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| Indeed! Oba Akiolu hates Igbo-speaking Biafrans - Deacon who knows him declares. Reveals his anti Igbo stance in his police days |
A church deacon and expert on police affairs who knows incumbent Oba of Lagos, Alhaji Rilwan Akiolu, very well has come out to expose him as an Igbo hater. Oba Akiolu has been in the eye of the storm since he told visiting Igbo chiefs in his palace over the weekend that any Igbo who does not vote his preferred candidate during this Saturday’s governorship election in the state would die in the Lagos Lagoon within seven days.
Writing on his Facebook wall yesterday, Deacon Ben Okezie, a veteran journalist who made his name as an expert on police affairs, said:
“I can speak authoritatively about the antecedent of the Akiolu Rilwan, the retired Assistant Inspector General of Police. Simply, he is an Igbo hater. When he was posted to the Police College, Ikeja, as the Commandant, he ensured that the Igbo Deputy Commissioner was posted out for another Yoruba officer. Whenever cases affecting Igbos are brought to him, he ensures they don’t get justice. He was more involved in land cases. He exhibited his total disdain for the Igbos when Donald Iroham, who was then the Commissioner of Police in Imo, was posted to Lagos Command. Akiolu’s venom and rage resonated at the Force Headquarters. He told the IGP then, ‘You cannot post an Ibo officer to Lagos while I am the Oba.’
“That we allowed the sleeping dog to lie does not mean Igbos are stupid. The police, I suppose, is a federal institution. Today, he has exhibited it again. Igbos should enjoy full liberty in Lagos. I once interviewed the past Oba of Lagos in Eko Concord and he said any Igboman who lived in Lagos and pays his tax for ten years should be regarded as a Lagosian. I don’t think Akiolu subscribes to such opinion.”
Meanwhile, a coalition of Igbo Organisations in Lagos (CIO) and the Traditional Council of Eze Ndi Igbo in the state, yesterday, said the Oba of Lagos, HRM, Oba Rilwanu Akiolu II, should be held responsible if any harm befalls the Igbo now, during and after Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections.
According to them, the Monarch’s comments, on Sunday, that the Igbo would perish in Lagos Lagoon within seven days if they did not vote Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate and his anointed standard bearer are threats of well-orchestrated genocide against Igbo not only in Lagos but also in all parts of the country.
The CIO, at a meeting held at National Stadium, Lagos, addressed by Prince Andy Moore Ezejioha (Ndigbo Equity and Justice Initiative), Prince Solomon Ify Ominyi (Igbo Justice Congress) and Chief Amobi Moghalu among others said the Oba’s statement ‘’is clearly a threat to life and security of Igbo living in Lagos in this election season and afterwards… it is an incursion on the right of Igbo to freely vote for the candidate of their choice in the election and is not only meant to give Ambode undue advantage but also to cow Igbo into political slavery.
"This is where the CIO is concerned. We henceforth call on Igbo to come out en mass to prove the royal father wrong by voting for the candidate of their choice. While we call on the Police and other security agencies to fortify all polling booths in Lagos to ensure that voters are not molested or intimidated, we further state that we shall hold His Royal Majesty, Oba Rilwanu Akiolu responsible if harm befalls any Igbo person in any circumstances in this 2015 election season and beyond."
Also, the Traditional Council of Eze Ndi Igbo in Lagos, in a statement by Eze Dr Anthony Elui (Chairman) and Chief John Uche (Igbo Leaders delegate) viewed the Oba’s threat ‘’with every iota of seriousness, as well conceived, with adequate modalities in place for achieving same and perfected by the monarch, as such statement was made out of the abundance of the heart as against being proverbial as subsequent interveners will want to paint it.
"It is a clandestine and calculated attempt to wipe out the Igbo indigenes in Lagos and in Nigeria as a whole. It is totally unacceptable and more instigating having emanated from a first class and supposedly respectable first class monarch.
"We call on the monarch to retract the said statement forthwith and tender an unreserved apology to the Igbo in Lagos. The monarch should also assure the Igbo in Lagos as to the safety of their lives and properties. It is only by doing these things that we the Council of Eze Ndi Igbo of Lagos State will be assured that our people are safe. Otherwise, we shall be forced to seek appropriate legal protection locally and internationally for our people in Lagos.’’
According to them, the Monarch’s comments, on Sunday, that the Igbo would perish in Lagos Lagoon within seven days if they did not vote Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate and his anointed standard bearer are threats of well-orchestrated genocide against Igbo not only in Lagos but also in all parts of the country.
The CIO, at a meeting held at National Stadium, Lagos, addressed by Prince Andy Moore Ezejioha (Ndigbo Equity and Justice Initiative), Prince Solomon Ify Ominyi (Igbo Justice Congress) and Chief Amobi Moghalu among others said the Oba’s statement ‘’is clearly a threat to life and security of Igbo living in Lagos in this election season and afterwards… it is an incursion on the right of Igbo to freely vote for the candidate of their choice in the election and is not only meant to give Ambode undue advantage but also to cow Igbo into political slavery.
"This is where the CIO is concerned. We henceforth call on Igbo to come out en mass to prove the royal father wrong by voting for the candidate of their choice. While we call on the Police and other security agencies to fortify all polling booths in Lagos to ensure that voters are not molested or intimidated, we further state that we shall hold His Royal Majesty, Oba Rilwanu Akiolu responsible if harm befalls any Igbo person in any circumstances in this 2015 election season and beyond."
Also, the Traditional Council of Eze Ndi Igbo in Lagos, in a statement by Eze Dr Anthony Elui (Chairman) and Chief John Uche (Igbo Leaders delegate) viewed the Oba’s threat ‘’with every iota of seriousness, as well conceived, with adequate modalities in place for achieving same and perfected by the monarch, as such statement was made out of the abundance of the heart as against being proverbial as subsequent interveners will want to paint it.
"It is a clandestine and calculated attempt to wipe out the Igbo indigenes in Lagos and in Nigeria as a whole. It is totally unacceptable and more instigating having emanated from a first class and supposedly respectable first class monarch.
"We call on the monarch to retract the said statement forthwith and tender an unreserved apology to the Igbo in Lagos. The monarch should also assure the Igbo in Lagos as to the safety of their lives and properties. It is only by doing these things that we the Council of Eze Ndi Igbo of Lagos State will be assured that our people are safe. Otherwise, we shall be forced to seek appropriate legal protection locally and internationally for our people in Lagos.’’
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