One lesson I learnt over the years is to ignore rabble rousers no matter the degree of their provocation. The recurrent decimal that defines political failures is their unalloyed penchant at deploying religion and ethnicity in craving for a seat on the political gravy train. The irony is the success rate of this tactics notwithstanding the damage it does to the polity and national cohesion. Are politicians really ready to learn or is the number the most important factor no matter the character of coalescing individuals?
I read the piece by Femi Fani-Kayode on the brouhaha over the “deportation” of some Igbo from Lagos to Anambra State and one thing struck me: he was a man left in political wilderness and earnestly seeking for redemption through the back door. Unfortunately for him, the Yoruba political establishment on the left flank rarely forgives “vagabonds” no matter the staccatissimos of their music. So my summation is that Fani-Kayode is on a blind mission in pursuit of relevance. I must however concede that he is entitled to dwell in silly land where bigotry, charlatanism and idiocy reign supreme.
He settled in Nigeria and did marvelous things and his son automatically became a Nigerian hero based on his fight for the people. If the loquacious Fani-Kayode appropriated the legacy of Macaulay and used same to demonstrate the impeccable heritage of his Yoruba tribe, what is the difference between his position and those who claim Lagos to be “no man’s land?” In any case, there are many Lagosians of Sierra Leonean and Brazilian origins that are rightly classified as indigenes. What is the difference between these Nigerians and Igbo or other tribes that settled and do business in Lagos?
Another juvenile sophistry by the writer was his introduction of Nigeria alongside Africa in the Zik’s address to Igbo Union Congress in 1948. He mischievously introduced Nigeria to deceive the gullible that there was an agenda by Igbo to “colonize” the country. 1948 was the peak of the agitation for self-rule in Nigeria and Dr. Azikiwe spoke at the Igbo Union Congress to galvanize the people to be part of the struggle to liberate the continent.
It is a shame that Fani-Kayode classified that as the beginning of ethnic politics in Nigeria. He further stretched that to the failure of NCNC to be the dominant party in Nigeria at the time. I think this guy needs to be educated a bit here. Two things contributed to the failure of NCNC to win the independence election in Nigeria: the departure of the present Western Cameroun from Nigeria and the whimsical allocation of parliamentary seats to northern Nigeria at the time.
The declassified British government’s report made this assertion very clear. Somebody should educate the writer that the NCNC and its allies led by Zik won the 1951 election in Western Region before carpet -crossing denied him of the premiership. I must also add that the NCNC cleared almost all the seats in Lagos. How did the Azikiwe’s Igbo Union Congress speech which took place three years earlier affect the outcome of that election? Review your notes again Mr. Fani-Kayode.
It is instructive to note that had the British colonial administration been fair to Nigeria, Azikiwe could have occupied the Prime Minister’s position of the federal republic at independence regardless of the departure of Western Cameroun. The facts are there. The lopsided nature of parliamentary seats allocation was responsible.
A glance at the popular votes during the 1959 independence election proved this point beyond reasonable doubt: the contesting parties at the time, namely, NCNC-NEPU alliance scored-2,594,577, Action Group-1,992,364 and NPC-1,992,179 votes respectively. However, the above result translated into NPC-142, NCNC-NEPU-90 and the Action Group-73 seats in parliament. So the tagging of Zik and NCNC as ethnic oriented could only be the imagination of Fani-Kayode.
In further addressing the infantile tattles of the writer, he misfired by describing the Igbo as unfriendly to the eastern minorities that made up the old Eastern Region.
I admit that a few issues arose at the time and my conclusion is that the minorities could have gotten a better deal. However, I am amazed that this guy could go this far in exposing the political shortcomings of the Yoruba represented by Chief Obafemi Awolowo of blessed memory. While the dominant Igbo elected an Efik/Ibiobio man as the Premier of Eastern Region despite its overwhelming majority, the Yoruba occupied all the prime positions in the Western Region from Premier to Deputy Premier, Governor, Finance Minister, among others. How do you reconcile this? How many of us still remembers the saying that “the Ooni is here, the Alaafin is here, the Western Region is complete” notwithstanding the presence of the revered Oba of Benin at a state function?
