Anya-Ndi-Igbo called on the Igbo people living in Lagos and who are registered to vote in Lagos not to be intimidated by the threats of violence.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Anya-Ndi-Igbo has condemned the threats against the Igbo people living in Lagos from the All Progressives Congress over the governorship election in the state scheduled for March 18.
The Lagos chapter of the group said in a statement issued on Monday that the Igbo have no favourite candidate at the poll and it does not see the need for them to be threatened over their choice of whom to vote for.
It quoted the late former governor of the state, Lafeef Jakande, who said that a party that has spent one term of four years in office does not need to campaign for votes as its work for the people would speak for themselves.
Anya-Ndi-Igbo knocked the Lagos APC for resorting to thuggery, violence, intimidation, and voter suppression to remain in power despite controlling state resources for over two decades.
The group said, “The recent happenings in Lagos since the political activities leading up to the elections came to a crescendo have been alarming to us all who are referred to as non-indigenes especially those of us that are of Igbo stock.
“Our kit-and-kin have been singled out and targeted for verbal abuses, intimidation, virulent propaganda, deliberate misrepresentation to Lagosians as everything EVIL, ferocious violent attacks, deliberate destruction of means of livelihood, arson and murder. The social and frontline media are awash with stories of attacks on the Igbo and also with gory pictures and video clips of incidents. The governments at all levels, federal, state and local, have been made fully aware. They have chosen to do nothing. We have not found any protection from the state or any of its agencies. They have rather looked the other way whilst these atrocities happened and to our mind, with acquiescence or silent approval.
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“Some of our Royal fathers at the grassroots level, the Baales, have been recorded to have invited Igbo people domiciled in their communities to meetings, and threatened them with the destruction of their lives and their means of livelihood should they fail to vote for the APC. Thugs have boldly used video clips circulated on social media handles to issue death threats to Igbos if they dare vote for any party that is not the APC. Igbos are commanded to vote for the APC, take pictures of their ballots as they cast them, and preserve those pictures as evidence that they voted for the APC as a condition that will guarantee their continued peaceful existence in the communities in the post-election period. These threats have gone viral on social media, the culprits’ faces are shown on video clips and the government keeps mum.
“A few markets built and operated by traders of Igbo descent have been set on fire in Lagos, the latest being the motor spare parts market in the slums of Ajegunle where at least one person was murdered. A similar event took place in the Isolo/Ikotun area of Lagos where the selective destruction of shops and merchandise owned by Igbo traders was said to have been supervised by the very respected Royal father of the community, the Baale. These, two incidents, are in the public domain and we have heard of no action from the State and local government.
“We are aware that all these steps are being taken by the Lagos State APC to suppress the votes of any competing party in the elections. They erroneously believe it is the Igbos that will not vote for the APC. We do not want to convince them otherwise but we will like to state one fact. His Excellency, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, of blessed memory, said and we quote: ‘any party that has been in government for one term of four years does not need to campaign for votes. It is the visible work it has done for the people that should constitute its campaign.’ Why then would a party that has been in government and in power for 24 years rely solely on intimidation, thuggery, murder and all sorts of criminality to win an election and single out the Igbo for victimization?
“We wish to state for the umpteenth time. The Igbo ethnic group is not a political party. It is not contesting this election. It has never contested any election in the past. It will never contest any election in the future. The Igbo, as a distinct ethnic group, has no preferred candidate in the governorship election in Lagos state. Igbo people are members of numerous political parties including the APC on their individual choices and are supporting their party’s candidates. No Igbo man is contesting the election for the office of governor. We have no dog in this fight. We should not be made the victim. The Igbos and Yorubas have lived happily together in love and mutual understanding and respect.”
Anya-Ndi-Igbo warned that the politicians of the Lagos State APC should desist from pitching Yoruba against Igbo “with vicious falsehoods dished out from their propaganda machinery just so that the APC can win the gubernatorial election.”
It added, “After that, what next? The seed of distrust, mutual suspicion and hatred must have been sown. How does it get taken care of? How does society move on from there?
“We believe that the APC can win this and any other election without shedding Igbo blood or any other blood for that matter. The party surely has other legitimate ways to win its election in a fair competition in accordance with the law. Sometimes we wonder if the APC realizes that they have a very significant Igbo population with them as members and followers in this same Lagos State.
“Igbos are Nigerians. The law of the land permits the Igbo man to live in any part of the country he chooses and pursue a legitimate livelihood. The law of the land permits and guarantees him freedom of association, freedom to belong to any political party or none at all, and freedom to vote for any party of his choice. We reject in totality, the attempt of the APC in Lagos state to deny the Igbo these rights.
“We consider all that has happened in the past few weeks and are likely to happen going forward, a blatant violation of the constitutional rights of Igbo people living in Lagos – their rights to life, their rights to lawful association, their right to vote, their right to self-identity, their rights to engage in lawful economic activities and their rights to hold opinions and express them. We wish to remind the Governor of Lagos state that the Igbos living in Lagos state are his subjects. He has the duty as the Chief Security Officer of Lagos state to provide them security for their lives and their livelihood. We call on him to step up to this responsibility.”
Anya-Ndi-Igbo called on all Igbo people living in Lagos and who are registered to vote in Lagos not to be intimidated by the threats of violence against them as watertight arrangements have been concluded at very high levels to secure voters during and after the elections.
The statement was signed by the Chairman, Board of Trustees of Anya-Ndi-Igbo, Uma Eleazu; former Deputy President General, Group Ndigbo, Lagos, Emeka Ugwu-Oju; and Onyechi Ben Akah of Unite Nigeria.
