By Akinwale Kasali
A Yoruba Group AOKOYA, has warned the Igbo in Lagos who cannot abide by the laws of the State to leave and return to their region in the next 30-days.
The Group asked the Igbo to relocate to their fatherland if the South West is too hot for them to do their businesses.
AOKOYA gave the warning in response to a 30-day ultimatum given the Lagos State Government to stop demolition in Lagos or face ethnic tension by an Igbo Group.
AOKOYA described the issuance of ultimatum to the Lagos State Government as an act of “Infantile mental disorder.”
It added that those issuing the ultimatum should be ashamed and should realise that Igbo doing living in Lagos were not forced to stay in the country’s commercial hub.
“If you are proud of your fatherland, go back there and stop the spineless greed to own what is not yours,” AOKOYA said.
The Igbo National Union Worldwide (INU-W) on Friday issued a 30-day ultimatum to the Lagos State Government threatening to destabilise the State if demolition was not stopped.
The statement was signed by its Administrative Secretary, Mazi Austin-Mary Ndukwu.
In its response, AOKOYA, a coalition of several Yoruba self determination groups gave a 30-day ultimatum to Igbo in the entire South West to return back or face “proportional consequences.”
The group said it is aware of Igbo extremists planning to attack Lagos adding that the consequences will be unbearable for the Igbo across Yoruba territories since reciprocal actions are bound to be provoked.
AOKOYA said the ultimatum does not affect Ikwerre of Rivers and Igbo speaking indigenes of Delta State who were formerly part of the old Western Region.
It accused the Igbo group of selfish and parochial interests which the group said was responsible for the recent “anti-Igbo campaigns in Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.”
AOKOYA said demolition of illegal structures in Lagos has no ethnic colouration and that Lagos cannot be forced to adopt the reckless pattern of development only conceived by lawless people.
“The Lagos State Government cannot be stampeded by a bunch of ethnic terrorists. The plan to make Lagos a mega city can not be at the mercy of irresponsible lawbreakers who want to stunt the prospect of Lagos becoming a magacity that meets international standards” the statement signed by AOKOYA official, Col Abimbola Sowunmi (rtd) said.
The group accused the Labour Party, LP, Presidential Candidate at yhe 2023 Election, Peter Obi of promoting ethnic violence through many frontiers.
AOKOYA said Obi visited Lagos but was only concerned about the demolition of the so called Igbo properties in Lagos.
“Maroko, Ijora, Bariga, Gbagad belong 100 percent to Yoruba people. Properties were demolished in these areas including Ikeja. It’s shocking that Obi never paid courtesy visits to these areas. He concentrated on visiting only Alaba where he has over 200 shops. This clearly shows that Obi is an ethnic urchin parading himself as National figure.”
AOKOYA said it is worried about the banditry mentality of some Igbo leaders who escaped from their fatherland where over 30,000 people have been killed by violent extremists only for them to attack Lagos and the South West that has provided sanctuary for thousands of fleeing Igbos.
It also said that while Obi was the Governor of Anambra State he demolished over 2,000 building and shops. The demolition affected Hausa and Yoruba traders.
“Obi said openly that he would not pay compensation while he was physically present to supervise the demolition”.
AOKOYA said Obi and a section of Igbo leaders have not uttered a single word on the demolition of buildings in Abuja by the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Nyesom Wike because of his Ikwerre origin.
AOKOYA said it has a lot of respect for millions of innocent Igbo people whose names and culture are being appropriated by ego driven and selfish Igbo leaders who are desperate to cause ethnic crisis between Igbo and Yoruba.
“As a group, we cherish friendship with all ethnic groups including Igbo, but it cannot be at the risk of Yoruba survival as a people.”
AOKOYA described the Igbo group that issued the ultimatum of paying Yoruba tolerance and liberalism back with evil and primitive energy aimed at subjugation Yoruba people on their ancestral land.
The Yoruba group said Igbo groups and individuals giving ultimatum to Yoruba people or their State Governments on their own land are ingrates who have no sense of history and appears to be a bunch of anarchists who act before they think without showing intelligence in weighing the outcome of rash, infantile and futile orders they give.
AOKOYA also blamed the LASG for failing to connect with the mainstream Yoruba which encourages all sorts of charlatans to deride and insult the Government.
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