Former Aviation Minister and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Femi Fani-Kayode has urged the British government to recall the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Benedict Llewellyn-Jones.
Fani-Kayode said Llewellyn-Jones deserves another job in the UK as he alleged that the diplomat is interfering in the politics of Nigeria.
Raye24reporters has reported that the former minister took to Twitter on Monday to lambast the diplomat who said Fani-Kayode was one of the politicians who engaged in hate speeches and ethnic slurs during the 2023 elections.
In a follow-up to the response he gave to the diplomat on Monday, the former minister released a statement on Tuesday titled ‘Ben Must Go’, in which he described the diplomat as “dangerously incompetent and painfully inconsiderate” for trying to involve himself in Nigeria’s politics.
The APC chieftain said it was disrespectful that Llewellyn-Jones who ought to be working “as an air host/hostess on British Airways” was posted to Nigeria as a diplomat.
His statement reads, “I call on the British Govt. to recall Benedict Llewellyn-Jones, the Deputy British High Commissioner, from our country for interfering in our internal affairs and attempting to involve himself in our politics.
“Like a bull in a China shop, he is bullish, uncouth, dangerously incompetent, and painfully inconsiderate.
“He is better suited to work as an air host/hostess on British Airways, serving drinks and food to the passengers in the economy class of the long haul London/New York trans-Atlantic flight route, than working for the British High Commission in Nigeria.
“It is a sign of great disrespect to our country that a so-called diplomat limited in his knowledge base as this can be sent here to represent the UK.
“We deserve far better.”
Fani-Kayode added, “I am still waiting for evidence of my so-called “hate speech” against the Igbo from him.
“I guess in his little globalist mind saying that Lagos belongs to the Yoruba and is not “no man’s land” is hate speech.
“I guess him saying that those that come from outside the South West to live in Lagos ought to respect the Yoruba is hate speech.
“Again I guess that to him saying Enugu belongs to the Igbo and is not a “no man’s land” is also hate speech or that non-Igbos that choose to live in Enugu should respect the Igbos that have hosted them is hate speech.
“Yet again I guess that to him saying that Kano belongs to the Hausa-Fulani and is not a “no man’s land” is hate speech or that non-Hausa Fulani that lives in Kano should respect the Hausa Fulani that has hosted them is hate speech.
“Permit me to hop across to Ben’s own UK to drive home the point.
“I guess in his little globalist world Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast (the capitals of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland respectively) are no longer Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish cities and territories but are now “no man’s land” even in the era of devolution where each of those three ethnic nationalities takes immense pride in their growing independence from the English and their cultural and historical values and roots.
“I guess saying that Edinburgh belongs to the Scots and is not “no man’s land” is hate speech to the likes of Ben.
“It is also hate speech to him to say that non-Scots that have chosen to live in Edinburgh should respect the Scots that have hosted them.
“Same goes for Cardiff and Belfast. If you say that either belongs to the Welsh or the Irish respectively and that they are not “no man’s land” Ben will describe it as hate speech and if you say that the people of each must be respected by those from the outside that have chosen to stay there, he will again call it to hate speech.
“What type of man is this little Englander who sees hate in everyone and everything?
“Someone please tell him that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being an ethnic nationalist and seeking to preserve your identity, land, culture, values, and ways as a people whilst at the same time opening your doors to others from your nation and welcoming them with open arms.
“There is a great difference between peaceful co-existence based on love and mutual respect for your fellow compatriots and a total and complete capitulation and rejection of who we are and where we are coming from as a people.
“We espouse the former and reject the latter.
“Being a proud Nigerian does not mean I have to turn my back on the fact that I am also a proud Yoruba man. They are not mutually exclusive. The two can go together and we take pride in both.
“The same goes for my fellow Nigerians who happen to be Hausa, Fulani, Igbo, Ijaw, Tiv, Itsekiri, Bini, Efik, Kanuri, Shuwa Arab, or anything else.
“We are ALL first and foremost Nigerians but we all came from somewhere that existed for thousands of years long before Nigeria was established.
“Would someone please try and explain all this to this poor, lost, ignorant little soul called Ben?
“He needs to know before he makes any more embarrassing blunders about our people and country and before he attempts to lecture us or involve himself in our politics again.
“Next time we will be ready for him.”
 Femi Fani-Kayode has urged the British government to recall the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Benedict Llewellyn-Jones.){kind=link}