Law to protect indigenous Lagosian: Omokri backs Lagos Assembly

Reacting to the Obasa statement regarding the Lagos State House of Assembly for wanting to enact laws to protect indigenes.

Social media influencer and commentator, Reno Omokri has thrown his weight behind the decision of the Lagos State Government to enact a law to protect indigenous people of the state.

In a tweet, Omokri condemned the wave of attacks on the Lagos State House of Assembly for attempting to make a law to protect the rights of indigenes by some Nigerians.

According to him, attacking the Lagos State House of Assembly for wanting to enact laws to protect indigenous Lagosians and labelling it “ethnic dog whistling” was sheer grandstanding.

“Should indigenous Lagosians sleep on their rights when people they welcome into their communities provocatively and ungratefully call their land ‘No Man’s Land’, and falsely alleged that they built Lagos with their sweat?”, he queried.

Many states, Omokri argued, passed laws rejecting Buhari’s Ruga settlements for Fulani herders, and it was celebrated, sayind now that Lagos wants to pass laws to protect itself from people who wish to Ruga Lagos, people are complaining.

Maintaining that there was no difference between the present attempt by the Lagos State House of Assembly and rejection of Buhari’s Ruga policy, he declared “What is sauce for Greece is good for Uganda!”

“Every nation on Earth is entitled to have laws to protect indigenous peoples. Even America, which many like to cite as a bastion of democracy, has laws protecting Native Americans and recognising their status as original indigenes. Canada has such regulations as do Scandinavian and Nordic nations.

“If those laws are made, and any group of people do not like them, they have two options. Challenge them in court, or leave Lagos and go to a place you feel is better for you than Lagos”, he said.

Lagosians, according to Omokri, are very welcoming people, adding that it was outrageous to expect them to give up their rights as indigenous peoples because they wanted new residents to feel at home.