*As De Renaissance Patriots Foundation releases Fifth Statement
*Urges traditional rulers to ‘rally the troops, as silence no longer golden’
*’Our demand not expression of hate for non-indigenes’ – Natives
By BASHIR ADEFAKA
He said in the case of Nigeria, the issue of indigeneship was essentially put in the Nigerian Constitution to ensure that owners of the land (indigenous people) were not supplanted by non-indigenes by strength of population or for ‘owners of the land’ not lose their natural endowments as indigenes.
In a new release being the fifth by De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, a socio-cultural organisation established by some distinguished Nigerians of Lagos State extra to lead a better state for the indigenes, has taken its struggle now to the palaces with an appeal to the traditional rulers for them to do what they are required by the customs and traditions to do in defending and protecting the rights of their own indigenous people and ancestral land.
The group, which has made its intention known from its first media outing, wondered that non-indigenes from other South West Yoruba states who have occupied political power of Lagos State since return of democracy in 1999 have never pretended not to understand the importance of defending and protecting of their own respective home states but that some real owners and indigenes of Lagos State behave indifferent like all is well.
In their new release titled, “An Address To Our Traditional Rulers”, signed by Chairman Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Group, Professor Adele Jinadu; Alternative Chairman BOT, Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (Rtd); President, Prince Adelani Adeniji-Adele; and Secretary General, Mr. Yomi Tokosi, among others, released to the media on Thursday 4th April 2024, De Renaissance Patriots pointed attention of the traditional rulers to a task that must be done, not by way of choice but by self-conviction that it should be a must-do for everyone towards achieving success over the task.
The Group told the Lagos Obas that, “The Chairman (BOT) of De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, Prof Adele Jinadu, a Professor of Political Science, aptly described “GENOCIDE BY IMMIGRATION” as an attack on one’s HOMELAND {Homeland referencing a people’s native land}. He explained it as a systematic way that immigrants by commission or omission displaced the “OWNERS OF LAND”.
“He pointed out that in the USA where native Indians were routed from their homelands while settlers took over their lands by force and with every other conceivable means was a glaring example of genocide by immigration. He said in the case of Nigeria, the issue of indigeneship was essentially put in the Nigerian Constitution to ensure that owners of the land (indigenous people) were not supplanted by non-indigenes by strength of population or for ‘owners of the land’ not lose their natural endowments as indigenes.
“Such loss was in that term genocide. Prof. Adele Jinadu further opined that agitation for indigenes’ rights was justified to protect against “genocide by immigration” and that such agitations were not peculiar to LAGOS STATE alone. He therefore appealed for all indigenes to join hands and stop this untoward trend.
“It is therefore incumbent on us to draw the attention of our Traditional Rulers to specific issues affecting indigenes of your state. There will be no doubt that your loyalty may falter. You are not being asked to make a choice now as to who owns your loyalty as King. Is it the people who used political exigencies to influence your choice or those over whom you reign. Any mortal who assisted in that regard was truly a tool of ELEDUMARE. It is your birth right that you are King. Lets read more:
“Our Lord! make us not a trial for those who practise oppression” – Surah Yunus, HQ Chapter 10:85”, it said.
To help the monarchs see their demand that indigenous politicians must take charge of administration of Lagos not as expression of hate for non-indigenes but simply saying the obvious, the socio-cultural organisation urged them to take a look at a statement by former Governor of Osun State and current Minister of Blue Economy, Mr. Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola, to prove to them how the same non-indigenes from other South West Yoruba states occupying political powers in Lagos do not joke with where they come from, although they do not want owners of Lagos do the same.
The DEFENDER reports that the former Osun State governor, himself, had held vital positions of state including that of Chief of Staff to the Governor during the administration of Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos State before returning to his home state to become Chief of Staff to Governor Rauf Aregbesola and later governor and now minister on Osun State’s slot at the Federal level.
Oyetola made a public statement, which the De Renaissance Patriots Foundation wanted traditional rulers in Lagos State to see as a clarion call, for all Lagos indigenes including their business, political and traditional leaders to rise up and defend their land against unlawful occupation of its political power and displacement, by non-indigenes, of the owners of the state from their land.
It said, “Kabiyesi, the former Governor of Osun speaks our mind and it is apt to summarize the place of the indigenes in Lagos today. We watch as opportunities meant for the Nigerians of Lagos State origin were traded to other clans for political brinkmanship. We fold our arms when our slots originally meant for indigenes, by rights and by the Constitution, were taking from us at the Federal level. We watch when our royal fathers look the other way from this evil. We watch as Lagos State slipped off our hands in political appointments, from the Commissioners and Boards and it has also infiltrated into our Local Governments.
“It is not fair and it is criminal for non-indigenes to take the slots of Osun when it comes to distribution of positions”. (Former Governor Oyetola of Osun State),” the group quoted Oyetola as saying.
It will be recalled that this act described as democratic disorderliness, allegedly imposed on Lagos State and by which the state’s indigenous people have been marginalised and deprived from being able to govern themselves in line with provisions of the Constitution for the past 25 years, is further said to be evident in Solomon Abiola a.k.a. Omo Yayi.
Omo Yayi is currently representing his home state of Ogun as Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District at the Nigerian Senate Abuja, after having represented Lagos State as one of non-indigenes allegedly usurping the political and economic opportunities meant for the indigenous Lagosians, for many years now, as Senator representing Lagos West Senatorial District.
It was further gathered that no South West Yoruba person had come out to raise a point of order against the act that prominent Lagos indigenes have fought against as they describe it not only as undemocratic but also as a behaviour that is not recognised to the Constitution that gave Lagos State to Lagos indigenes like it gave other states of Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti to indigenes for those states for the purpose of bringing governance closer to them in their respective lands, which has not been so in Lagos state since return of the Fourth Republic.
Commenting on the experiences, De Renaissance Patriots Foundation said to the Obas that now is the time to rise up and stop the attitude he called ‘immigration by genocide’’.
“Lagos state can be greater than it is right now. The momentum ignited by our forefathers has been dampened and only someone with the strong passion, pedigree of an indigene, drive and deep knowledge can reignite the zeal. We crave for that time. We must STOP THE GENOCIDE BY IMMIGRATION now,” the eminent natives appealed.
