By Clement Udegbe
A Yoruba proverb says
that one does not keep silent when something bad is going on because a house
does not burn and fill the eyes with sleep. I have been having sleepless nights
because bad things are going on between the Igbos and their Yoruba brothers in
Nigeria. And it troubles the hearts of those who love the peace and
friendliness that once existed between these two tribes in Nigeria since after
the civil war, which politicians for their very selfish
reasons are determined to kill. In the University of Ife (
Now Obafemi Awolowo University) in the 1970s, we did everything together with
Yorubas, from football, student unionism, entertainement, etc. Of particular
reference was in the Palmwine Drinkers Club, where they referred to
themselves as “carried fellows”, and
non-members like me, as bearing very long tails, irrespective of tribe or
circumstances of birth. We enjoyed our differences and the unity that followed
it all. They called us “Okoro”, “Aje okuta ma imu omi “, meaning: one who eats
stones without drinking water. We called them “Ndi Ofe Nmanu”, meaning: people
who eat too much red palm oil. Competition was healthy among us and you got
what you deserved. For example, you could drive your ‘campus bus’, or ‘bush
meat’ whether she is from Gbagan, Calabar, or any part of the globe, without
qualms. Please get explanations from any ex-Ife around you. We were all simply Nigerians, and have
remained largely so. I did my Operation Feed the Nation as a student in Iperu,
a town in Ogun State and my National Service in Lagos. I love Yorubas, and my
friends among them love me too. When I started work in 1981, two Yorubas who
touched my life in an uncommon way were Chiefs Adeniran Ogunsanya and Harold
Shodipo, both of blessed memory. They were completely detribalized men, proud
of their Igbo counterparts in politics.
Chief Ogunsanya proved to me how he loved Dr, Nnamdi Azikiwe, and he actually introduced
me to Zik in 1984. A Yoruba Chief and Elder introduced me, an Igbo man, to
Owelle Ndigbo. That was those good old days. I keep wondering what those pan-Nigerian founding fathers of
Yoruba land would have done with what is happening today between Igbos and
Yorubas in the politics of Lagos State. So many things have started going wrong on between Igbos and
Yorubas that things are now speedily falling apart. The
foundation for Igbo bashing and phobia may have been laid during the tenure of
Chief Bola Tinubu as the Governor of Lagos State. That was when all Igbo core
business areas began to be targeted for closure at the least provocation. Alaba
International Market in Ojo LGA, the Auto Market at Berger Bus-stop near Mile 2
and the Ladipo Motor Parts Market in Mushin LGA were closed at different times
and reopened after a Governor from Igbo land came to plead. Former Governor
Babatunde Fashola broke the pot and
spilled the beans when he deported Igbos in 2013. It was a highly spiritual
action which many did not understand. The
message was clear- Igbos are visitors and can be deported in spite of their
investments in Lagos State. In 2014, a group of Obas and Chiefs in Ondo State
denigrated the Eze Ndigbo title and called for its ban in Ondo State.It
generated public outcry by Igbos and Governor Olusegun Mimiko intervened and
succeeded in calming all nerves. Then came the 2015 elections. The Oba of Lagos
shocked many when he pronounced a curse on Igbos, summarised as: ‘vote Ambode
or perish in the Lagoon’.This was when the Igbo-phobia became xenophobic. Till
date there is no record that the Oba cancelled that curse. And Igbos in their
typical One Nigeria naïve attitude, ignored the matter and went out to vote,
mostly for PDP. So, the curse remained. Last week, Governor Akiwunmi Ambode,
who demolished Oshodi Market during
last December celebrations when the Igbo traders had travelled, raised the
notch of Igbo bashing higher in the interest of ‘development’ of Lagos State.
He announced plans to relocate major Igbo dominated markets from the city
centre to the hinter land of the State, adding:
‘if you don’t like it go’! Those were not pleasant words, and could have
been avoided but for the fact that the presumption is that Igbos will not
listen and read between the lines. Same week,some Chiefs in Lagos met and
announced or re-echoed the need to ban Eze Ndigbo as a title recognised by
government. These men are perhaps pushing and jostling to remove Eze Ndigbo
from benefits that may follow increased involvement of traditional rulers in
governance in Lagos State. It needs to be understood that Eze Ndigbo is a
creation by Igbos as a fulcrum of their unity outside Igbo land. It helps them
to keep their culture and traditional ways. These Ezes help in resolving many
knotty issues between Igbos and others when necessary. They play good roles in
the maintenance of cohesion between Igbos and their host societies all over
Nigeria. After the civil war, Igbos needed their Ezes to keep together in
Nigeria. It will be unwise for them to jettison such an institution, especially
in their host communities. Eze Ndigbos maintain high regards, respect and
cordial relationship with the Obas and Baales in Yorubaland, and where there
are isolated cases of schism between the two, government should resolve it in
the interest of peace and good order, instead
of escalating matters. Indeed, some bad eggs exist among Eze Ndigbos,
just like they are also found among Obas, and such cases should be treated as
exceptions rather than the rule. Hausas have their leaders within their
communities wherever they settle in Nigeria. Other ethnic tribes do the same.
What is wrong if Igbos accept and call their own leaders Eze Ndigbo? Igbos
should be allowed to be, for God’s sake.
Mr Clement Udegbe, a
legal practitioner, wrote from Lagos
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