Building One Lagos For All, By Bolaji Akinyemi 

 Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi, Convener, Apostolic Round Table, on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, recently convened a conference by Zoom titled ‘Lagosians: Leaders After God’s Own Spirit: Initiating A New State’, with the theme ‘After The Storm’. Here, EJIKEME OMENAZU, who monitored the event presents an excerpt of Dr. Akiniyemi’s speech titled ‘One Lagos 4 All: The Way Forward’. 

 Introduction 

In the brief developed by the Lagosians for this event, the aim is: ‘After The Storm: Uniting to build One Lagos for all’. This of course does not look like something that should be a difficult venture to undertake within the geographical entity called Nigeria given that the motto of our nation is ‘Unity and Progress’, statement of fact, but not understood by both the leadership and the people. In the context of the phrase, progress is an undeniable product of united minds and hands. 

The answer to our failure hangs on our Coat of Arms, read by the world, but unattended to by the people it portrays. 

Ticket Transformation: From Muslim/ Muslim To Yoruba/Igbo Battle. 

I was at the forefront of the protest against Muslim/Muslim tickets and within the context of events that led to it, I tender no apology for demanding justice for my Christian constituency. I am however shocked to the marrow that those within our faith who saw nothing wrong with Muslim/ Muslim ticket are at the forefront of Yoruba against Igbo in Lagos and so-called ‘Igbo must not take Lagos’ agenda, with those who are marketers of political endorsements; thus pushing Lagos to the brink of war! 

Let me start with my beloved in battle, Prof Ishaq Akintola, the religious leader of Muslims Rights Concern (MURIC). While our rights as Christians, no one has thought it wise to champion, I must commend the work of the Professor on behalf of his Islamic constituents. 

The endorsement by Professor of His Excellency, Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu, a Christian, is one cardinal reason his re-election raises fear for our faith. If His Excellency, Gov Seyi Makinde in Oyo State is a Christian and HE Babajide Sanwo-Olu is, why the endorsement of Sanwo-Olu and non-endorsement of Makinde by Professor Ishaq Akintola? 

In a free and fair election in Oyo, MURIC’s endorsement was inconsequential as Makinde won without it. Much is left to be desired of Lagos where the endorsements of MURIC and his Christian political business partners ran the state riot, their Oloro, Alale and all sorts of beast from the forest of a thousand demons collaborated to take Lagos 500 years backward. 

I am lost as to why those who will raise their voice to fight on the side of Akintola and lend their voices to Oro, cried at midnight as Yoruba, but can’t find reason to offer Igbos words of consolation for the sake of eternal value; our faith! 

It may appear like a nuisance to those who are trading with our faith, but to the larger Christian populace, our ‘nuisance value’ is seen and appreciated as the rod we have become in the hands of the Master chasing and exposing political traders from the Body of His Holy Temple! 

Back to MURIC’s endorsement of Sanwo-Olu, one wonders if it is premised on the unfinished mission of the 9th Assembly led by Obasa under whom the customary law of Lagos was reviewed to accommodate the establishment of Sharia Courts? Only time will tell. I put this here on record for posterity. 

In the tribal and ethnic narrative engineered against the Igbos that became the principalities and powers that engaged with them in flesh and blood, it is safe to hold the lives lost to all who lent their voices to that evil in the name of politics. May the blood of the dead be required from their hands by the Lord of Host! 

The hatred for the Igbos I saw coming from those who were unconcerned about a foreign tribe invading our forests, turned around to disparage the Igbos as the kidnapping tribes and asked us for cow when the daughter of a frontline Yoruba leader was killed in defence of their political Fulani partners. They have led us back to the bitter battle in enmity between our forebears and that of the Igbos and since we can’t find reasons enough to hate the Igbos, they shopped for a most silly one; the Igbos want to own Lagos. From the relics of history, they magnified the 1966 coup as Igbo coup as if a whole tribe had ever held a meeting to plan a coup before. The memory of hungry kwashiorkor stricken children, over three million who died as a result of the civil war seems to serve the Igbo right, if I read their body language right! Yesterday was the bedrock on which today sits. 

