Fashola Apologises To Ndigbo Community, Says He Was Misunderstood

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola
today tendered an unreserved apology to
the Ndigbo community segment that
misunderstood him, whom he referred to
as his ‘kindred’ in a recent action of his
administration, even as he insisted that
there was a need to discuss factors that
could be responsible for under-
development in the South East.
Governor Fashola, who spoke at the
Nigerian Institute of International Affairs,
Victoria Island venue of a symposium to
mark the 25th Anniversary of the Igbo
socio-cultural group, Aka Ikenga, said
although majority of Ndigbo in Lagos
understood and appreciated the action of
the state government, it was obvious that
some Igbos did not understand  it.
According to the Governor, who referred to
Ndigbo everywhere as “My kindred”, “There
are people who clearly do not understand
me and they have misunderstood words
said or misrepresented actions taken in the
way that it has pleased them to do so. To
those people, I owe an explanation in
defense of what has happened and that is
partly why I am here as well”.
Noting that the Igbo and the Yoruba have
built a relationship based on tolerance,
based on mutual respect, based on trust
and love”, he declared, “That relationship
was started by our ancestors. It was
handed over to us and we have nourished
it with a lot of trust and a lot of
understanding and a lot of fidelity”.
“Those who misunderstand that
relationship, who think that there is no
value in that relationship, I have come here
to correct that. I put a lot of value in that
relationship. And so if those people have
misunderstood me or they have
misunderstood actions taken by our
Government, here, now, today I offer an
unqualified and unreserved apology”, he
said.
The Governor, however, said even the
apology does not take away the real issue
that provoked the misunderstanding
pointing out that the real issue lay in the
reason or reasons why some sections feel
compelled to migrate from one part of the
country to the other.
Urging Aka Ikenga to rise up to the
challenge of underdevelopment in the
Southeast, Governor Fashola declared,
“There are questions that caused the
misunderstanding and it is those questions
the Aka Ikenga must address if it must
continue to fulfil its purpose”.
He recalled the remarks of the President of
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Gary Nnachi, who
made a distinction between the Igbo in
Lagos and those at home, adding, “As he
began to distinguish between the Igbo in
Lagos and the Igbo at home I knew there
was a real issue; that those at home don’t
look like those of you here and you don’t
look like them. They are questions that I
think the Aka Ikenga should address”.
Stressing the commitment of his
administration to making life better for
residents, Governor Fashola said if other
state governments and their indigenes
should commit to developing their state
and making life better for the rural
communities, the issue of people being
compelled to migrate from their homes to
other states, without any concrete plans,
would be greatly curtailed wondering how a
state that produced so many great
Nigerians could lag behind in development.