Yoruba Welfare Group backs Lagos Assembly on the law to protect indigenes
A social-cultural group has expressed its support for the Lagos State Government in making laws that will protect the interests and rights of the indigenes of the state.
The National President of the Yoruba Welfare Group Comrade Abdulhakeem Adegoke Alawuje expressed the support and commendation of the Group in a press statement made available by his media aide, Elder Yinka Salaam on Saturday.
The press statement reads:
The Yoruba Welfare Group is in total support of the move of the Lagos State House of Assembly in making new laws and reviewing some state policies that have made the State look like “no man’s land” to visitors and other ethnic groups.
It will be recalled that the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa recently announced that the State will soon make laws that will protect the interest of the indigenous people of the State in his acceptance speech after his re-election as the Speaker of the house.
Obasa said lawmakers would go to any length in protecting the state indigenes even if it meant reversing existing laws and translating them into the Yoruba language.
In his words, Obasa said: “Lagos is a Yoruba land as against the assertions of some people that it is a no man’s land. Therefore, part of our legislative agenda is to ensure the translation of laws passed by this House to the Yoruba Language. We also aim at achieving our collective goals of creating a robust legislative framework that protects the interest of our people.
“Going forward in this wise, we are going to employ all legislative instruments for the support of the indigenes of Lagos. There would be laws and resolutions in the areas of economy and commerce, property and titles,” Obasa said.
Obasa’s comment came on the heels of the recent controversy on who the real owners of the Lagos State are; the phenomenon which peaked in the build-up to the February and March elections in Lagos.
As a Yoruba social-cultural organisation whose ultimate goal is the welfare of our people, this unfortunate development has several, economic, social and ideological implications on Yoruba sons and daughters, as it has made them feel like second-class citizens in their land.
The attempt of none Yorubas to take over virtually the progressive areas of Yoruba land is being gradually, systematically and tactically implemented, especially in Lagos and Ibadan, but it only raises its ugly head at election periods.
Lagos is a Yoruba land and it indigenously and ideologically belongs to the Yorubas but our uncommon hospitality to none indigenes across our lands in Southwest, Kwara and Kogi have been completely abused, especially by unscrupulous elements.
Enough is enough. The land cannot belong to father and son without boundaries or limits of operations.
Both international and local laws protect the rights of the indigenes and it is important for the Yorubas who have no other land to call theirs to get their business, social, cultural and political rights protected. The Yorubas, especially the Lagos indigenes must not be crookedly denied of their resources, social services and social amenities by presumably ‘smatter’ strangers because of their vulnerability, sheer generosity and expected hospitality.
YWG thus salutes the courage of the Lagos State Government for taking the lead to guide others to the right way of liberating our people from servitude to their visitors and securing the heritage of the future generation.
We are hereby calling on our political leaders, socio-cultural groups and traditional rulers to come together to secure the current developmental needs and future heritage of our children by empowering the youths to shift their minds away from varying ills and social vices like cyber fraud, ritual activities, kidnapping, etc.
It’s time to sanitise our land and get our youths focused. if we fail to do the needful today, tomorrow may be too late.
Comrade Abdulhakeem Adegoke Alawuje
National President
Yoruba Welfare Group.
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