LETTER TO THE YORUBA TRIBAL BIGOTS OF NIGERIA

By Ismail Olumegbon

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am compelled to write this letter so that my silence does not imply approval. As a proud Lagosian and a member of the Olumegbon family of Lagos, I must dissociate myself from your actions during the 2023 Lagos elections, which resulted in pure evil and total carnage.

Ethnic profiling in the 21st century is unacceptable. By watching MC Oluomo and his goons declare war on fellow Nigerians, and turning a blind eye, you have taken Lagos back to the pre-colonial era. This is shameful and retrogressive.

It is shameful that you celebrate Obama, who is of Kenyan origin, becoming the President of the biggest democracy in the world, yet cannot stand your fellow countrymen with whom you share the same green passport. This demonstrates how backward and uncivilized you are.

It is worth noting that Lagos is a product of Nigeria, and different tribes have contributed to its development. From Tafawa Balewa, an Hausa man who discovered Victoria Island, to Babangida who completed the Third Mainland Bridge, the longest bridge in Africa till 1996. Lagos was the capital of Nigeria for 77 years and embodied its diversity, which you have destroyed in your pursuit of enthralling your oppressors.

Former governors of Lagos state, such as Ndubuisi Kanu, EbituUkiwe, and Mike Akhigbe, were not Yoruba and did not ‘Igbo-nize’ Lagos, even with military power. Your mentor brought people, such as James Faleke (Kogi), who lost his bid to become the governor of Kogi state, but represents Ikeja constituency in the federal house of representatives, and he is not Yoruba. However, you did not scream blue murder.

The Lagos government is very boastful of its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), with most of these revenues coming from the so-called ‘Omo-Ibo’. You collect taxes from them, sell lands and houses to them, but say they cannot decide who governs them. This is wickedness.

You ask them to go to Anambra, but most of you are from Ogun, Oyo, Osun, etc. Indigenous Lagosians, such as myself, have not asked you to return to your respective states. You have become governors, deputy governors, senators, etc. in my state of Lagos, and we have not demanded that you return to your respective states. Your actions have set our Lagos back.

At the end of the day, it is you, the tribal bigots, who suffer the most from bad governance. The average ‘Igbo’ man is successful in Lagos, whether educated or uneducated. Now that your oppressors occupy both federal and Lagos state, let us wait and watch how your lives will change. I don’t want to hear that you are planning to “japa”. That will be hypocritical. Let us see as they turn Lagos into London. After all, there will be no Fulani or Niger Delta man to shift the blame to.

I rest my case.

Sincerely,

Ismail Olumegbon