On Monday, an audio and video surfaced of the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, commanding residents of the state who are of the Igbo tribe to vote for the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Oba also threatened anyone flouting his order.  Speaking to a gathering of Igbo chiefs, he said, “If any of you goes against Ambode [the APC’s governorship candidate], whom I picked, that is your end.” The Oba is the traditional ruler of Lagos, a title that dates back to the 17th century when the present city was part of the Yoruba kingdom. Although the Oba’s contemporary role is ceremonial, he still commands a strong influence in the social and political life of the state, and the country. While the Oba is revered and seldom confronted, his recent statement has been widely rejected by Nigerians of all ethnicities and religion, particularly residents of Lagos.

The Oba’s statement comes at a time of heightened political tension in Lagos State as the country approaches its gubernatorial elections.  Akinwumi Ambode, candidate of the ruling APC party is in a close contest with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Jimi Agbaje. Though the APC presidential candidate Muhamadu Buhari won Lagos during the presidential election, his margins were slim and many feel that APC might lose the state (link).  Lagos is Nigeria’s commercial nexus and most populous city with an estimated 21 million residents. It is also the melting pot of all of the country’s over 250 ethnic groups.

Oba Akiolu’s utterance was made to intensify support for Akinwumi Ambode; instead, his words have been condemned by his subjects, the APC and even the candidate he supports.

The popular rejection of Oba Akiolu’s speech was evident in the social media space as many Nigerians took to Twitter and Facebook to condemn his threats to the Igbos and reiterate their belief in tolerance and freedom of choice. Here are selected tweets;

Both the APC and the Akinwumi Amobode distanced themselves from the Oba’s statement.

The Royal palace yesterday tried to manage the uproar against the Oba’s speech. A statement signed by one of the palace chiefs, Lateef Aderibigbe Ajose, said Oba Akiolu’s words were taken out of context. Chief Ajose, known as the Opeluwa of Lagos, explained that the alleged threats were only incantations that formed part of the traditional breaking of kola nuts, alligator pepper, and bitter kola and the pouring of liberation on the ground. “It was within this context that that the tradition of Lagos with regard to the lagoon came up. It was noted that whoever works against the throne and the interest and peaceful co-existence of Lagos would end up in the lagoon as per tradition,” part of the statement read.

This is not the first time that Lagos has been dragged into the middle of ethnic tension. In 2013, the Lagos state government “deported” 67 people to Onitsha, in Anambra State, Southeast Nigeria. While the state government described the event as a routine exercise of returning beggars to their states of origin, many, particularly the Igbos, condemned the act as discrimination. The event played a significant role in the Anambra governorship election held that year, where the APC candidate lost.

Though conducted smoothly, the recent elections have stirred political tensions over the significantly low number of votes obtained by the APC’s presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, in the South-South and South-East. Although Buhari, a northern Muslim, won the presidential election, he did so with less 10 percent of the votes from both regions, whose indigenes are mostly Christian.

With additional reporting by Tobi Eyinade

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