By BASHIR ADEFAKA
The Lagos State socio-cultural organisation, De Renaissance Patriots, says its movement to lead a better Lagos for indigenes is a rebirth that better starts now than later.
It stated this in its second release jointly signed by its Protem Chairman, Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (Rtd); Secretary, Mr Yomi Tokosi; Coordinator, Prince Adelani Adeniji-Adele; along with its patrons: Professor Liasu Adele-Jinadu, Justice Shola Hunponu-Wusu (Rtd), Major General Leo Ajiborisha (Rtd) and Mr. Akin (Baba) Martins.
The group, while acknowledging the diligence of its forefathers who – it noted – had struggled throughout centuries to lay the foundation for the development and peace of its state and patrimony, vowed that it “is poised to ensure that that progressiveness in governance was not lost on the altar of sheer madness and crass opportunism which hurt the indigenes.”
By the second release, De Renaissance Patriots replied the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, over his recent remarks in which he claimed that Benin people founded Lagos.
The monarch, by implication, was wrong as, according to the group, it was not possible to found an existing community.
The Group said the controversies surrounding the debate of Lagos’ ownership at this crucial period in Nigeria’s history was needless as it sounds more like distraction and an attempt to denigrate the state as man’s land.
The General Tajudeen Olanrew-led De Renaissance urged indigenes of other South West states and other states in Nigeria to desist from seeing Lagos State as “spoils of war,” and sounded it clear to them that the nation’s economic nerve centre is not a no man’s land.
The Patriots urged Lagos’ indigenes to mobilise for the 2027 governorship election, saying when an indigene is elected to be in charge of the state’s affairs, the stories about who owns Lagos will be laid to rest.
According to them, they are aware of their history and do not need any individual from Bini or Ife to “knock our heads against one another.”
Read full text of De Renaissance Patriots’ statement below:
DE RENAISSANCE PATRIOTS DEBUT IN LAGOS STATE
SECOND RELEASE:
THE REBIRTH STARTS NOW
God had pleased our Lagos State to be prosperous and for our dear state to attain this enviable position in the comity of states in the Nation and beyond. We further acknowledge the diligence of our forefathers who had struggled throughout centuries and by dint of hard-work to lay the foundation for the development and peace of our dear state and patrimony.
De Renaissance Patriots as the name suggests is poised to ensure that that progressiveness in governance was not lost on the altar of sheer madness and crass opportunism which hurt the indigenes.
The recent uproar over the recent statement of the Oba of Bini is a distraction that is unneeded at this crucial time. It is in our view designed to further denigrate our dear state as no man’s land. We know by now, as we knew before, that it was not only fellow Nigerians from the South East that see us in that light. The controversy over the debate of the ownership of Lagos is a non-starter because we have lived together for over five hundred years and have recognized each other as OMO EKO PATAKI. Our brothers from the southwest are advised to take note and should therefore desist from seeing us their ‘spoils of war’
If settled towns like Oyo Titun (Oyo Atiba), Egbaland, Igboho or even Ibadan could see themselves as one by their identity as being ‘sons and daughters of soil’, why should we be deprived of our joys as an empire, a state and as a people that our forefathers traversed to greater heights about five hundred (500) years ago.
In our last publication, we traced the trajectory of our various communities {IBILE} from towns to city states right into being a colony and its eventual codification into Lagos State in 1967. We believe that this should be enough for people who wish us well to acknowledge our ethnogenesis (the formation and development of an ethnic group that we have uniquely called IBILE EKO) and also recognize that LAGOS STATE is our LAND, not an appendage of any assumed suzerainty from any quarter which may include IFE, OYO OR BINI.
In an earlier publication, we have stated our mission in clear and unambiguous terms and that is to stop the continued slide of our people into insignificance and obscurity on our soil. We chose as our main objective to ensure that an indigene with the love of the people, our values and our passion for greater heights must emerge as the next GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE. An indigene in this regard is one from any of our five divisions of Lagos State.
We believe that when an indigene is in place, all these sad and irrelevant stories about who owns or does not own Lagos will be laid to rest to better things to improve the lives of ourselves. We know our histories and our paths to know that together we stand, disunited we fall. We do not need outsiders from Bini or Ife or any other places to knock our heads against one and other.
