Lagos has been agog all week with reactions and counter confrontations on the ‘alleged’ statement by the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, who in one spontaneous moment is said to have jeopardized the gubernatorial chances of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode.
The Palaces’ attempt to refute the purported statement via a press release did not help matters as it only led to the emergence of an online video covering the incident that went viral in a matter of seconds.
While Nigerians within and outside Lagos have expressed outrage at the awkward situation, Lawyers of Igbo extraction living in Lagos have described the statement as untoward and have reacted in this light.
We caught a few of these comments making the rounds in the legal community and share them with you here.
Before the Oba’s rebuttal of the alleged statement came out in the papers, I had argued and almost convinced anyone who cared to listen that the Oba of Lagos did not and cannot make such a statement at this point in our political evolution and historical development.
This is because the Oba of Lagos by the nature of his training and background is so exposed and experienced to understand the heterogeneous composition of Nigerian State. He is a father and provides a father figure to all Lagosians irrespective of their n ethnic, religouos and political affiliations.
He takes the credit if peace reigns in his domain and takes the blame if things work otherwise. All these years, yhe Oba has been a father to all of us and we love him, but if such a ststement came out from his mouth, we need to look at the context in which it was made so that we will appreciate the Obas’ position, he was likely misunderstood or interpreted uot nof context.
All eligible voters in Lagos both indigeneous and otherwise will go out and vote en mass on Saturday, everybody will vote according to the dictates of his/ her conscience and whoever the people choose, let him be the winner and be our governor. We urge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use the card readers and make sure that all the votes count, once this is done, whoever emerges through a transparent democratic process is acceptable to me whether we enter the lagoon with him or not, but nobody whether the Oba of Lagos or not, should ‘Orubebe’ the ongoing demoecratic process. Thre is the need to continue and consolidate the good works of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) in Lgos and beyund, so we trust God to conclude the good work He started with BRF to the benefit of all Lagosians.
– John Unachukwu, Chairman, Lawyers in the Media Forum
Seeing the text of what the Oba of Lagos said, is really disturbing. The only thing that can atone for this reckless comment is that the government of Lagos State comes out to denounce him. Nothing short of that will suffice. This sort of attitude should not be tolerated in this country and the Igbos are not the bashing stock of any glorified… (Censored)!
This kind of absurdity has no place in a democracy and I will be remiss if I keep quiet. There has to be consequences –
Udo Jude Ilo
Oba Akiolu has sworn in the name of Allah that Igbo will die in the waters, if they fail to vote for Ambode, please can the APC ask him what will happen to my vulcanizer, Rasak (a Yoruba) who was pleading with me to vote for PDP/Jimi Agbaje? Why would only Igbo die for a ‘crime’ even many Yoruba, Edo, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Bachama, Idoma, etc., have vowed to also commit? This may be a matter for the International Criminal Court.
Why single out an ethnic group to die? Are Lagos PDP leaders (Bode George, Tunji Shelle, Musliu Obanikoro etc., and many members) voting for the APC?
This is how genocidal killings start. What has the Igbos done? If Akiolu is not a tribalist and Igbo hater, let him tell us where his “blood relation” Jimi Agbaje and other Yoruba like Musliu Obanikoro, Lagos boy Bode George, Shelle etc., will die if they don’t vote Ambode.
The Igbo-phobia is indeed gaining ground in Nigeria. During the last election someone twitted: “let’s kill all Igbos. This Oba’s statement is UNINTELLIGENT and amusing. I think he should simply apologise and blame anger for the ‘gaffe’?
– Chigioke Emeka
It is not enough to sulk and threaten tribal boycott. The Igbos should organise a sturdy protest-march in the city, ensuring a very public retraction and apology. Nothing less works.
– Massai Okafor
As a Nigerian of Igbo extraction living in Lagos, this would definitely affect a lot of things. We Igbos do not like being threatened and in that regard, we will go ahead to vote according to our conscience and hope that we send a strong message that we are not cowards!
– Chuks Nwani
I have not personally heard or watched the speech on firsthand basis, but have learned about it from some trusted bloggers like Chetah Nwanze (who of course carried APC flag during the last elections). Assuming it is true as posited, it will sway my vote. This whole hate speech is disturbing. Hope Prof. Chidi Odinkalu of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is Watching. On a further, let APC restructure Nigeria, Igbos can pay property taxes anywhere.
– Victor Akazue Nwakasi
In the same vein, lawyers of Yoruba extract have shown solidarity for their igbo counterparts, condemning the untoward comments allegedly made by Oba Rilwanu Akiolu.
According to rights advocate, Femi Falana, SAN, the Oba who is a senior lawyer ought to understand that the Electoral Act has not conferred powers on any traditional ruler or any other authority to make dangerous pronouncements on anyone for voting for a candidate of his or her choice in any election conducted in Nigeria.
