Dear Igbo, stop the obsession with Lagos

By Maria Ude Nwachi

Let us stop the obsession with Lagos and its affairs. It is okay for Igbo to be concerned about Lagos affairs because we live there en masse but what is happening now is an obsession. We obsess over Lagos as if it is located somewhere in the Southeast of lgboland. No, Lagos is in the Southwest of Yorubaland and even if 80% of all Igbo live in Lagos, this fact will not change.

Even before this election period, you will see a lot lgbo (even lgbo that have not been to Lagos) very vocal about governance in Lagos, always holding them accountable for one thing or another, but you have a land called lgboland being decimated and desecrated daily by our own, and I see no outrage, I see no calling anyone to order, I see nothing but cowardice and pretending it is not happening, while it is going on even as we speak. Always poke nosing on anything concerning Lagos while ignoring the aru happening in your own land.

lgboland is the only land any member of the various cells and militia terrorising our land, maiming us and brutalising us, can wake and say there is a sit at home and there will be a sit at home or all hell will break lose! There is nowhere else anyone outside state government or FG can come out and issue such other except our land and this is not worrisome enough for lgbo to be outraged about or riled about, and find a way to contain the unrest that has severely affected our land economically and otherwise, a land that was already severely abandoned and neglected by her children who are notorious sojourners by nature.

It is notable to point out that since all manners of criminals have come together hiding under one umbrella to terrorise one once sweet land funded by some lgbo especially those living abroad, those living in our land that would not have even left are mostly running to Lagos, already over-populated by us, and other Yoruba states for safety and for economic reasons. Many a lgbo who loves visiting home now fear visiting home, some come from abroad and just stay back in hotels in Lagos, Abuja and to be close to lgboland, they stay in Asaba. They have chased our 1st 11s away, I don’t wanna go into the many souls they have killed in the most brutal manner for no good reason, mostly over filthy cash, and nothing more. This should be the number topic of every lgbo person and how to end it and not Lagos this and that.

Now we have an election (Governorship & House of Assembly) on Saturday, and all I see on my feed is the lgbo living in Lagos and outside Lagos talking about Lagos state election. What is freaking good? What on earth is going on? Hello??? The most important election for an Igbo should be the one happening in the five Southeastern states of Igbo land, and not the one in the Southwestern state of Yorubland.

It is very important who is elected to govern our states, they will decide your fate in life. You are only after Lagos election, you are obsessed with getting your way in Lagos when you should be obsessed with getting your way and your wish in your land. We have states in our land being governed in autocratic, tyrannical and peremptory style, you don’t care, all you care about is the Lagos state governor and how to humiliate him and remove him. Dictatorial lgbo governors are the worst because they answer to no one, and have looted enough money to do as they want, despots! Even in these changing times, some of them still managed to rig the National Assembly election and declared 99% of their candidates winners against the wish and votes of the masses, yet no outrage from the lgbo, just obsessing over Lagos affairs and what Sanwo-Olu does.

LET ME SHOUT THIS: A region that realises they have a problem and set out to rectify them shall blossom. But a region that has a problem and pretends it doesn’t exist or remedy it, would wither. It’s a simple law of nature.

Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, goes out to seek lgbo votes and you mock him and laugh at him, to what end exactly??? Do you know what a privilege it is for a governor in your land to seek the votes of another ethnic group? It means his state is advanced and has other ethnic groups living there en mass. Can any lgbo state governor walk around trying to placate and seek the vote of any other ethnic group? Who dash am?

You are mocking what you should be wishing should happen in your land. The moment other ethnic groups start migrating to the Southeast is the arrival of a new prosperous and healthy Igbo land. And this Sanwo-Olu seems like a jovial and considerate gentleman, even before the election period, I see him interacting with a lot of people from various backgrounds, carrying himself with dignity, and always using soothing and healing words, while imperious and peremptory governors in our land are always harassing and threatening us openly and maltreating us in the most devil-may-care!

