PURPORTED IPOB THREAT IN LAGOS: SOLOMON OGBONNA RESTATES PRIMACY OF OHANAEZE NDIGBO; CARPETS IGBOKWE, OTHER VOICES AS ‘VOCAL DIARRHOEA’; ENCOURAGES POLICE TO MAINTAIN PEACE~Starimagenews.com
L-R: Chairman, Council of Ndieze Eze, Lagos, Sir Chief Christopher Offiah; President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos, Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene; Secretary, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos, Chief Everest Ozonweke, during a Press Conference by Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State following the purported allegation of threat to peace in Lagos state by Members of the IPOB.
The sociocultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos, the Council of Ndi Eze in Lagos, and members of Igbo community in Lagos convened an emergency press briefing yesterday covered by Oki Samson of Trek Africa Newspaper in order to establish the stance of Igbos concerning security reports that claim some criminal elements who parade themselves as members of IPOB and ESN have planned to attack Lagos. It would be recalled that the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, CP Hakeem Odumosu had earlier in the week declared the findings of Police’s intelligence gathering which found that IPOB, ESN, and some Yoruba groups want to disrupt the harmony in Lagos by launching unlawful attacks.
Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene, President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos started by asserting the primacy of Ohanaeze Ndigbo over all other Igbo groups. ‘Let me start by clearing the air about some Igbo individuals and organizations who claim that they are the mouthpiece of Igbos in Lagos should not be taken seriously as Ohanaeze Ndigbo remains the one and only umbrella body of Ndigbos and remains the organization that can speak on behalf of Igbos anywhere in the world.’
‘Whatever statement that anybody has is vocal diarrhea. It is too dangerous for us. We cannot destroy the house that we built. We have contributed a lot to the development of Lagos. Anything they say is not acceptable to us especially now that we have a Governor who believes so much in Igbos.’
L-R: Chairman, Council of Ndieze Eze, Lagos, Chief Christopher Offiah; President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos, Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene; Secretary, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos, Chief Everest Ozonweke; Eze Igbo Eti-Osa, Eze Gerald Onuchukwu, during a Press Conference by Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State following the purported allegation of threat to peace in Lagos state by Members of the IPOB.
On the raging controversy emanating from Mr. Joe Igbokwe’s claims that members of IPOB are planning to cause mayhem in some parts of Lagos, Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene remarked: ‘We here state categorically that Mr. Joe Igbokwe does not speak for Ndigbo and it is never part of his responsibilities to do such. What we have seen is a total misstep and calculated attempt to sow seed of discord between Ndigbo and the Yorubas. We here condemn it in its entirety and coming from Mr. Joe Igbokwe who is supposed to know the leadership organograms, modus operandi, and responsibilities attached to them should have known better. We have channels through which such grievous matter should have been well handled if at all there is something like that than going to social media with such mental gymnastics’
‘For anybody to arise and say they will storm Lagos in the name of ESN or IPOB will not work. We have a good relationship with our host community, especially in Lagos. This propaganda is to cause division between us and our host community. The relationship of Igbos and Yorubas started before the advent of white people. It is now that we have most of our businesses and our children are growing up here in Lagos that we will allow anyone to come and put trouble among us. We are here to make Lagos better than the way we met it and I am sure that every Nigerian know the influence of Igbos in this country.’
‘My sincere joy is that the people who matter in Lagos know the huge contribution of Igbos in Lagos. We must continue to tell our children that unity is what we hold in high esteem. To demonstrate that fact, the first place we visited in 2018 upon inauguration was the Palace of Oba of Lagos to mend fences on the case of the 2015 elections.’
Chief Ogbonna who got the Ohanaeze mandate at the 16th June 2018 elections declared ‘I am using this opportunity to address our hosts that they should receive their information from Ohanaeze Ndigbo as the mouthpiece. Once we speak that is the final. They should not follow the social media. I also want to plead with CP Hakeem Odumosu and Lagos State Police Command to maintain peace in Lagos and work with Ohanaeze Ndigbo in order to get the true state of Ndigbos in Lagos.’
‘Ohanaeze Ndigbo through this medium reiterates total support to anything that will keep Lagos from any form of violence and lawlessness. Igbo primordial concept is to leave any community we find ourselves better than we met it, hence the Igbo adage ‘ebe onye bi ka o’na awachi’. Ndigbo are builders whose operations in Lagos state has stood the test of time and earned the trust that exist between us and our hosts today. Any act of violence or attack in any part of Lagos is an attack on all of us and we must stand in unity to defend such’, Chief Ogbonna concluded.
Present at the emergency meeting was the Chairman of the Council of Ndi Ezes in Lagos, Eze Christopher Offia who led his colleagues from across Lagos. Also present was the members of the Executive of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos, Igbo women leaders, youths among others.
