The other day in Akure Governor Sanwoolu referred to Lagos state as the United States of the Yorubaland. He was not exactly pellucid and clear in the contextual framework of that statement. We are not so sure of its import.
But this much however we do know. Yes, Lagos is the commercial heart beat of the Nigerian Union. It is also the pivotal rallying point of the Yoruba speaking people. This much is clear and lucid.
We at De Renaissance Foundation however take umbrage when the distinct Lagos identity is indiscriminately lumped together with other Yoruba subgroups.
Gedegbe ni Eko wa. Lagos stands alone in definitive, proud , distinct and undiluted identity. Just like the Oyo, the Ekiti the Ondo, the Egba, the Ijebu and other Yoruba people who have individual identities and accents, Lagos is equally rooted in the profundity of a separate heritage, a cherished beginning, a firm cultural tradition and spiritual identity long hewn from the ancient farmlands of Idunganran to the waters of the Awori and Egun in the west and the Ikorodu and Epe in the East, and of course the Eko right there in the center, thus basically constituting the authentic Ibile largeness.
Here we have our native and primordial lores, our own unique dialects, our traditional rectitude long etched on the soil we tread and in our hearts. It is equally invoked in our defining characteristics of metropolitan idealism which in its inherent scholarship can compete effectively with any culture anywhere in this universe.
From the struggles of Herbert Macaulay in the 1900’s who at once waged a peaceful advocacy for the Lagosian cultural independence and the nationhood of Nigeria to the purposeful struggle of Oba Eshugbayi Eleko and the unforgettable rallying of Sir Kofo Abayomi, Sapara, Rhodes, Alfa Augusto, Vaughn, Kitoyi Ajasa, Pa Seke Olukolu,Amodu Tijani, Pa Majekodunmi, Alhaji Issa Williams, JK Randle , TOS Benson, Adeniran Ogunsanya,Justice Oluwa, SL Edu, Kasali Kotun, Prince Ibikunle Akitoye and Oba Musendiku Adele who vigorously demanded for a Lagos Region from the colonial overlords and the latter young Turks in the mould of Lateef Jakande, Sikiru Shitta-Bey, Femi Okunu, Ganiu Dawodu and many feisty but peaceful campaigners whose selfless advocacy eventually gave us our independent pride of place on May 27, 1967 when Lagos gained her statehood.
Everyone aforementioned above had built on the relentlessness of the great pioneers like Oba Akinsemoyin and Oba Dosunmu who variously built an alliance with the Portuguese and the British which invariably gave Lagos and its people well hewn skills and advantages that still clearly remains the envy of the Nigerian Union and the world.
Must we now throw all these away in the abstruse name of some liberal democracy ? Absolutely not . It will be foolish of us to warp our ancestral identity in whatever guise some politicians are positioning themselves, giving the impression that they are fighting for Lagos. Not true. The politicians are temporary usurpers that will yield place to authentic, true born natives who will ensure the continuity of our heritage.
Lagos isn’t a Yoruba homeland. This is a distortion of historical identity. Lagos state belongs to Awori, Egun,Eko natives, Epe( Eko &Ijebu),Ikorodu natives- Ijebu, as major aborigines. Furthermore, for example, Ogun state indigenes are referred to in their sub-set identities as Egba, Ijebu, and Yewa in every traditional and cultural communication and not as a Yorubaland, and ditto for the rest of SW Region. If we don’t correct this assumption of identity, lagos state might lose its essence.
When I was growing up in the 50’s there was no such generalization and arbitrary lumping. Eko is Eko, Awori is Awori, Egba is Egba, Ijebu is Ijebu, Ekiti is Ado, Egun is Egun, Ara Oke is all the others . The only dominant dialect distinguishable to everyone is Eko.
It is in this wise that we call for a non- partisan distinguished committee of pure Lagosian Elders whose mission is to rally our people as one solid , indivisible whole, woven in the sameness of identity, prompted by the sole allegiance to our ancestry, our common goals and ideals and eventually gravitate towards finding suitable, undistorted, thorough-bred indigenes to occupy the prime position of governor, the state and National Assembly seats here in our homeland.
Nothing else will suffice lest they continue to marginalize our people right upon our own shores. Enough is enough.
* Major -General Tajudeen Olanrewaju Olanrewaju rtd (ndc)
– Former Minister of Communications
– Former GOC Third Armored Division
– Former Commander Corps of Artillery-CCA .
– Alternate Chairman De Renaissance Foundation