Our attention was drawn to an article by Lekan Sote published in The PUNCH on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, in which he wrote: “The Lagos De Renaissance Patriots want to develop indigenous culture, use indigenous language and allow the indigenes to reclaim Lagos government. Ethnic Eko who consider other Yoruba to be “Atohunrinwa” foreigners should know that Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja and Epe divisions were carved out of Western Nigeria by General Yakubu Gowon and annexed to Eko which was colonized in 1861.

“And that the Western Regional governments led by Obafemi Awolowo and Ladoke Akintola developed the Ikeja, Apapa and Ilupeju industrial parks of the Western Regional Government, which the military further fragmented into unviable beggar states. Of course, right-wing extremist politics is nothing unusual in Nigeria. The Make America Great Again movement led by former American President Donald Trump is the antiseptic public face of the racist and far-right Ku Klux Klan, the Proud Boys and QAnon.”

First and foremost, we take exception to the label of “far-right” on the Renaissance Patriots Foundation. As a socio-cultural group of high-ranking, respected citizens of Nigeria, culturally and constitutionally blessed with Lagos State heritage, we find such unkind, malicious and thoughtless use of vulgar language unacceptable.

The ruling elites in Lagos State who we hold responsible for the assassination of the government belong to a formal association of narcissists who have commandeered the state for themselves, their family and friends. The author has misunderstood his historical information and its connection to Obafemi Awolowo. If he could not understand what was the outcome of the Constitutional Conference in London in 1952, we will give him the details in due course.

It is a shameful and irresponsible act to link the faceless hashtag #IgbosMustLeaveLagos (Lagospedia) to the De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, a highly responsible and respected socio-cultural organization in Lagos.

In a progressive climate, common sense dictates that political, social and economic benefits should be, among others, the objective of governance. Renaissance Patriots Foundation is always ready to oppose the small-minded policies that are seen as detrimental to the progress and development of the voiceless indigenous people. The indigenous people deserve a fairer distribution of government resources for their welfare; Lagos is the only state they can claim.

It is perhaps worth noting that the most serious consequence of the political machinery in Lagos State is the denial of access to the highest positions in the state administration and the House of Representatives by natives – two-thirds of whom are non-natives. This is a deliberate policy by a desperate group of leaders to marginalise and dominate the natives and give them very few opportunities that do not match their true entitlements as natives of the state. The only excuse usually given by the defenders of those in power is that the natives do not have the qualities and skills to occupy top positions. This is their normal propaganda as it is unproven and not empirically tested in any form. We have more qualified, capable and professional natives.

We, the De Renaissance Patriots, are not right-wing extremists in our demands and welcome the Igbo into our midst. As for the Igbo’s departure from Lagos State, the Igbo have the right to live and work in any part of Nigeria and to carry out legal businesses of their choice. The authorities of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police should track down and prosecute the faceless group posing as Lagos residents.

• This article was written by the media office of the De Renaissance Patriots Foundation.