They also openly and boldly tell us that their candidates will be declared winners whether we like it or not. We don’t challenge them, na Sanwo-Olu we wan challenge and talk about only.

As it is, our land which is already severely neglected is now being destroyed by our own, imagine many lgbo abroad and beyond sending money home for pure purposes of its destruction, hiding under dubious guises. Once our hosts from all the regions we are packed in see we are even scared of going to our own land to visit much less live, you go see suffer. Only solution is we must make our own land safe, attractive, and worthy enough for others to even migrate to.

We need to mind our business a bit. You will see a lgbo actress coming out openly to drag a Yoruba actress over her choice of candidate. If amour propre were a person! To what end? To what point? So everyone must support who we support? We have a culture now that basically stipulates that every lgbo must support whatever or whoever is popularly supported by most lgbo or be seen as anti lgbo, it is bad enough, but to transfer that unreasonable and undemocratic rascality to other ethnic groups is the height of crass entitlement, vainglory, snottiness, conceit, ostentation, self-importance, self-exaltation, and quite frankly narcissism.

Can you imagine a Yoruba actor dragging an Igbo actor for supporting Obi? The outrage! Don’t do to others what you will not want to be done to you. Let’s mind our business a bit more. You can’t just wake up and decide to force your personal choice on others. That is Amour de soi on speed. Others must like what you like or else. No, naa. Freedom of choice, remember??

I know diplomacy is far far from us, but without tact and diplomacy, we will be limited. People who are known to live in other regions should see diplomacy as a major tool to be used to our advantage. I won’t elaborate on this for now.

Lagos: There was a time it was just carelessly assumed by many Igbo that Lagos is some kind of a no man’s land. In 2012, I started a campaign against such phrase and mindset, it was published multiple times on Ndi Igbo page which was the most popular page in our clime then, and moved to Igboist which was also then a very popular platform, It worked like magic, as many lgbo called it a no man’s land then purely out of ignorance and entitlement. That act was reduced drastically to the barest minimum.

Frankly, I don’t see a lot lgbo using such a phrase, I really don’t, sincerely, but the few that missed the memo and continue to call Lagos that, read this: Lagos is not a no man’s land, Lagos is the pride of the Yoruba. All Yoruba. An Igbo person will never allow someone from even another lgbo state to call his state a no man’s land talk less of another ethnic group to call his state or land a no man’s land. Don’t do to others what you would NEVER tolerate from others. We are sojourners. We make other regions our homes. These careless pompous utterances endanger Igbos. The consequences of these crass and callous utterances coated in empty pride are deep and carried out overtly or covertly. Also, other regions we populate are taking notes and implementing steps, again, openly and otherwise, to make sure you don’t start calling their own land a no man’s land in the future. This is the 2012 post:
https://web.facebook.com/Ndi.Igbo/photos/a.493310898408/10151147989038409

We are still a 3rd world nation, it is not advanced enough that wherever you find yourself is your land. No matter how much you love to live and thrive in any land in our nation if it is not your land, it is not your land. Respect your hosts, know your limit, and don’t cross certain boundaries, if not you will pay a steep price. Unfortunately, because we are the ones migrating to other lands/regions, this applies majorly to us.

Again and again: it is important for the lgbo man to build and beautify his own land and make it rewarding, safe, and conducive enough for even others to migrate to. This will stem the tide of us migrating and populating other regions en masse. That is the only way we can gain respect and regard in this country and beyond. \

We will continue to be at the mercy of others in this nation if we don’t build our own land. Let’s find a way to end the activities of those desecrating and decimating our land (as it is pushing more Igbos away from our land & making us more vulnerable to our hosts in various regions) and then make a coordinated effort to build a viable homeland for us and beyond. All else is noise, empty noise. And to the Igbo with many reasons and excuses why Igbos populate other regions and cannot build their own land, hear this: The universe only comprehends results and not reasons.

LET ME REPEAT: A region that realises they have a problem and set out to rectify them shall blossom. But a region that has a problem and pretends it doesn’t exist or remedy it, would wither. It’s a simple law of nature.