On this issue of ethnic politics, may I remind the writer that the crisis that rocked Warri in recent past was a throwback to the Action Group years of old Western Region. The Itsekiri are known to have tribal affiliation with the Yoruba and identified with the AG at the time while the Urhobo, led by the late Okotie Eboh, were of the NCNC. The government. led by Chief Awolowo. capriciously changed the nomenclature of the Olu of Itsekiri to Olu of Warri, thereby ceding the metropolis to them at the detriment of the Urhobo and Ijaw. That was the genesis of the crisis that took place in Warri.
Let me finally address the issue of citizenship in a federation as practised worldwide. Fani-Kayode must be living in utopianism to think that he has the capacity to stop a train that has taken off from the station. For his information, the “Lagos for Yoruba” he is craving for is impossible and exists only in his weird mindset. Lagos was a federal territory and was developed by the collective will of the Nigerian people.
The world has moved so fast that xenophobic actions are no longer restricted within the territorial boundaries of a country or region. What you can do is to encourage your people to compete and do so fairly. Have you asked yourself what Lagos economy will look like if oil revenue and investment is taken off the state? What do you want Niger Deltans to do about their wealth that has been used to develop Lagos, Abuja and other cities? It is the foreign exchange import cover the oil wealth provides that sustains the Lagos industrial base. Do not be deceived my brother. We all need each other but that must be based on equity.
In a multi- ethnic society, the likes of Femi Fani-Kayode are dangerous to national development and cohesion.
That this man was a federal minister was a judgmental failure on our political and administrative leadership. The fact that a man imbued with all the inglorious anti- nation building characteristic was allowed to occupy prominent positions in government is a further demonstration that our redemption is still far. Political abyss is the only dwelling place for the likes of this bigot.
The rest of the issues raised by Fani-Kayode are too pedestrian to indulge him with a response.
By Kelechi Jeff Eme Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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The Likes of FFK is too dangerious to our national Cohesion,,,FFK is already in political abyss...
ReplyDeleteIf you aspire for leadership position in Nigeria learn from the mistakes of this men,,,, EVEN THE YORUBAS WILL USE THIS AS AN ADVANTAGE AGAINST HIM TO GAIN SUPPORT OF OTHER TRIBES...
Well said. Hope he learns from history and well informed people like you.
ReplyDeleteI do not care what u say & how u tried to twist the facts, the truth of the matter is that M Fani-Kayode was on point and everything he wrote was factual. Mind u I was born at the time all these things that he said took place. I want to fill in some of the things that he did not say. 1. During the war, Ojukwu tried to insinuate and say that PortHarcourt belonged to the East until the Rivers people were up in arms against him and he backed down and looked for his Biafran hdqtrs elsewhere. 2. Whe your forefathers and fathers were starving in the east after the war we took u Igbos into the Southwest. 3. When the kidnapper were after your life, we also took u into the Southwest. And u want to repay us by claiming our territory. Fani-Kayode did not say enough. There are more to be said. We are going to deport all of u to the south east. If u have the intellectual capacity to develop anything display it by developing your own territories. They gave u five states and they are all in dilapidated conditions. Charity begins at home. Leave south west alone. We are going to stop u bcos u will soon be talking about u own Ogun state and next u will say the same thing about Oyo state. We are going to stop u now even if it means going to war. We want our territory back. Ibos go home. Ole.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 1.25am you are a compound fool.
ReplyDelete@ anonymous.its so pathethic we have people like you still existing. Can this country ever get developed???
ReplyDelete@kelechi Jeff eme, very poor write up. Don't try to lie about Yoruba history.
ReplyDeletewhat I find about an ndigbo man no matter how educated are LIARS and BOASTFUL people. is it genetic not to be trustworthy when you are from dt region.
the east abounds with cowards according to perception by chinu achebe in things fall apart where a coward father okonkwo. even though it's fictional,humans write by association to there environment.
you guys like to call everyone cowards cos you have d largest number in your place.
you love to pray and spit in d mouth of your children and make them swallow it according to the book without a silver spoon.I find dt barbaric.
