Replying Azuka Onwuka on Lagos is not a ‘No man’s land’ but… (The Punch Article) – By Bayo Ola

An ethnic-inflamed article “Lagos is not a ‘No man’s land’ but…” written Azuka Onwuka gets a befitting reply by Bayo Ola, please read on:
Great and reasonably balanced analysis. But I must hasten to point out to you that Onitsha is a cosmopolitan city, yet tolerant for non-Ibos to participate in politics or even rent a store to trade at Onitsha market, is low. A city does not have to be a former or current political capital before it becomes a cosmopolitan city. A city could become cosmopolitan as result of trading activities in such a city, such as Onitsha and Aba. In addition, Port Harcourt and Kano are also cosmopolitan cities. Yet none of these cities allow the latitudes you Ibos craved in Yoruba land.
Second, election into leadership position in Nigeria is not about service to the people, but opportunity to serve self. Curiously, State institutions, like Police, judiciary/Courts, etc, in Nigeria, are extremely very weak. Therefore elections offer access to steal from public till and not to service. Since state institutions are weak there is no accountability once you get into political office. This is why your examples of Nigeria that contest for political positions outside of Nigeria in civilized country will not make sense. These Nigerians you referenced are bound to operate under strong institutions.

They dare not touch public money. If they did they will go to jail. Two former governor in Chicago are currently in jail for corruption. That will not happen in Nigeria. In fact Nigeria President recently pardoned someone still being wanted in the UK, while a wanted drub baron won an election as a senator in Ogun state. Also, Louisiana representative William J. Jefferson, who was involved with bribery with Nigerian politicians like Atiku, is currently serving a long term jail term, while Atiku is abut to become the BOT of Nigeria new ruling party. Did you get my drift? In those climes you referenced, service to the people is not an opportunity to make money.
Thus, what President Obama earns for a year as a salary in the US is less than what a Nigeria Senator earns as a salary in two months. So you can understand why we need to build a strong foundation before erecting the beautiful edifice you suggested, on it. When we have strong institutions like they have in those developed countries, we can begin to embrace the point you raised. Then whoever win an election in Lagos knows he is servicing Lagosians, including himself/herself, and not serving Yorubas or Ibos. Your analysis makes sense but the foundation to build your analysis is weak.
There has to be a country, where you and I see each other as Nigerians and not as Ibo or as Yoruba, before you can implement your well written analysis. You cannot build something on nothing. Without this nationhood that removes ethnicity, what the Ibos are trying to do in Lagos amounts to internal colonisation and will definitely not fly, as it is not what Yoruba or Hausa will be allowed to do in the East. After all, Onitsha, Port Harcourt are also cosmopolitan cities.
In a nutshell, your criteria have to reference cosmopolitan nature of the cities and not just using the political element of a city, such as a capital city, as a sole criterion. Second, the institutions of state in Nigeria have to be strong to eliminate larceny or minimize it among political office holders. This will make accountability the hallmark and service to the people as the sole factor that attract them to contest for elections into political offices. At the risk of sounding repetitive, Nigeria is not yet a country in the real sense of it. That is why the Ibos that contest for elections in Yoruba land still see their villages in the South East as permanent home, and not Lagos, no matter the pretense.
The voting pattern of the Ibos is also ethnic driven. Thus, apart from the fact that they will repatriate the wealth/ill gotten or otherwise wealth made from political office they hold in Lagos, back to their villages, and build their “real homes” in their villages outside Yoruba land, the voting pattern validates the argument that we are not yet a united country. Ibos voted for Jonathan, who is not even an Ibo, but an Ebele from the SS. They tried to sway the Yoruba’s vote along the same ethnic voting pattern, when the Yorubas are not allowed to do same in Iboland.
Nevertheless, I concede that yours remains the best article written on the subject so far. It was not as ethnocentric as what was written by many Ibo writers. Most importantly, I hope your folks from the SE living in Lagos will read this piece and take the message to heart. We Yoruba actually are hospitable to the Ibos, but we have not enjoy the same amount of reciprocal love and affection from the Ibos. With utterances of Ibos that are living in Lagos, it is only natural, and a matter of time, that we begin to push back. Sadly, until we become a one nation where ethnic identities become moot and irrelevant, it will be impossible to implement your analysis without a fight.