Today is a foundation for tomorrow. Let’s gladly announce to them that we are too strong to be left to the evil they called an election. That the past is not in view, the pain of the moment notwithstanding, we will continue to live and give our best to Nigeria and Lagos in particular in hope of rewards of deeds, according to everyone’s work which the future will definitely serve. 

My Lagos Story was their narrative before now, of a Lagos where all tribes and nationals can dream and see their dreams fulfilled! Where then comes the ‘No man’s land’ accusation? 

Though, we can’t deny that the heat and the division in our polity is proof of work to be done in the direction of one united Lagos. 

This task can’t be done by those who for political gains plunged us into the abyss of hatred. It’s therefore the duty of all truly loving indigenous Lagosians and non-indigenous Lagosians to rise up to the challenge that this election left us with. 

Religious or tribal, we should be done with hatred. I personally will look forward to laws that will punish anyone who stigmatises any tribe or religion. Our disagreement with individuals must never again be tagged to their tribes or religions. 

I have heard of Lagos economy being the fifth Largest in Africa. The monopoly advantage conferred on her as the former federal capital hosting the nation’s seaport and several other national infrastructures notwithstanding. 

Lagos belongs to the Yorubas? 

This economy, in my assumption, thrives on the private sector 80%, 60% of this is on the formal and 20% on the informal, let me conservatively leave the remaining 20% to the state government. To the informal, belong the transport unions, their affiliates and all market locations. The responsibility of the government is security of lives and property for which it collects taxes, administers and distributes the same. If the Parks and Garages Management Agency of the APC led administration in Lagos is in competent hands for collection in that informal sector, and to the Iyaloja goes the collection from our markets, as part of the arms making Lagos to run ‘smoothly’ and from which we had hands from among the collectors to ruin the ENDSARS protest, giving it a bad name for the mauling (by the military) that followed, same hands came handy to rig election for APC governorship candidate. Area Boys subjugated electoral laws and institutions aided by security agencies, the infraction of the system was approved by INEC and endorsed as the process through which the winner emerged and so was declared. 

I have no problem accepting this decision and I am here saying congratulations to Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu and to all who rejoice in the chaos that elected him. However, let’s all bear in mind that our ‘Governors’ whose impunity on election day ruined the day and provided a platform for anarchy that we go ahead to install as the government of the people, by the people have the right to exercise the same at any other time they so deem fit. 

Pictures of some of the persons who hijacked the #EndSARS protest are all over the internet. The onus is on the Sanwo-Olu administration to fish them out and arraign them in court to answer for their atrocities. The same contractors of chaos; Baales, traditional rulers with the organised Area Boys subverted the law and ran the instrument of state during the governorship election. Until these persons are arrested and brought to book, Lagos remains unsafe for all. The appeal is for Lagos State Resident Registration Agency to assist the committee that must be set up at fishing out these men and women living among us, but hiding to carry out evil because the government is shielding them. If a masquerade could vote after BVAS certification, then no one should remain hidden. 

Lagosians should give due respect to those you saw on election day snatching ballot boxes. Where possible to pay taxes they demand of you we must help the government to sustain the status they elevated those outlaws to. Those who returned you home if you aren’t going to vote for their party must be sent to jail where they belong and if not to them goes our allegiance until the government is ready to earn it. Those, the law and its enforcement institution couldn’t protect you against who killed and maimed without recompense are over and above the law then let it be so. See and relate with them that way, for in principle we have in place a government of the thugs by the thugs and for the thugs. If you are therefore not a thug, you have no part in this government and must behave yourself. 

Is the judiciary on trial with what we witnessed? I don’t think so! Rather, the morality of our collective consciences vis a vis the roles we played, the silence we maintained and the docility we entertained. 

We can therefore save our anger against the Judges knowing that in the system are men like us playing to the gallery. We are all dancers, dancing to the tune of a very well paid piper. 

An understanding of how the Electoral Jurisprudence runs or how laws relating to our elections are made will save us a lot of post-election depletion of energy that should be channeled to building ‘One Lagos for all’. 

The Law is blind to all the gory tales we bear of our most sadistic election. Laws aren’t made based on emotion and its interpretation will never court our emotions. In