A former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has again tackled the British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, over the threat to impose a visa ban on him.
It would be recalled that Llewellyn-Jones, during an interview with Nigeria Info FM on Sunday afternoon, had tackled Fani-Kayode and some politicians for making hate speeches and ethnic slurs during the 2023 elections.
In a quick response on Sunday evening, the former aviation minister described the British envoy as misguided and mischievous, saying that he wouldn’t be intimidated by a “British civil servant”.
However, in a fresh tweet on Monday morning, Fani-Kayode said he has no apology for saying that Lagos is not a no man’s land and some of his comments on social media.
The controversial politician added that foreign diplomats like Llewellyn-Jones should not tell Nigerians who to vote for, how to vote, or what God to worship.
He wrote, “Permit me to add the following addendum to my earlier personal response to the little Englander. I ask, who is this strange little British diplomat who believes he can tell us what Lagos state should be like in terms of ethnic make-up and how it should be run?
“He has accused me of hate speech and incitement simply because I said Lagos is not a no man’s land and that the Yoruba ought to be respected in their territory. