My beloved Elder Tim Akano, your rejoinder to the article of Alhaji Femi Okunnu SAN, on the contemporary history of Lagos captioned: “LET LAGOS BE”, makes an interesting reading.
First, your paragraph 5 isn’t exactly correct.
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, would have no doubt, played a very significant role in the creation of Lagos State as the then deputy to General Yakubu Gowon, presumably for the sole benefit of the Yorubas in particular, like many other things he did between 1966 and 1974. General Yakubu Gowon is alive and may be disposed to giving us the benefits of hindsight.
The East was already in the secessionist mode based on the massacre of Igbos across the country then and confined to their home base in the East in 1966; and the North hardly had the requisite leverage safe for raw military impunity then, when the first set of States were created by military fiat in 1967.
No constitutional procedure was ever followed and there was no plebiscite precedent to the creation of States that fragmentised Nigeria by the military since 1967 when they started dividing Nigeria to suit their selfish interest.
It is a known fact that Western Region didn’t develope the seaports at Apapa and the Tincan Island including the Lagos Island, Victorial Island, Marina and Ikoyi among others with the skyscrapers therein; which were the main economic hubs of the colony of Lagos that latter became the Capital of the Federation.
The colonial masters started it and the oil money in particular from today’s Niger-Delta and the unqualified inputs of today’s South East among others were deployed to develope Lagos and Lagos State; just like the oil money from Niger-Delta has been and is still being utilised again for the development of FCT Abuja presently.
The core business activities were carried out at the Apapa axis and perfected on the Lagos/Victoria Islands axis while Ikoyi was essentially the residence of the overlords and Obalende the haven of servants to the overlords who lived in Ikoyi to which Maroko (today’s Lekki) later joined.
So, what is there in the real sense of it, for “an elder in Lagos” to be “amplifying the role played by the Western Region in transforming Lagos to a mega City”?
How did Western Region transform “Lagos to a mega City that it is today? How?!
Please, where was/is the Coca Cola company where you claimed to have worked sited and what role did Western Region play to establish Coca Cola there?
It is also incorrect to infer that “Without Awolowo’s unparalleled vision, Lagos would not have been too different from Calabar”. How?
No doubt, Chief Awolowo did marvelously well in the Western Region for the Yorubas in particular to the exclusion of other key components that make up what later became Mid-West Region; which was and remains the only constitutionally created Region of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to date.
Just like the post war £20 policy of the then “Federal Military Government of General Yakubu Gowon” that was championed by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, as the then Federal Commissioner of Finance and Vice Chairman of Gowon’s regime, against the Igbos irrespective of whatever the Igbos had in the Banks, the Mid-West Region benefited NOTHING from the assets of the Western Region when it was carved out constitutionally from the then Western Region.
Mid-West Region was literally thrown out of the Western Region naked and denied of any share of the assets of the Western Region by the lords of the West after Mid-West met the constitutional requirement August 09, 1963 to be made a Region, as the fourth Federating Unit of the Federal Republic of Nigeria! The rest is now history.
Yes, I concur that: “Today, Lagos has gone beyond Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa contributions. It is the melting pot of all ethnic groups worldwide (and for Nigerians in particular) just like New York and Jerusalem” (is first for their citizens in particular and others).
I also agree that Alhaji Lateef Jakande shares part of the credit substantially for creating the “enabling environment for business success” and real time development of Lagos State (NOT Lagos)! Same thing can not be said for Alhaji Ahmed Bola Tinubu as you will want us to believe!
Alhaji Lateef Jakande’s real time contributions to the development of Lagos State are still evident today. Please, show us the ones of Alhaji Ahmed Bola Tinubu!
In fact, your comparing Alhaji Jakande’s giant strides in Lagos State with that of Alhaji Tinubu is like comparing light with darkness!
All other things you stated in your “Lagos Strength Today” and “The Future of Lagos” are much deeper and by far much more deeper than you stated, to which, I would rather prefer to reserve my comments for now.
Thanks for your kind attention.
Echefuna’ R. G. ONYEBEADI