Our strategy is simple and it can be discerned through the name we chose for this group. Two words (RENAISSANCE AND PATRIOTS) have been combined to give muscles to our movement and our thinking. An obvious meaning of Renaissance is rebirth. A rebirth of glories and values. A deep inclination to a Lagos society of those days that worked for both the indigenes and the residents. While a Patriot is someone prepared to vigorously support and defend every interest and values of OMO IBILE EKO.
We have come to further realization that:
a) The Lagos State’s political, economic, social, and administrative systems have become mired in betrayal by some of our elites and by those also in denial of the indigenous constitutional and economic rights. We pointed this out in our first stage release recently where we gave the pre- colonial history, related historical interest and up to the final creation of Lagos state in 1967, and there were other factors filial to the struggle for the creation of the state that were also highlighted.
b) An appeal was necessary to many of our traditional leaders, market leaders, educational elites, authors, great politicians, and very important personalities of Lagos origin to stop the bleed for the sake of prosperity. Historical revisionists and hustlers from within including usurpers will be viewed in bad light and unfavorably.
c) With the exception of the Raji Babatunde Fashola Administration, the Lagos State indigenes have been deliberately schemed out of participatory governance in the state. The source of our legitimacy of our claim is that there is no state in Nigerian space that has a non indigene as its Executive and Legislative authorities except in Lagos State.
d) The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recognizes the right of the indigenes and rightfully introduced it into the Constitution. The Constitution does not however allow a person to be an indigene of two states. The current Executive Governor cannot be an exception, He cannot be an exception and we regard whatever claim he is making as an indigene of the state as in bad taste and very open to conflict of interest. His interest and passion for our dear state is therefore very suspect.
e) The marginalization confronting us in Lagos State has no political boundaries. It extends from political to our traditional and cultural identities.
We will redefine Lagos State as what it used to be and what ordinarily a progressive society should be like. Ours is to stop the profligacy in government approach to public spending Accountability in every sphere of the way will be entrenched because the pedigree of whom we will give our support will be known and appreciated.
OMO ONILU KONI FE KILU BABA E BAJE. We will put a stop to the transactional attitude of some of the people in government today. LAGOS STATE MUST WORK FOR THE INDIGENES TOO.
As an observation, it is pertinent to highlight some of the paradoxes in governance of the state today. Lagos State is:
I. 6th largest economy in Africa
II. IGR for three years referenced are i) 2022 reported to be N651 billion; ii) 2021 reported to be N753 billion; iii) 2020 reported to be N660 billion, and iv) 2019 reported to be N646.6 billion.
III. 2023 budget is N1.758 trillion – The biggest so far in history.
IV. The richest state in Nigeria and the highest debtor state in Nigeria.
V. Social development: Extreme riches and Extreme poverty.
VI. The city of aquatic splendour and 6th least livable city in the world after war-torn Damascus.
VII. Comatose Medical care, Environment, Education (Note: Schools etc).
VIII. The first state to have pipe-borne water in Nigeria and now a state that practically cannot provide adequate sources of drinkable pipe-born water to its people despite the humongous amount of money borrowed and spent.
IX. Entrenched Violence/Insecurity, mainly due to lack of positive mentorship and deliberate misrepresentation of our values.
X. Infrastructure (Note: Hospitals, Sewage, Waste management).
These paradoxes are unfortunate and should not be reflected in a decent society of normal human beings. We are so traumatized that we think an intervention is a necessity. An intervention spearheaded by an indigene at the helm of affairs.
In conclusion, we seek support, understanding, need from indigenes as well as residents to effect a better Lagos. THE REBIRTH STARTS NOW.
Protem Chairman: Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (Rtd)
Protem Secretary: Yomi Tokosi
Coordinator: Prince Adelani Adeniji-Adele
Patrons: Professor Liasu Adele-Jinadu, Justice Shola Hunponu-Wusu (Rtd), Major General Leo Ajiborisha (Rtd) and Mr. Akin (Baba) Martins
