Why Obi Won In Lagos
Kunle Awosiyan
Most adults and students of history still have vivid memory of Lagos politics before Nigeria’s Independence.
Lagos represented the centre of national politics because of its cosmopolitan nature. It will remains so as democracy continues to develop and grow in Nigeria.
The first political party, the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon, NCNC that would later metamorphose to the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens was formed in Lagos and chaired by a Yoruba man, Herbert Macaulay and a Secretary Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo man.
This political party was formed in 1944 before the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates by the colonial government.
However, in 1951 through John MacPherson constitution, a regional government came into being that enabled people to form more political parties for a kind of semi-responsible government.
Chief Obafemi Awolowo who had earlier formed a cultural group, Egbe Omo Oduduwa, alongside some Yoruba men quickly transformed the association into a political party, Action Group, to challenge the dominance of the NCNC in Lagos.
As a matter of fact and as it is happening now, the core of NCNC were trade unions, just like Labour Party of today. It associated with many trade groups, most of whom were Igbos but refused to associate with Egbe Omo Oduduwa on the ground that it was an ethnic group.
After the death of Macaulay, the direct leadership of NCNC fell on Azikiwe who would then use the platform to contest for the western region house of parliament but met a strong opposition in Awolowo.
The Awolowo Action Group won the majority to the house of parliament to become the premier of the western region against Azikiwe. The defeat, in later years forced Azikiwe to the Eastern region but the vengeance never left Lagos.
The idea that Lagos is “No man’s land” was a consequence of the political intrigues pre-independence , which of course the political players of that period, especially the Yorubas vehemently kicked against and was tagged as tribal moves by the Igbo and some other ethnic groups who lived and traded in Lagos.
History has created suspicions in the minds of the present and various ethnic groups because of the utterances and moves of the past political elite. The ethnic hostility was due to NCNC’s refusal to associate with Egbe Omo Oduduwa, it was not because Yoruba hated Igbo or vice versa, even though there is a kind of rivalry.
The fact that Lagos is situated in the southwest geopolitical zone and in spite of the country’s federal system of government, the thinking about which tribe owns Lagos speaks louder than the system the country operates. Of course it is not contestable that Lagos is a Yorubaland and it is in southwest.
So it may feel like a big slap to a Yoruba youth who understands history or an adult who does not want the history to repeat itself that an Igbo man or any other ethnic group will win an election in Lagos since Awolowo stopped the idea years ago.
The February 25 presidential election won by the candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi against the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a reflection of the Cosmopolitan nature of Lagos, which of course shouldn’t be a big issue but it is for many Yoruba sons and daughters because of the history behind it.
It is like breaking a vow set by the political ancestors of the western leaders due to the mismanagement of the present crop of politicians in the southwest.
Of course the political calculations are becoming more advance and it requires complex formula to solve it, losing Lagos that is the fulcrum and pride of the southwest is more painful to an average Yoruba man than losing Osun State to a Fulani Man, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party.
It is the history that put the results of Obi winning Lagos on the front page of a newspaper and that of Osun as a story, tucked in the middle pages.
Obi’s victory has not come as a surprise going by the exodus of PDP faithfuls to Labour Party. Since Tinubu moves to Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to pursue his presidential ambition, Lagos has become susceptible to other political party who have been trying to dismantle the structure.
In 2019, APC defeated PDP with 130,000 votes unlike in the past when the margin was almost about 500,000 or more.
The bulk of PDP votes had always come from various ethnic groups in Lagos and now that they had migrated to labour, it is clear that APC will have a tougher time until it reforms its human structure.
What are the consequences of APC losing Lagos to LP in the presidential election? One; it will embolden any party to want to try its luck as far as Lagos election is concerned.
Two; it will recreate the mindset of “Lagos is no man’s land and of course triggers anger among the Yorubas who are the original owners of Lagos.
Three; landowners in Lagos will become cautious about selling lands to non-Yoruba, which of course may be backed by government policy in the future.
Four; other ethnic groups may register political party and sponsor their kinsmen to contest every elective position, including governorship and win.
The political direction in Lagos is still in the hands of the Yorubas at present even though there are many agitators from other ethnic groups, they cannot win without the support of a few Yorubas who are their friends and business associates.
It is must be noted that the Labour Party is not an Igbo political association but they own it because the party’s presidential candidate is an Igbo man, Peter Obi. That he won the presidential election in Lagos does not translate that LP will win the governorship election in the state and be controlled by an Igbo man. No.
The governorship candidate of LP in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour is Yoruba. If by chance he emerges the winner of the forthcoming election, he may be forced to defect to the APC that had won the largest local government areas, more senators and house of representatives members.
By Kunle Awosiyan
To be continued……
