TRIBAL POLITICS

The dust raised by the recent 'deportation' of some Nigerians from one part of the country (Lagos State) to another ( Anambra State) may never settle unless some urgent steps are taken to reverse the obvious misguided action of the Lagos State government. There have been arguments for and against the action with some opinions especially in support being  quite pathetic and embarrassing to the already battered image of the country. How on earth can one justify the forced relocation of a selected few from one particular section of  the country back to their 'origin' when the constitution establishing the existence of the country guarantees them freedom to live in any part they choose?  Of course there are no other reasons except tribalism even though the offending state government has come out with a statement to deny that claiming instead that the affected persons are destitutes who were sent 'home' to reunite with their families. A simple question is begging to be answered: are these persons the only 'destitutes' in Lagos State?

It may interest the readers who do not reside in Lagos to know that Lagos State is swarming with 'destitutes' most of whom are of  Lagos state origin and from other states of the same tribe as Lagos State namely Oyo , Ondo, Ekiti, Ogun, Osun and Kwara states. One needs to pay a visit to slums like Amukoko, Olodi Apapa and the Lagos water front (kuramo beach in particular) to verify this. Why was the same treatment not meted out to the 'destitutes' from these states? Or do some 'destitutes' constitute more 'nuisance' than others?  Are they sacred cows even amongst 'destitutes'?

Come to think of it, what moral justification do the politicians have to label some citizens as 'destitutes' when these persons are clearly products of a failed socio-political system. A system destroyed by years of bad, cruel and extremely corrupt leadership. A system which now provides for a few to stupendously and fraudulently enrich themselves at the expense of the ordinary people. But for these 'fortunate' few to now turn back and ungraciously label others as 'destitutes' is to say the least heart breaking. And many of these politicians themselves narrowly escaped being on the streets!  What happened to the word 'rehabilitation' in this part of the world? The honorable thing for the Lagos State government to do would be to urgently rescind this very unpopular action that is quite retrogressive and which seeks to negate all the other laudable  achievements of the administration.