Connect with us

News

NIGERIA: UNITY AND IDENTITY BY PRINCE ADEWOLE ADEBAYO

Published

on

Facebooktwitterpinterestmail

The essence of unification is for someone who has spent 69 years in Awka to speak Igbo, blend with Igbo culture and his children and grandchildren be as normal as any other Awka indigene not to have mini enclaves of their foreign ethnicities in their new home.

We cannot be a cluster of tribal ghettos refusing to blend like water and oil. My community is an admixture of diverse backgrounds such as Nupe, Bini, Igala, Oyos (Yorubas as originally called) , Ife, Brazilian returnees, American mercenaries who came to fight Kiriji war, Ebiras, Ijebu, Agatus, but each had given up where they came from and become the Ondo Kingdom.

Ekwuemes Igala (Idokos) who left Ondo due to a dispute over refusal to accept the rulership of we Oyo princes when we arrived circa 1500, moved back to Idoko near Idah and from there established a farm settlement (Oko) now in Oko, Anambra State have since blended with their Igbo hosts and cannot be denied their Igbo identity and culture. Ekwueme which was a nickname for the honesty and integrity of the Igala man has overtaken his original Idoko name.

The notion of being born in Lagos and insisting on Anambra, Ondo, Enugu, Imo, Rivers, Kano etc as State of Origin in all your documents and returning home for all milestones such as wedding, funeral Christmas etc punctures any claim of equal citizenship with those who have only Lagos as their home.

People who refer to Obama and the American presidency should not forget that Obama speaks American, lives American and doesn’t return to Kenya routinely for life milestones. Everything about him is American. The USA has people from all parts of the world. The melting process creates one American identity based on long term residence without looking back to former homelands.

This is where Nigeria needs to head to. A situation where ethnic enclaves in Lagos vote en bloc and in one direction in elections is not assimilation. It is the opposite of it. There should be no Igbo vote in Lagos, Kano etc. And there should be no Yoruba votes in Enugu or Kaduna. Neither should there be Hausa votes in Apapa or Owerri or Port Harcourt. I was sad when my governorship candidates said he was looking for Igala votes in Delta. I asked if they tend to vote in one direction. The answer was yes! Sad.

A situation whereby Igbo or Hausa or Yoruba factory workers in Lagos vote the same way as their ethnic brethren who are factory owners in Lagos. Why should an Igbo tenant or homeless vote alongside an Igbo landowner or estate developer in an election in which housing and welfare should be in focus? What interests should they have in common? What is the interest of a Yoruba Okada rider in common with a Yoruba politician who denied him livelihood without a replacement?
I have paid attention to the present squabbles which are a rehash of ethno-sensitivities of the 1950s to 1960s culminating in the creation of Lagos State. It is like a spell cast on Nigerians that history must not only repeat itself but the bad parts of history must repeat themselves in more regularity. The good and sweet parts rarely repeat themselves.

If anyone wants to be a Lagosian, they need to be Lagosian. And old identities passed away. I am not Lagosian. I lived there for 22 years. Hundreds of my family members are now Lagosians. How do I know? It is because they don’t return to Ondo.

They come once in years when someone is to be buried or married to spend one night and vamoose back to Lagos. Many of my blood are buried at Atan and other cemeteries in Lagos despite all entreaties to be brought to Ondo. As my grandfather lamented over the remains of her beloved niece: Abegbe ti gbe s’Eko. Abegbe is lost to Lagos.

Abegbe has great grandchildren now. Ondo is a faint memory if at all, lost way back in the family tree. That is how to be a Lagosian.

For me, I am an economic operator in Lagos. I go to do business wherever there is business to do, just as I am an economic operator in Aba and Kano and wherever value can be exchanged. I lived many years in New York but I am not a New Yorker. When law practice took me to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, I did my job. I remain an Ondo man. I am not Australian.

I think that we must raise issues of common concerns to our electorates so that they may ponder over them and identify their interests and mobilise support for measures and solutions they believe in. And when issues of poverty, insecurity, poor infrastructure, human development etc are raised, people of the same ethnicity won’t agree across the board. There will be no ethnic block votes to squabble over. Voters will gravitate towards where their shoes pinch them. They  will scratch where the itching is.

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinyoutubeinstagrammail
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

LAGOS GOVT TO SUE CHRISLAND SCHOOL, OTHERS FOR MANSLAUGHTER, NEGLIGENCE

Published

on

Chrisland school

The Lagos State Government said it would sue Chrisland High School, Ikeja, some members of staff, and one of the vendors for “Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless and Negligent Acts,” following the death of a 12-year-old student, Whitney Adeniran, during a sporting event organised by the school.

