Chief Femi Fani Kayode has taking a swipe at Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola over
his purported apology to Igbo.
Describing the action of the governor as an act of cowardice.
Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola yesterday
tendered an unreserved apology to the igbo
community in Lagos over the recent deportation
saga that went viral and thrown most Igbo and
Yoruba scholars trade words against one another
HERE IS THE WRITE UP BY CHIEF FEMI FANI-KAYODE
ABOUT THE APOLOGY TENDERED BY
GOVERNOR FASHOLA OF LAGOS STATE:
FASHOLA AND HIS ”APOLOGY”
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 apologised 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”. This is a fundamental question t
hat I believe that we must all determine in our hearts and minds whether we are of igbo, Yoruba, Hausa/Fulani
or Ijaw stock or anything else.
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. It was that assertion, and not the plight
of a handful of igbo destitutes, that many of us from west of the River Niger took issue with. Fashola and
others have said publiclly that it is ”absurd” and ”
and that is good enough for me. As long as he did not apologise for saying that
you believe that the other party has been badly hurt by your actions. It is a generous and kind disposition
which is borne out of the Yoruba concept of the ”omoluwabi spirit”- a good heart and a clean spirit that desires,
above all else, peace, joy and harmony. Yet to those from outside Yorubaland 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
It is for this reason that I believe that it was wrong for Fashola to apologise 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 i
ndeed apologized for the deportations. This perception is supported by misleading newspaper headlines which
were drafted and written by
Whether anyone likes it or not this latest development is viewed as a great triumph for the hardline igbo nationalists
and the Governor
rights or special status in Lagos and indeed in Yorubaland. 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 apologise 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 apologise
to the numerous northerners that he deported from Lagos as well and will he apologise to his Yoruba kith 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 Yorubaland 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
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,
detribalised and civilised 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, igbocentric 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 apologised 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 destitutes. 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
respect for Fashola and I happen to have a soft spot for him but I believe that his behaviour is a clear u-turn
and that it represents a double standard, a capitulation of values and a revocation of principle.
You don’t apologise 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 Yorubaland 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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