He described the Akiolu’s proclamation as a mockery of the objectives of national integration, as the purported statement was contrary to the Nigerian Constitution, noting that a retraction of the statement and an apology from Oba Akiolu was necessary at this time.
He said: “The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) does not confer any political authority on traditional leaders. It is illegal as it clearly offends Section 42 of the Constitution, which prohibits such a discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, religion, political opinion, creed or sex. The threat or whatever it is, constitutes a violation of the fundamental right of thousands of citizens to life.
Falana cited the case of Director-General of State Security Service v Olisa Agbakoba (1999) 3 N.W.L.R (PT 595) 314 where the Supreme Court of Nigeria held that ‘It is not in dispute that the Constitution gives every Nigerian citizen the right to move throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof. It also guarantees to the citizen the right not to be expelled from Nigeria nor be refused entry or exit therefrom.
“Since the residency right of every citizen is constitutionally guaranteed, the Igbo people in Lagos should discountenance the threat of Oba Akiolu,” he said in finality.
I must start by recognising that Yoruba Obas (Natural Rulers and King) sat at the peak of a feudalistic state in ancient times as head of the aristocratic society and ruler of their realms. They were the symbols of ultimate authority and divine rulership revered as the next to Almighty (Igba keji orisa) in many instances in view of the vast control and influence they wield in the community while balancing their autocratic authorities with exercise of absolute power and tyranny. The effectiveness and importance of a Yoruba Oba lies in his expanse of influence and might either as an ordinary monarch or a powerful King (Oba Alayeluwa) considering the wide spectrum of notables that the King overlord and represents among the reigning elites (The Ogboni, Gbajumo and Sanmori Ilu), royalties (Omo Alade and Omo Oba), notable warriors and champions (Akoni Ilu, Akinkanju Ilu), great and successful merchants (Onisowo Pataki). This typifies the relevance, importance and might of a Yoruba traditional leader. That stool is a sacred one and must continue to be treated as such. The Oba of Lagos is our traditional ruler, our father and he continues to remain one. One must therefore be careful what is said about the stool.
Now to the subject matter. I have listened (and watched what appear to be the video where the statement credited to the Oba of Lagos was allegedly made) and will say that if found to be correct, was ill-considered. Section 40 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution makes it very clear that “ every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he may form or belong to any political party…”. It is therefore a constitutional right of every citizen of Nigeria to vote for his/her party/candidate of choice. It is therefore clear that notwithstanding the alleged statement, every Nigerian (including the Igbos) have a constitutional right to vote for their candidate of choice. One may however consider His Royal Majesty’s statement (if confirmed true) in the light of recent happening which dates back to the time when the present administration (of Lagos State) repatriated persons who had become destitute in Lagos (and who had been rehabilitated) to their states of origin. This obviously did not go down well with the Igbos. Quite apart from that, the statement credited to former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu’s that Lagos is a ‘No man’s land” also did not go down well with Lagosians. This obviously elicited Governor Fashola’s reaction that Lagos is not BONA VACANTIA (a no man’s land).
The above notwithstanding and quite apart from the freedom of association and the right to vote freely for a candidate of choice, it is also the law that all Nigerians are free to live wherever they so choose. Indeed, section 41(1) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended) provides that “ Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereto or exit therefrom”. It is therefore important to mention this fact as there are insinuations that the Oba’s statement was an indirect instruction to Igbos to leave Lagos unless they vote for a certain candidate; this, I do not accept as correct. It ius incorrect to the extent that it is only in Lagos that indegenes of other ethnic groups hold sensitive political offices. For instance, Ben Akabueze (an Igboman) has been the longest serving Commissioner of Finance, Budget & Planning in Lagos State.
Similarly, the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Joe Igbokwe is also an Igboman. These instances and many more therefore beg the question whether in reality, the Southwest and indeed the government and people of Lagos State are intolerable of the Igbo community and are violating the provisions of Section 41(1) of the Constitution. I say, the answer is in the negative.
Having said and without justifying the Kabiyesi’s outburst, it is important that I state that one trend which has been recurrent throughout this electioneering process is the focus on campaigns of calumny or ‘hate speeches’ rather than issue based campaigns which are the hallmarks of thriving democracies. Having regard to the reactions that this negative form of campaign has generated in the camps of the leading political parties, the lessons to be learnt seem clear. Political parties must (going forward) desist from needless and irrelevant references to issues that have no bearing on their bid to be elected or re-elected and focus on issues that will position the country and its citizens for the achievement of a sustainable democracy.
I am sure the Oba’s speech is being addressed appropriately.
-Tolulope Aderemi