This is according to a Friday statement released by the Director, Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Justice and published to the ministry’s website.

“On the 9th of February 2023, Whitney Omodesola Adeniran, a student of Chrisland High School, Ikeja, aged 12 years, slumped during the Inter-house Sports organised by the school at the Agege Sports Stadium and was subsequently rushed to the Agege Central Hospital, Agege, Lagos, where she was confirmed ‘brought in dead’ (BID) by the doctor on duty,” the statement partly read.

The statement added that the case was referred to the police “which carried out a thorough investigation with the help of other agencies,” adding that, “The file (of the case) was subsequently forwarded to the DPP (Directorate of Public Prosecutions)’ Office on Monday 20th March, 2023, for review of the duplicate case file.

“On the 23rd of March, 2023, the DPP issued his Legal Advice and came to the conclusion that a prima facie case of Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless and Negligent Acts had been established against the school, some members of staff and one of the vendors.”

Consequently, the statement noted that they shall “be charged with the offences of Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless and Negligent Acts contrary to Sections 224 & 251 of the Criminal Law, Ch C17, Vol.3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

“Information will be filed in accordance with the legal advice issued by the DPP. Certified True Copies of the Legal advice are available on the Ministry of Justice website (www.lagosstatemoj.org.).”

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinyoutubeinstagrammail
Continue Reading

News

BUHARI NEVER SAID HE WON’T HAND OVER TO TINUBU- PRESIDENCY

Published

on

Buhari

*Says 13 committees already set up to midwife transition 

*’President’s Daura community yearning to welcome him back’

The Presidency yesterday declared as “unfounded” insinuations in some quarters that President Muhammadu Buhari who campaigned vigorously for the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the presidential-elect, has vowed not to hand over to him.
Rather, it said the Buhari-led government, which is currently at transition stage, had constituted different committees to midwife a new administration come May 29, 2023.


The Presidency in a statement entitled, “The President Never Said He Won’t Hand Over To Elected Tinubu”, issued by presidential spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu, also added that the hometown of President Buhari in Daura, Katsina State is agog with arrangements for the return of their son after his eight-year tenure as Nigerian President.


Shehu, in the statement said: “The Presidency wishes to denounce as outrageous and fake, and condemns the fake news brigade for attributing a false quote to President Muhammadu Buhari and circulating it.


“How can you vigorously campaign for somebody, vote for him and then say you won’t hand over to him? This beggars belief.”
He described the alleged report published by an online newspaper as “pretty pathetic”, adding: “Since their ownership is politically partisan in today’s politics, in fact a loser in the presidential election. Instead of talking about issues, they repeatedly sell lies in the hope that people believe them as truth.


“The government is already in the transition phase. The Transition Committee, made up of representatives of the outgoing administration and the incoming one is meeting on an almost daily basis planning the handover to the Tinubu/Shettima administration.
“Thirteen committees as offshoots of the main committee, some to arrange military drills and pulling out of President Buhari, are either all at work or soon to be. So far, everything is going very well and there is no indication of any hitches.


“As for the President, the Daura community has begun their preparations to receive their son back after the successful administration of the country for two terms of eight years. He, on his part, is eager to return home to enjoy his retirement.”

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinyoutubeinstagrammail
Continue Reading

News

GODWIN OBASEKI EXTENDS RETIREMENT AGE FOR TEACHERS IN EDO

Published

on

Obaseki
Godwin Obaseki, the governor of Edo State, has raised the retirement age for teachers in Edo State to 65 or 40 years of service. This is part of his plan to improve the welfare of workers.

Godwin Obaseki, the governor of Edo State, has raised the retirement age for teachers in Edo State to 65 or 40 years of service. This is part of his plan to improve the welfare of workers.

Anthony Okungbowa, the state’s Head of Service, said this in a statement. He said that the governor’s approval shows that he is still committed to building a solid foundation for repositioning the education sector in the state.

He said: “Mr Governor has approved a new retirement age for teachers in Edo State. They will now retire when they clock 65 or 40 years of service, whichever is earlier.

“This is in demonstration of his commitment to ensuring that Edo teachers are the best motivated in Nigeria. It is important to remind Edo people that Edo teachers are the best-paid teachers and Edo workers are the best-paid workers in any public service in Nigeria.”

He said that the transition would ensure that teachers with decades of experience would keep their jobs and continue to help Edo students get a good education.

“This is another big win for Edo workers. The governor has continued to show that he will always place the interest of Edo workers above all else. Today, this is another testimony to that fact.”

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinyoutubeinstagrammail
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © Estreet On TV 2023