Gboyega Akinsanmi with agency report
Igbos living in Lagos were told on Sunday to vote for the
governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress
(APC), Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, or else they will die in the
lagoon.
A visibly angry Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, in an
unconcealed threat, stated that he was not ready to beg the
Igbos, but if they repeated what they did on March 28 when
they voted for the presidential candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), President Goodluck Jonathan, then
they should be ready for the consequences.
The governorship elections are scheduled to hold on
Saturday, and it is believed that Igbo residents in Lagos will
vote for the PDP candidate, Jimi Agbaje, just like they did
during the presidential and National Assembly elections that
led to the victory of PDP candidates of Igbo origin and from
Delta State in three federal constituencies in Lagos.
The victory of the non-indigenes of Lagos, THISDAY gathered,
has not gone down well with the Lagos chapter of the APC.
Speaking at a meeting with Igbo leaders in the state,
according to an online news medium, Freedom Online, the
first class monarch, who failed to recognise the
cosmopolitan nature of Lagos, said: "On Saturday, if anyone
of you goes against Ambode who I picked, that is your end.
If it doesn't happen within seven days, just know that I am a
bastard and it is not my father who gave birth to me.
"Jonathan is my son and I speak to him everyday. By the
grace of God, I am the owner of Lagos for the time being.
This is an undivided chair. The palace belongs to the dead
and those coming in the future.
"On Saturday, if anyone of you, I swear in the name of God,
goes against my wish that Ambode will be the next governor
of Lagos State, the person is going to die inside this water.
"I'm not ready to beg you. Nobody knew how I picked
Ambode. Jimi (Agbaje) is my blood relation and I told him
that he cannot be governor in Lagos for now. The future
belongs to God. I am not begging anybody, but what you
people cannot do in Onitsha, Aba or anywhere, don't do it
here.
"If you do what I want, Lagos will continue to be prosperous
for you. If you go against my wish, you will perish in the
water."
The monarch said anybody against Ambode did not wish the
state well, adding, "I am for the progress, growth and
development of Lagos. Ambode is highly cerebral, he's a
symbol and he is going to deliver the message which I, the
Oba of Lagos, have said. And he will govern the state for
another eight years.
"He is going on a mission and God will give him the wisdom
and knowledge to fulfill that mission. Almost a year ago, I
declared that Ambode will be the next governor of Lagos
and it will not change.
"From time immemorial, the previous occupiers of this
house will say what they wanted after consultations with
other people. And this hasn't changed and it will not change
at this time," he said.
In a veiled reference to one of Jonathan's predecessors,
Akiolu stated that the crisis Nigeria was facing was not
caused by the Jonathan administration but by another
person he refused to name.
Continuing with his tirade, he said: "If not for the appeal
from Asiwaju (Bola Tinubu) and my highly respected
maternal father, the Awujale of Ijebu-Ode, all what is
happening today is not the cause of the present
government. The man who caused everything knows
himself."
In his response, the Eze-Ndigbo of Amuwo-Oriade, Dr.
Gordian Dimojiaku, promised Akiolu that the Igbos in the
state would support Ambode.
"The mistake of last Saturday was caused by everybody, not
only the Igbos. It is not only the Igbos that were responsible
for the votes. But we have learnt our lesson. Saturday's
election is going to be a different thing and Ambode is going
to win.
"Everybody knows that when you fail the first time, you
cannot afford to fail again. We are going to tell our people
that Ezes from the 20 local governments and 37 local council
development areas are here and that we have sworn with
the Oba that we are going to make sure that Ambode wins
next Saturday's election," he said.
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