Ibile Eko Summit Group has heightened its demand of special status for Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, maintaining that this is long overdue.
The group, which said this in a press release sent to Platforms Africa, maintained that the late head of state, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed, had, in about ten days to his unfortunate assassination in 1976, envisaged the special status for the state.
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Here is the full statement signed by Prince Adelani Adeniji-Adele — Group’s Coordinator,
Dr Babatunde Odunuga — Group’s Secretary, and Dr Owoyemi Elegbeleye — Secretary, Communiqué Committee.
CALL FOR SPECIAL STATUS FOR LAGOS
PRESS RELEASE
In the aftermath of the first ever seminar of Ibile Eko Summit Group held at the Bamboo Hall of Eko Club Surulere Lagos on Saturday 30th day of October 2021 and in the light of the recent developments in our state and the country in general in 2022, the indigenous people of Lagos State, in all its five administrative divisions viz; Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos and Epe resolved as follows:
As indigenous Lagosians, we unequivocally ask for a special status for Lagos State. This is long overdue. As a matter of fact, Late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed, in about ten days to his unfortunate assassination in 1976, said “Lagos will in the foreseeable future remain the nation’s commercial capital as one of its nerve centers. But in terms of servicing the present infrastructure alone, the committed amount and efforts required will be such that Lagos state will not be able to cope. It will even be unfair to expect the state to bear this heavy burden on its own. It is therefore necessary for the Federal Government to continue to sustain the substantial investment in the area, this arrangement will be carefully worked out and written in the constitution.”
There shall be a position paper on this, to be forwarded to the National Assembly through our elected representatives in both the Lower and Upper Chambers.
We do not support any advocacy for secession under the umbrella of “Oduduwa
Republic”. In the event, that it becomes necessary to secede, we would ask for a “Stand alone Lagos” (Gedegbe l’Eko wa).
There should be unity of purpose among the indigenous people of Lagos State, and this requires orientations at various levels, on the needs for sound relationships and cohesion among indigenous Lagosians. Historically, Lagosians from all Divisions do share a single orientation considering that we have been bounded together through trade and intermarriages for over 300 years.
The indigenous people of Lagos call on the State Government to address the imbalance in our shared heritage as indigenes and put a stop to the dwindling opportunities available to the indigenes of the state at all levels.
There should be a cross-political platform to dialogue with the Lagos State Government on the development (infrastructure and otherwise) of Lagos on a continuous basis.
Infrastructural decadence in our dear State must be addressed as a matter of urgency.
There should be mass literacy among the indigenous people of Lagos. That is, indigenous Lagosians must be encouraged and motivated to get education (formal/schooling and informal/vocations). This should be able to address the concerns of all stakeholders across the IBILE divisions, build and empower the capacities of women and youths across the State and therefore, create an avenue for future development of our teeming young generations.
Indigenous Lagosians must be enlightened on the evil of criminalities and other social vices. This is to avoid, at all costs, the wrong notion that indigenous people of Lagos State are troublemakers.
Indigenous Lagosians must participate in politics by joining political parties of their choice and/or be involved in the electioneering processes to bring about the type of government they so desire.
Indigenous Lagosians must strive to help and lift their kinsmen from any part of Lagos State regardless of their divisions of birth.
There should be regular engagements with our Local Government chairmen on the need to:
Make governance reflect the needs and aspirations of the people.
Consider street naming to reflect our heritage, people, and cultural values.
There should be regular engagements with our Royal fathers on the need to help in preserving our heritage and cultural values. For instance, “certificate of indigenship” must never be misinterpreted to mean “certificate of citizenship or residency” and so the former should only be issued to the indigenous people of Lagos.
Indigenous Lagosians must shun indiscriminate sales of land; this, if regulated, would ensure demographic advantage for the indigenes.
There should be regular civic engagement and mentoring of indigenous youths in our various communities.
There should be a periodic event to celebrate outstanding indigenes and heroes of Ibile Eko extraction. This would link our past with the present to ensure a brighter future.
We hereby call on all existing Lagos indigenous organizations in Nigeria and in the diaspora, all interested groups and stakeholders to partner with us on this cause, with the main purpose of proffering solutions to the myriads of challenges in our dear State.
Signed:
Prince Adelani Adeniji-Adele — Group’s Coordinator
Dr Babatunde Odunuga — Group’s Secretary
Dr Owoyemi Elegbeleye — Secretary, Communiqué Committ
