Think Yoruba First (TYF) has reacted to Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s allegations of disenfranchising Igbo settlers in Lagos during the local government elections held last Saturday across the state, describing the allegations as “absurd” and “nauseatingly provocative,” just as it noted that the exercise was “largely peaceful” and people were satisfied with its conduct.
The Yoruba group said this in a signed statement by its Public Relations Officer, Montero Oluwole, a copy of which was made available to newsmen on Sunday, emphasising that Lagos, being Yorubaland, owes no political obligation to Igbo settlers.
This was just as the group noted that no other tribe amongst the over 50 in Lagos had expressed disaffection or entitlement towards Lagos State politics, questioning why Igbos should be an exception.
TYF asserted that Yorubas have the right to manage their local affairs as they see fit, saying that the opinions of Yorubas mattered in Lagos State politics.
It, therefore, urged Ohanaeze Ndigbo to focus on addressing issues plaguing Igboland, such as poverty, terrorism, and erosion, rather than attempting to influence Lagos State politics, stressing that Yorubas would not give in to emotional trickery aimed at forcing them to relinquish control of their ancestral territory.
The statement read: “For a pro-Igbo socio-cultural organisation situated far away across the Niger to be issuing an authoritative declaration about elections in a state with which Igbos have no historical or ancestral connection is nauseatingly provocative. A man’s right to organise his own residence is protected by the code of friendly indigenous-settler relations. When has a pro-Yoruba group intervened in the indigenous politics of Igbo land?
“We want to categorically deny the allegations from faraway Southeast which seek to discredit the largely peaceful Local Government elections. We want to emphasise that the Yorubas of Lagos State are satisfied with the conduct of the LGA elections in Lagos, Yorubaland. Just like only the opinions of Igbos matter in Igboland’s LG elections, so do only the views of Yorubas matter in our local Politics.
“The Yorubas would have the right to manage their local affairs as they see fit unless Ohanaeze Ndigbo truly believes Lagos is a ‘No man’s Land,’ as their kinsmen so disrespectfully mimic.
“We clearly don’t require assistance from individuals who are having trouble addressing their own much larger issues since we are the most developed area in Nigeria. For peace to continue to prevail in Yorubaland, the respect that Yorubas always demonstrate to their hosts wherever they go must be reciprocated.“
