JAGISTS

The South East Presidential campaign spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Josef Onoh has pleaded with the Igbos residing in Lagos State to vote for a second term mandate of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on the March 11 Gubernatorial election in the state.

Onoh said that Sanwo-Olu has shown affection and support for the Igbos in Lagos in the past four years and therefore deserves reciprocation from well-meaning Igbos who are good tenants and have over the years shown fidelity in project Lagos State.

“I recall how he helped former Super Eagles captain, Henry Nwosu, who was at the point of death and couldn’t get any assistance even from our Igbo brothers, Sanwo-Olu took over Nwosu’s treatment just three hours after being notified, flew him from a hospital in Asaba to LUTH Lagos and went further to build a house for him,” Onoh recalled.

He pointed out that during Nwosu’s ordeal, no single South East Governor came to his aid, revealing that when he was betrayed and lost his governorship primaries in Enugu State, no single Igbo brother came to offer words of encouragement, but he got his greatest support, brotherly love and encouragement from Yoruba friends and Royal fathers who he said have remained supportive, encouraging and true till this day.

He gave appreciation to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for offering him the opportunity to give the best of himself, stating that in life, little things matter.

Onoh asked Ndigbo in Lagos to disregard the misleading statements made by a faction of Ohanaeze Ndigbo against the Governor and the Oba of Lagos, noting that his late father, HE Chief C.C Onoh, was one of the major founding fathers of Ohaneze Ndigbo which he remarked is today more political than a socio-cultural organization subjected to divisiveness.

“Lagosians and the Yorubas have been immensely kind to the Igbos. Many famous streets are named after our sons and daughters in lagos but we cannot find as many streets named after a Yoruba man in the south east.

They have given us a sense of belonging and accommodated our excesses even when we make proclamation that irritates the Yoruba that Lagos is no man’s land, which comes for the most part from my Igbo brothers and sisters, yet In all of these conglomeration of ethnic groups, it is ultimately true that Lagos still remains the centre of cultural melting point where there is high level of ethnic tolerance and great opportunities for the Igbos.”

Onoh stated that irrespective of whatever position one has taken, there are some facts that are sacrosanct and should be linearly preserved.

“It is obvious and clear that we the Igbos don’t own lagos, no matter the extent of investment and wealth we may individually acquire to buy their land and properties. If truly it is no man’s land, how come there is no land in the entire lagos that belongs to us that we don’t pay ground rent to the customary owners?.

“Ownership of Lagos issue was settled in 1920 when Chief Amodu Tijani, the Oluwa of Lagos took the British Colonialists to the Privy Council in London. Hence, today, there is no contest on who the landlord is on the land in Lagos( not Lagos State).

The legitimate ownership of Lagos land is vested in the Idejo who are the offspring of Ogunfunminire and not the Bini. Anyone who cares, can read the landmark judgement delivered at the Privy Council in London in 1921 and no Igbo man was plaintiff or defendant.”

He noted that the Yorubas could have their faults, still, they have remained Igbo partners in progress even before Nigeria’s independence and supported well-meaning Igbos in most of their political journeys. In 1959 same Yorubas supported my late father to become the first black chairman of the Nigeria coal cooperation with the support of Pa Anthony Enahoro despite Nnamdi Azikwe’s resistance. Till his death, he shared a rare brotherly bond with