The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, and many other top political office holders in Lagos have been alleged by a former Deputy National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George, and two other members of the Omo Eko Pataki Forum of not being natives of Lagos State.
Top political office holders accused of not from the state are the Senators representing Lagos Central and Lagos West, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and Senator Solomon Adeola. Others include the Speaker of Lagos House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa; Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Jaji; and the Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
The Forum made this known in an advertorial, titled, ‘Lagos: The Imperatives of Cultural Renaissance’, signed by the leader of the forum, Chief Bode George; A Former GOC 3rd Armored Division, Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (retd); Jos as a trustee of the forum and Mr. Gbadebo Dallass, a former managing director of the National Economic Restructyion Fund, as another trustee.
In the advertorial published in ThePunch, the members of the forum lamented that the “legendary accommodating openness” nature of Lagos is becoming a curse, noting that they would no longer watch the state become a no man’s land where everything goes.
The advertorial reads in part, “From the years of Brigadier Johnson to that of Brigadier Marwa, all those who governed Lagos State gave the natives their natural pride of place and presence in the governance of their soil.
“The representation in power equation was equitably distributed along the traditional lines of IBILE. It was genuinely inclusive of all shades and colors of our multi-rainbow society. The major divisions as represented in the acronym called IBILE were all given equal and adequate representation in the governance of their state.
“Not anymore! The 1999 aberration which witnessed the emergence of Mr. Bola Tinubu changed the old order. Lagosians are now reduced to almost second-class citizens on their native soil. Their inalienable right of self-determination, which is guaranteed by our constitution, has been largely voided, dismantled by a solitary usurper.”
The group made it known that his position is void of prejudice but it is impossible for it to ignore the truth and scary realities, adding that the present political and administrative structures in the state are hardly representative of the will, purpose, and summative identity of the people.
The advertorial continues, “From the acme of governorship power in the Round House in Alausa to the seat of the Deputy Governor, from the three senatorial incumbents (Bayo Osinowo who represented Lagos East is now deceased) to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the SSG, the HoS – none of the occupiers of these crucial positions is a native of Lagos State.
“Where else in this country can this kind of odious and sickening anomaly happen without an uprising? This flies in the face of equity and fairness. This is not right. This is not just.”
Adding that “Like George Floyd, they are kneeling on our necks. And we cannot breathe! From politics to administration and now our culture, they are mangling our indigenous identity. This evil has gone full circle.
“The glaring interference in the Oniru stool has added a new dimension to the deliberate erosion of our cultural identity. One brazen Supremo now decides who becomes a governor and who occupies a royal seat.
“We as indigenous natives of Lagos State feel endangered. Surely, we can’t continue like this. The tradition of complicity and silence is over. Let us all rise to defend what is ours by birth, by ancestry and tradition.
“Enough is enough. We find it repugnant and unacceptable the reduction of Lagos State to a no-man’s-land where anything goes. O to ge!”
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Sanwo-Olu, Gboyega Akosile, in his response faulted the claims, saying that Sanwo-Olu’s parental home on the Lagos Island is well known to people.
According to him, “Clearly, the governor and these people they mentioned are Lagosians of the first order. Everyone knows the governor’s parental home on Lagos Island. However, this is not the time for us to talk about who is a Lagosian or who is not.
“Whoever is behind such is looking for social and political relevance. They should rather join hands with the governor to move the state forward instead of debating about who is from Lagos or not.”
