt that it will work because they are a pretty
unforgiving lot. The more you give the more they will ask for and at the
end of the day you will end up losing far more than you gain.
Governor Chris Ngige, who is an amiable gentleman and one of the
most decent, accommodating, liberal, detribalized and civilized people
that I know from the east, will gain nothing from this and sadly the
person that will gain from it will be the hardline, Igbo centric Peter Obi
and his APGA candidate in November's gubernatorial election in
Anambra state.
People like Fashola need to understand that sometimes in trying to play
the generous statesman and the kind-hearted omoluwabi we end up
being taken for granted and making fools of ourselves.
You only apologise to those who will appreciate it, who do not
necessarily see it as an admission of guilt and who will not
misconstrue it as weakness.
This is because the display of weakness by any leader, no matter how
well-liked, only attracts impudence and aggression from those who
have a hidden agenda.
A word is enough for the wise.
If I were Governor of Lagos state I would never have apologized for the
execution of a legitimate and lawful exercise which was absolutely
necessary and which was done in the interests of my state and my
people, no matter how many cows I had been offered or given by the
kinsmen of those affected.
What Fashola has done, albeit inadvertently, is to betray those amongst
his Yoruba kith and kin that stood by him and defended him when he
took that historic and controversial decision to deport the Igbo
destitute.
He has also fuelled the erroneous impression that is held by most of the
Igbo that the Yoruba people and their leaders are bumbling and
inconsistent cowards that cannot stand firm when put under pressure
and when faced with threats and hardship.
This is sad and unfortunate because that is not who or what we are.
Though we cherish and often manifest the omoluwabi spirit, the Yoruba
are also a lion-hearted people- we are slow to anger but irresistible in
battle.
We are as constant as the northern star even though we are
accommodating and generous.
I have immense respect for Fashola and I happen to have a soft spot for
him but I believe that his behavior is a clear U-turn and that it
represents a double standard, a capitulation of values and a revocation
of principle.
You don't apologize for government policy just to appease a certain
group of people no matter how bellicose, violent, loud and aggressive
they may be.
It is better to lose a million elections outside Yoruba land than to
concede even one inch of Yoruba territory to those that seek to lay
claim to that which is not theirs.
A word is enough for the wise.
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