Indigenes warn against ‘identity crisis’ in Lagos

From Dotun Omisakin, Lagos Lagos Indigenes under the aegis of De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, Lagos State, say the decision by the Lagos State Government to outsource the indigeneship certification process to a little-known firm, Qista Technologies, demands scrutiny, outrage and immediate reversal. In a statement titled “The capture of Lagos identity by an inactive sole […]

From Dotun Omisakin, Lagos
Lagos Indigenes under the aegis of De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, Lagos State, say the decision by the Lagos State Government to outsource the indigeneship certification process to a little-known firm, Qista Technologies, demands scrutiny, outrage and immediate reversal.

In a statement titled “The capture of Lagos identity by an inactive sole proprietorship concern,” said what appears on the surface as “digitization” “is the most far-reaching attempt yet to centralize, commodify, and ultimately dilute the indigeneship of Lagosians.”
The statement signed by Lasisi Robert, the Media Office of De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, said historically and constitutionally indigeneship certificates in Lagos have been issued by two authorities.
The group identified the Local Government Authorities which possess detailed historical knowledge of families, lineages, and communities, and
the traditional institutions, especially the Oba of Lagos, whose custodianship predates colonial administration.

“These institutions are not incidental; they are the lawful pillars of identity verification. To replace them with a private vendor that is worse, inactive and sole proprietorship is to elevate convenience over culture, software over sovereignty, and opacity over legitimacy,” the group said.

The body also claimed that lately the University of Lagos (UNILAG) reportedly began rejecting indigeneship certificates issued by local governments and insisting on the new, state-generated certificates.

“This development has triggered alarm among communities, students, and families across the state. For the first time in history, Local governments are no longer the primary issuers of identity and Traditional institutions have been bypassed by an unregistered contractor who has been positioned as a gatekeeper of lineage. This is not progress,” the group said.

The group warned that with the situation, Lagos risks becoming a “captive state” where its identity can be easily claimed by non-indigenes.