Deporting the Igbo from Lagos insulting – Ohanaeze

Oganah
| credits: File copy

The National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndiigbo, Mr. Tony Oganah, in this interview with ALLWELL OKPI, condemned the recent relocation of about 70 persons from Lagos to Onitsha, Anambra State, by the Lagos State Government

 What is Ohanaeze’s reaction to the news that about 70 persons, mostly Igbo, were deported from Lagos and dumped in Onitsha?

We didn’t react immediately because we were too shocked and stupefied that this could happen. Virtually all Igbo organisations in Lagos have worked in close proximity with the Governor Babatunde Fashola administration, which, up until now, has done very well. But, what has happened can completely rubbish the achievement of Fashola. The governor and I were in school together, we both read law; he was a year ahead of me. This is contrary to everything Fashola stood for in his undergraduate days. We can only assume that whoever did that acted out of overzealousness. I hate to think that Governor Fashola could sit down to concoct such opium against the Igbo. Hitler never did that; they never did that even in South Africa. During the apartheid in South Africa, blacks who did not have pass and were found in areas where whites resided were rounded up, tried and punished, if found guilty. In the case of what happened in Lagos, the people were not even given the luxury of the provision of the 1999 Constitution that if you are accused of wrongdoing, you must be given a fair trial. We even have information that all the people were not Igbo people, even the Igbo among them were not even from Anambra State. They were not given a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones, they were not given a chance to carry their bags; they were not given a chance to explain themselves. They were summarily arrested and deported in the same country. Everybody carries Nigerian passport and up till now, there is no law that says any Nigerian cannot live and work in any part of Nigeria. The Igbo are known for being adventurous and entrepreneurial; anywhere we settle down is our second home. We invest anywhere; we build houses anywhere. For this to happen is shocking. Something tells us that there is a political undertone to all of this. The mainstream Yoruba party, the Action Congress of Nigeria; the mainstream northern party, the Congress for Progressive Change; and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance have merged to become All Progressives Congress. Perhaps, this shows that if APC takes over government, Igbo people may face more stress. Up till now, the Lagos State Government has yet to explain what happened and it has gone ahead to add insult to injury by getting an Igbo man, who works for them — the spokesman of erstwhile ACN in Lagos, Joe Igbokwe — to justify something that is unjustifiable.

But Igbokwe said the persons that were relocated to Onitsha were the destitute, some of whom were mentally unstable, constituting nuisance and security threats; and that the action was aimed at helping them reunite with their families in the South-East.

If you arrest somebody and say the person is mentally unstable, how then are you able to determine which state the person comes from? How were they sure that the person who said he was from Onitsha was not from Kogi? It is only a psychiatrist that can ascertain the mental state of anybody. Even the Lagos traffic law says if you were caught driving against traffic, you would be checked by a psychiatrist to find out whether you are mentally fit or not. But in this case, they were the psychiatrists; they were the executioners; they bundle the people into a truck and drove them to Onitsha. Let them bring the certificates of their psychological evaluation. You can’t arrest somebody because the person does not have a shelter or access to water and conclude that the person is destitute because of his appearance. Maybe, if the person does not carry an ATM card, they will conclude that the person does not have a means of livelihood.

Has Fashola government been opposed to Igbo people in Lagos?

This has rubbished the works of Governor Fashola, who has been the darling of Igbo people. We voted for him and to compensate us, he appointed an Igbo man, Ben Akabueze, a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, in his cabinet to oversee economic activities. What they have done is to rubbish the rapport that the Igbo and Yoruba have in Lagos. They should not forget that Igbo people control at least 65 per cent of economic activities in Lagos. If you talk about buildings, the Igbo will have at least half of the buildings in Lagos; the Igbo constitute at least 45 per cent of the voting population of Lagos. Is this how they want to romance us for 2015? Are they saying this is how the government will be under the APC? Is this the way to thank Igbo people who have left their homeland and found homes everywhere in this country, and are investing? Ohanaeze is disturbed. We waited to see if they will retract it but they didn’t, that is why we are reacting.

Would you say there is an anti-Igbo sentiment in Lagos?

One thing I know is that Yoruba and Igbo people have always been rivals for power; competitors of some sort. Before the civil war, the Igbo were on top, no doubt about that. They were on top, not just in politics and academics but generally. Our people travel a lot and build their homes wherever they are. As a result of this, whenever the indigenes suffer frustration, they met it out on Igbo people. I will hate to think that Fashola sat down to concoct that because I hold him in high esteem. Some people might have been overzealous and to save face, they got Igbokwe to try to justify the action. I will hate to think that the Yoruba hate Igbo people that much. Let’s not forget that Yoruba people also live in Igboland. It is disturbing because this is not the first time it is happening; it is neither the second nor the third time, and we not happy about it. We support Governor Peter Obi who has written a petition to Mr. President on this. I’m sure even Fashola, in his sober moment as a constitutional lawyer, will know that this is indefensible. You just see people on the road; you hound them and you say you are building one nation where tongues and tribes do not differ. Is it like this? It’s disturbing.

Is this kind of involuntary relocation possible under the constitution?

No. You can’t relocate people without their consent. Governor Fashola is a lawyer, I’m also a lawyer and I don’t want to say so much about this Yoruba-Igbo issue. It is delicate and the President does not need this kind of distraction. That is why Ohanaeze has tried as much as possible to downplay it. I won’t be surprised if any of those people sues Lagos State Government. You can’t just do that without even announcing that you want to carry out such exercise. To even say that of all tribes in the country, Igbo people were begging on the street is laughable. How many times have you seen an Igbo beggar? Our people are noted for hard work. How can you say you are targeting the destitute and a bulk of them is Igbo, and you dump them in Onitsha; what are you saying?

But Igbokwe said similar relocations had been made to other states, including those in the South-West?     

You mean they took Yoruba people from Lagos to states like Oyo and Osun? I don’t believe that.

Will Ohanaeze take any step to ensure that this does not happen again?

We have decided to stay action for now because Mr. President has a lot on his table. We want Mr. President and all the governors to concentrate on giving us good governance between now and 2015, when Igbo people will determine who they will vote for. For now, we won’t press the matter but if it happens again, Ohanaeze will seriously consider a legal action against the Lagos State Government.