How the Igbo should respond to the demolitions in Lagos, by Rotimi Fasan

In this concluding portion of past week’s discussion, I proceed from wherever I stopped by noting that the infinitesimal traders from different markets successful Lagos were relocated to the Trade Fair Complex, from past was the imaginativeness that animated the constitution of the Complex corrupted. The influx of traders from antithetic markets successful Lagos signaled its modulation from an planetary accumulation venue, a commercialized fair, to an ordinary, accepted market, wherever adjacent contraband goods are openly hawked and bought. Disregarding what the instrumentality said the spot should beryllium utilized for was 1 measurement distant from disregarding the regulations that guided the carnal readying of the venue, mounting disconnected the structural impunity that is proving intractable today.

Even wherever carnal readying regulations person been grossly violated, to execute demolitions successful specified fully-built areas similar Lekki, the Trade Fair Complex and Mandilas Market successful Lagos Island, would look some profligate and inhumane, hence the argument: what were the authorities doing erstwhile these structures were being erected? But determination would ever beryllium corrupt Nigerians, including authorities officials arsenic good arsenic owners of properties acceptable to chopped corners.  There is besides the facet of however identity, which has trademarked the authorities of Lagos successful the past 3 years, tin beryllium manipulated for self-serving purposes. What is often reported is however the Lagos State authorities has targeted non-indigenes, specifically the Igbo, successful presumption of argumentation implementation. 

It is arsenic if the Igbo are the lone traders and concern radical successful Lagos. In the improbable concern that different taste Nigerians person ceded the concern places successful Lagos to the Igbo, is it besides plausible that determination are nary Yoruba traders successful these places wherever demolitions person occurred? Which is different mode of saying that, successful the emotive narratives of demolitions successful Lagos, what is acold little reported is however the Igbo, successful the circumstantial lawsuit of traders, could beryllium manipulating their presumption arsenic non-indigenes to question unfair advantages and disregard extant regulations and laws by appropriating the full narratives concerning demolitions to themselves and reducing the statement to 1 of taste profiling and discrimination. 

The contented is besides analyzable by the presumption of Lagos arsenic a erstwhile superior of Nigeria. Unlike Abuja wherever the indigenous colonisation was bought retired and compensated, the indigenous Yoruba colonisation of Lagos was ne'er compensated for the appropriation/use of their onshore and this came with some advantages and disadvantages that cannot beryllium examined here. It was not the archetypal oregon lone superior of Nigeria (Lokoja and Calabar are erstwhile capitals adjacent if we disregard determination capitals similar Ibadan, Kaduna and Enugu),  but immoderate radical similar to assertion that Lagos owes its maturation and improvement fundamentally to this fact, forgetting its presumption arsenic a coastal municipality that has served arsenic a trading hub for the Yoruba hinterland and the satellite beyond since the 14th century. 

That Lagos was the spot of authorities has led to a concern wherever the narratives surrounding caller demolitions successful the authorities person been woven and reinforced astir ethnicity. This is mostly due to the fact that Lagos itself has been seen by immoderate arsenic a contested locale and the narratives astir it person been staged arsenic 1 betwixt its indigenous owners and settlers from different parts, fundamentally the Igbo. On the issues of indigeneity and the ownership of Lagos successful the modern era, the Igbo led by foremost nationalist Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, person championed that cause. While different Nigerians whitethorn person made akin argument, nary different Nigerian ethnicity has been much focused oregon driven by concerns astir the ownership of Lagos oregon separating Lagos from the greater Yoruba federation than the Igbo. This is the fissure that immoderate politicians, notably Mr. Peter Obi successful caller times, are widening and playing into for selfish reasons. 

I marque this constituent astir immoderate Igbo people’s fixation connected Lagos not arsenic an indictment of the Igbo but arsenic a substance of humanities verity successful an effort to get to the basal of the contiguous occupation and proffering a lasting solution to it. Given however the Lagos State authorities has been harping connected the urgency of spot owners astatine the Trade Fa...