A former governorship candidate in Lagos State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, also known as Jandor, has urged the Igbo living in the state to disabuse their minds of the perception that the Yoruba in Lagos hate them and, therefore, should not see their hosts as enemies.
Jandor, who addressed Igbo leaders and members of Team Jandor from the South-East resident in the state at the Liberty House, Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, on Tuesday, gave the assurance, urging the Igbo living in the state to forget the past and discard such perceptions.
While giving the assurance, Jandor asserted that Lagos State had been hospitable to all, adding: ‘What you cannot get in many other states, we freely give you here.’
He said: ‘I want to let you know that the people and government of Lagos State don’t hate you. Forget what happened at the opposing camp then.
‘Let me first remind you of how hospitable we have been in this state. What you cannot get in many other states, we freely give you here.
‘We sell our lands to you, which shows how hospitable we are. Lagos is the first state that accommodated non-indigenes in the state cabinet.
‘We are all living witnesses to it. You might have issues with the then governor, now President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; it doesn’t change the fact that he is a nice man.
‘Other states have started copying him. Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has Yoruba people in his cabinet, just like Imo State. It started from here,’ he said.
The former governorship candidate, who is also the Lead Visioner of Lagos4Lagos, urged the audience not to listen to politicians who, he said, were instigating the belief that the Yoruba don’t like them, stressing that if the state government didn’t like them, they would not sell land to them.
Jandor, who hails from Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State, said the majority of people doing business there are Igbo, pointing out that they were making money because the Yoruba sold land to them and allowed them to live and work there.
‘If we have issues because a few of you have gone to the wrong side of the law and the government takes action, people should not think it is about the Igbo.
‘The demolition going on in Lagos is not targeted at the Igbo. The office of the Oba of Lagos was demolished because it was built under power lines, yet he is a Yoruba man.
‘We may have people in government who are overbearing, but the law is the law. If Yoruba people in other states go on the wrong side of the law, it would not stop the government from taking action. We should use whatever is happening at this moment to our own advantage.
‘It was not the entire Trade Fair that was demolished – only a few structures that went on the wrong side of the law were affected.
‘We want to appeal that we should know that the government and the people of Lagos State don’t hate you. It is only here that we have made someone who is not from Lagos a local government chairman.
‘Don’t see us as enemies. If we hate you, we would not admit your children into our primary and secondary schools or allow you to work as teachers or civil servants in our state,’ he said.
Jandor, however, said that some of the issues bothering Igbo people living in the state were sensitive and promised that an avenue for dialogue would be created.
He also promised to visit all the places affected by recent demolitions to explain where wrongdoings occurred and to present his observations to the state government.
He said the parley was not about politics but about ensuring that the APC continued to win in Lagos State after the 2027 general elections, irrespective of who was on the ballot.
While promising to take the lead and finance the process, he urged them not to allow outsiders to destabilise the state.
Responding, a leader of the group, Chief (Dr) Sunday Udeh, who said he had been with the progressives since the days of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) through to the APC, said the body of the Igbo-speaking community in Lagos State was not partisan.
Udeh said they knew where they were going and could never fight the government or the party in power, assuring that the Igbo were ready to work and were already working.
He said the Igbo and Yoruba had been working together and should continue to do so.
‘Igbo are ready to work and they are working. I want to appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning under him, as Lagos State governor, was an Igbo man.
‘Igbo and Yoruba have been working together. In Igbo-speaking communities during the time of the late Lateef Jakande and Sir Michael Otedola as governors, we worked together.
‘Igbo and Yoruba work together and there is nothing that should stop that. Your message will go round because we have our leaders here,’ Udeh said.
‘After the 2023 general elections, those of us on the field understood what was happening. It was as if there was a demarcation between the Igbo and Yoruba. It is not hatred, but the election created that demarcation. We know that demolition happens everywhere once a structure is in the wrong place.
‘We, however, believe that it got worse after the 2023 general elections.
‘We used to have an Igbo man in the State House of Assembly; we had a Special Adviser to the Governor and an Igbo commissioner, but after the 2023 general elections, we don’t have anyone. We want you to help us pass our message to them,’ he added.
Also speaking, HRH Eze Dr Okey Anorue, Eze Ndigbo Igbogbo/Baiyeku LGA, and the Babaloja of Tejuosho Market, told Jandor that the remaining peace would start from him, urging him to protect them and propagate the ideals of peaceful coexistence in the state.
Dr Anorue prayed that God would help Jandor accomplish his dreams during his political journey, promising to work for his success.