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.
