Groups Decry Attempts By Igbos To Disparage Yoruba

The Oodua Descendant Union, has decried the calculated attempt by some Igbo groups to disparage and insult the Yoruba, over the publication of an article by former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode.

The group in a statement titled, ‘Call Your People To Order’ signed by its Coordinator, Comrade Adeyemi Aboderin, and made available to P.M NEWS, stated that the attacks on the former Minister of Aviation are mere smokescreen, adding that the main target are the Yorubas.


“These campaigns have become loud since the publication. These attacks have continued unabated despite his explanations that his comments have been greatly been misunderstood, and that his intentions were not to ridicule or malign the Igbo, the attacks have continued.

“Some Igbo groups have not stopped at attacking him alone, but have gone ahead to issue threats against his wife and children. The Oodua Descendant Union has taken to time to study these attacks and others like it in the recent pasts, and have concluded that the attacks on Fani-kayode are mere smokescreen.

“The Yoruba has a saying that when a child threatens to slap you, the child is not acting alone. He has the backing of an adult who is acting behind the curtains. It is in this light that we view this latest attack as a calculated attempt by some Igbo groups to disparage and insult the Yoruba, with a more sinister move to follow,” he stated.

He noted that the said comments by Fani-Kayode, which many of the groups are referring to, was in response to an earlier statement credited to former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, who had described Lagos as a ‘no man’s land’.

He faulted Kalu had stopped at that, but went on to add that 55% of the total revenue generated in Lagos State belongs to the Igbo.

He stated that the most brazen of the attacks and insult was a media story credited to the Ohaneze in the Daily Sun newspaper, edition of Tuesday August 6, 2013.

He faulted the Ohaneze who threw caution to the wind when it stated that: “The Igbo are key stakeholders in the affairs of the state (Lagos). That they constitute over 46% of the population of the state and that it is the Igbo that are making Lagos thick.

“This unguarded and uncouth statement by a group as the Ohaneze, is without doubt a call to war. How would these people have viewed it if the same remark about Enugu, Onitsha or Aba has been made by a Yoruba group?

“We are sure that songs of war would have been loud on the streets of Enugu and other major towns in the East. But be that as it may, the Oodua Descendant Union, both home and in the Diaspora, wish to, as a matter of huge importance make this loud to our Igbo brothers, that much as we are accommodating and willing to live side-by-side with any human race in peace, the Yoruba will no longer tolerate the deliberate disparaging of our land by anybody, including the Igbo.

Another group, Oodua Solidarity Forum has also condemned the systemic and vitriolic attacks on formerMinister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, over his article, entitled ‘The bitter truth about the Igbo’.

In a statement signed by Olajide Julius, National Coordinator, Oodua Solidarity Forum, the group said despite Fani-Kayode’s explanations that his comments have been greatly been misunderstood, and that his intentions were not to ridicule or malign the Igbo, the attacks have continued. Some Igbo groups have not stopped at attacking him alone, but have gone ahead to issue threats against his wife and children.

“While many may see the attack as merely an attack on Fani-kayode, but those with discerning eyes will read between the lines and see that the attack is indeed an attack on the Yoruba race. You will recall that Fani-Kayode only responded to a national issue and comments made by some Igbos concerning the Yoruba race. It is funny how these people who have found it a game to attack Chief Fani-Kayode remained silent without uttering a single word when an Igbo man and leader, former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, found it convenient to describe Lagos as ‘no man’s land’ and that 55% of the revenue generated in the statebelong to the Igbos.

“It should also be noted that Fani-kayode made those comments as his personal opinion as a Nigerian. We ask, what was he expected to do when his father’s land is being disparaged by an Igbo man?
It is not only funny, but also ridiculous that Orji Kalu would refer to Lagos as a no man’s land. Perhaps he has forgotten so soon that shortly after the June 12 crisis broke out, and Lagos was on fire as a result of the activities of the military junta. No sooner had the crisis started that Kalu’s Igbo brothers packed their loads and headed back to their ‘homes’. It took the Yoruba, the ‘owners’ of Lagos to stand and fight to protect their land,” the group said.

According to the group, “it is also instructive to remind them that the Yoruba account for between 20% and 30% of buildings and businesses in Abuja.

But we had never for one day lose sight of the fact that Abuja belongs to the Gwari people, though it is the federal capital. The reason is very simple, the Yoruba is not in any way covetous, and so will never lay claim to whatever is not his.

“There is no gain repeating the fact the average Yoruba is very accommodating. It is for this simple reason that you will find an Igbo, Hausa or even a non-Nigerian with properties spread across Yoruba land without any problem. It is against this background that we view the comments credited to the Ohaneze in the Daily Sun publication of Tuesday August 6, 2013, as not only insult to the Yoruba, but also an affront.

“Perhaps we should ask our brothers one simple question: How many Yoruba have C-of-Os in Enugu, Aba or Onitsha? It is not because they not want to have it or because they are not as industrious as their Igbo counterparts. The truth is that the system there will never allow them to own such thing because they are viewed as ‘strangers’. Therefore, we would like to use this opportunity to warn them not to abuse our large hearts and accommodating spirit.”

PM NEWS