“Don’t stay in Lagos, and benefit from the leadership, infrastructure and economy Lagosians built over time, yet carry resentment towards them. You threaten violence and de-market Lagos on social media. You have options. Behave or relocate!” –

 Let me open this short contribution by saying that I completely agree with the views expressed above by Pastor Reno Omokri. Let us hope that those he is attempting to offer such wise counsel appreciate & accept it before it is too late. I am constrained to go further by saying that I also share the views of my dear friend, brother & colleague, Omo Oba Bayo Onanuga, who reflected the views and thoughts of millions of our fellow Yorubas when he expressed deep and legitimate concerns about the attempt by the Ibo community in Lagos to take over our land and claim it as theirs. This is something that they themselves would never tolerate members of any other ethnic nationality to attempt to do in the east and neither would any of us try it. The truth is that if you insist on living in someone elses land or territory you must respect them. And as they say, respect begets respect. If you must live amongst us kindly refrain from poking your fingers into our eyes simply because we gave you the space & afforded you the opportunities that you have refused to offer us in the east. We do this because we are a decent, civilised, kind-hearted, peace-loving and just people who believe strongly in the ethos of charity, plurality of community, efficacy of racial and religious harmony, peaceful-coexistence & full & unfettered integration. That does NOT however mean that we are fools. Our history proves that we are slow to anger but irresistible in battle. It is not wise to provoke us or raise our sleeping sword. Being too kind, accommodating & charitable has its price and it appears that we the Yoruba may have learnt this the hard way. Opening up your home to a stranger & being your brothers keeper is one thing but giving him your head & all that is dear to you on a platter of gold is quite another. The truth is that the Ibo in Lagos are no longer welcome by the people of Lagos. And unless they change their attitude quickly & drastically it may well be better for them to go home. As a consequence of recent events & the outrageous & insulting “Lagos is a no man’s land” battle cry & mantra which many Ibos in Lagos espouse & constantly bellow & mouth, many of our people believe that Alaba Int. Market, Computer Village, Trade Fair & other places that they have occupied & taken over should be evacuated & vacated & converted to schools, deep sea ports, housing estates & amusement parks. That is the level of anger & view of millions of our people today & we ignore those views at our peril. They also believe that we should act fast & make the necessary changes in our attitude to non-Yoruba settlers and aliens and reflect on our propensity for being too “woke” & too liberal in our dealings with them. This view was ably reflected by

when he tweeted the following a day after the Governorship election in Lagos. He wrote, “Congrats to putting an end to the issue of real ownership of Lagos. Going forward, let there be a review of the following: Land ownership and rent law. Elective & appointive policy. Ethnic concentration of markets. Limits to liberalisation culture. Teaching of Yoruba history. Be wary of usurpers!” Points taken & forceful, compelling & lucid they are too. In his own contribution

again reflected the mood when he tweeted the following: “We voted in Lagos today not along political lines but along the lines of heritage. We voted for our pride. We made a statement that our liberal nature should never be abused. What we won’t attempt in yours, do not force on us. We voted to retain Lagos”. These are insightful and incisive contributions & they must be taken seriously.

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