Even more barbaric is the lying spontaneously and craving attention.
we know you can market and marketing involves tarnishing the truth but consistently lying and not coming up with no facts makes you guys look selfish and unreliable in d eyes of everyone.
a lot of my Niger delta friends and calabars said yorubas dint quickly learn of d craftyness of d igbos and dis is what is causing d problem.
every tribe has one funny feeling about you guys and simply put is you cant be trusted in your deeds ,words and actions.This is irritating about you.
Why are all Ibos afraid of letting Nigerian know their view of the first failed and first successful coups in Nigeria? I think it is very important. Kelechi please address this issue.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,stop living in the past.I think you may have died there.this is 2013 when people love each other and try to live with each other.Go and pick up your dead body from the past and try to live again.By the way,am a full Yoruba.My Whole Family is of d Kings Clan in Lagos state.We despise people like u.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ 1.25am, & 7.51am, we await your deportation. Sadly many of you Yoruba are so shallow in your thinking, and as such make messed up deductions on issues. As for the latter anonymous that called the Igbo cowards, for every Igbo coward, there are at the least 20 cowards amongst the Yoruba. If the coward, Okonkwo's father in Things Fall Apart represents the Igbo, then Egbin, in Fagunwa's Forest Of A Thousand Demons, must represent the typical Yoruba. You talk of the Igbo being boastful. You really reserve that assertion for your people. You always claim to the most "civilized", and most educated of all Nigerians, or the first to achieve one thing or the other. Claims that when subjected empirical facts fall short. Then you claim your Niger Delta, & Calabar friends told you about craftiness of The Igbo. They didn't tell of what they, & your Bini cousins also allude to your treachery, and pretence. Your friends obviously humour you.
ReplyDeleteGet it into your discerning head, you're not doing the Igbo any favors in Lagos, or indeed anywhere else in your perceived eldorado. Let's wait & see how you'll send the Igbo out of Lagos, & the South West. Anyhow, I'm sure your leaders know better than passengers like you.
Shutout arsewipe
DeleteEnough of this hateful statements. I am Igbo. Yorubas are not all bad neither are Igbos or any other tribe in Nigerian. Nigerians must rise in concert to condemn Femi Fani Kayode and his hateful writings. He guffed big time and should be told that he did not do well. Femi you left the bone of contention attacked over 50 million people. Apologise Femi or the consequence will wait in your future. Emeka.
ReplyDeleteYou will gain some credibility if you can call on Peter Obi and Orji to apologize to Yorubas for their inciting submission which necessitated Fani's response.
DeleteFemi Fani Kayode's write up was a huge dissappointment to the nation and a malicious/derogatory assessment against an entire ethnic group!! That a man of his calibre who at a time sat in a prestigious ministerial height of this nation can subject himself to as a ploy, an instrument of incitement and an agent/petrol of the blazing fire of distunity, This is from the pity of hell - it is a pity!! By the way who is Paul and who is Appolos. Has Femi forgoten that we can NEVER, NEVER, NEVER do without one another irrespective of tribes. If Femi is good in history, why can't he go and find out the meaning of Oyingbo, Obanikoro, Lagos, Eko, Alaba etc - these are not Yoruba names. Oyingbo is derieved from "Onye Igbo" It is the name given to connote the early igbo settlers who are traders who made up the market, the same goes with Alaba. Eko is Sierra Leone, Lagos is a portuguess name which was named by the early portuguse explorers and Obanikoro is Benin, ie Edo State etc(check for the history). The original of these names were catalysts to the early development of Lagos. These few instances show that we need one another to develope our world. I mean, I believe there are places in the South-East, across Nigera and around the world too where some Yorubas have made their marks in the wheel of development. Therefore, let us stop these ragglings and get focused on reality. This is a critical time where every Nigerian should focus their prayers on the unity of our dear Nation and not a time for a person who thinks he has "arrived" and metaphor himself into a demi-god of judgement. My advise to Femi Fani Kayode is that "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall".
ReplyDelete