New Scramble For Lagos As Yoruba Regains Dominance.

Lagos is becoming another centre of potential civil war and I think the battle between ibos and Yoruba is becoming fiercer by the day.We thought by being at the centre the fortune of Nigeria's Yoruba tribe might change .Of course the game is changing and tinubu even boasted before he took over power in the speech in Ogun State that popularised the word 'Emi lo kan'.He said when he saw Buhari crying on nta television program he was amazed and decided to visit him in Kaduna.He told him crying was not the option and pledged his support but that he should promise if elected he would not play with Yoruba tribe in Nigeria to which Buhari concurred . Unfortunately Buhari did the opposite putting his people everywhere in government but thereafter that did not stop tinubu from becoming president with just a speech 'Emi lo kan'.Before the election he had said Yorubas were not slaves or servants in Nigeria.

Our people badly needed to return to our old days of dominance and arrest decline and influence in the Nigerian economy especially with tinubu at the helm of affairs.I quite agree the notion to push Yorubas deeper into the power in Abuja was a high priority.Obviously, methinks was the biggest political comeback for the south west since Nigerian independence even more than the preeminence we have in 1952 general election when the acrimonious seed of tribalism that was sown during the period  took on the bitter pill and sour taste worst ever and led all the way to civil war.Things may be hard and all rots cannot be corrected in a day but certainly tinubu had done the unprecedented.

Gbadebo Rhode vivour campaigned for governor of Lagos almost took over at alausa as it were with the presidential election when they allegedly won in Lagos.In an article on tribune online "The Scramble for Lagos" by Lasisi Olagunju,published on march 13,2023 ,a shocking revelation how Yorubas had lost almost all of Lagos resurfaced and seriously unsettled me led to irritation ,frustration,fear and fierce anger as if it was something new.In the essay he unleashed the fierce details of demographic erosion in favour of the Igbos and how Yorubas worked against themselves.Sure it is our nature.To better explain the satire he had used a television drama by fadeyi Olooro entitled "Fo' po mo'yo' to explain the worrisome situation.

He lamented how the whole Nigeria is scrambling for Lagos similar to Berlin conference of 1886.The latter officially organized take over of Africa but in this former it was gradual take over by a trade war in most cases between Ibos and Yoruba.Why do we resist often times to discuss this embarrassment?Now both sides are calling for their own independence solution both Igbos and Yorubas agitating overseas.

 Governorship election was postponed because of uncertainty .Other contendants include Jandor and funke akindele and one thing baffled me about Lagunju his explanation of demographic erosion of the Yoruba in Lagos State.For instance listen to him:"The Igbo have elective rights but they are very provocative in this Lagos thing.I watched a video clip that was shot somewhere in the south east where the commentator repeatedly said Lagos is non negotiable' and that they would take over Lagos."He raised concern about Lagos elders lamenting existential threat towards Yoruba tribe in the state and the rate at which they re loosing their lands to the extensive take overs by mostly the ìgbo tribe.He was right when he said if you don't sell your head no one would buy it reffering to a Yoruba adage.

I loved the part when he quoted professor mabogunje the first professor of Geography and explored the database on land ownership in Lagos in 1960.In his London PhD thesis he debated how his tribe control the land in Lagos in 1961.Urbanisation and Political Change:The politics of Lagos 1917-1967,by Pauline Baker in 1974 she cited mabogunje extensively. Donatus okpala also cited Baker and Magobunje .Okpala's doctoral thesis at page 39 submitted to Massachusetts institute of technology in 1977extensively quoted mabogunje 's inspiring study.

In 1961 he said idumagbo,ebutte ero and idunshagbe were 100percent controlled by Yoruba groups and Lagosians like the ijebu and the egba as 90%of landlords there.He moved down to Ebutte metta founded by returnee Brazilian slaves of the Yoruba like olowogbowo.Ebutte meta east and west ,isale gangan -aroloya,idumota-alakoro,offin itolo,olowogbowo,Ereko-agarawu,Araromi and Yaba east,were also 100%owned by Yoruba.Surulere like epetedo was 93%controlled by Yoruba while ojuelegba was 80 % controlled,shomolu and mushin were 92 % owned by Yoruba.The Lagos area with the least Yoruba was obalende at 52% in the ratio of 6% egba,13%ijebu,other Yoruba groups 23% and Igbo balance of 13%,other Nigerian groups,3% and non Nigerians 33%.This was 62 years ago.

Then reading through the demographics I thought he had done a current data analysis either at alausa or elsewhere to justify the loss of land and display no data to confirm the demographics of 62 years ago had changed in favor of Igbo and he did not.He ended the essay by lamenting the takeovers of almost all major markets in Lagos were taken over by Igbo but am sure demographics may not have changed that much.Although am at loggerhead sometimes pouring tirade on my people for selling their lands to the Igbos and quite the same elsewhere in Yoruba land.

Hence from alaba,ojo,to the largest plantain market in mushin ,Lagos,to Ladipo in Toyota,Oshodi, Westminster, Liverpool,tejuosho,trade affairs,computer village,GSM market, Ashwani,mile 12 &mile 2,alaba ,dopemu aluminum village,Lekki corridor,festac market etcetera, Yoruba almost completely sold themselves out.Quite unfortunate.

Thank God with the emergence of tinubu as president the economy and almost all parastatals are in Yoruba hands .I saw a vision before he became president how Lagos mafia took over seat of government in Abuja where Ibos constitute the majority and overthrow Kaduna mafia.Today the rest history.Hausa Fulani no longer control the port and port trade entirely in Yoruba hands.

Now to regain control Lagos State should churn out policies to favor Yoruba again and can recover all lost ground.This include the option of multiple taxation and government all over have a prejudice first toward indigene and no big deal to recover lost ground.The American immigration program by Trump is a proof of such bias.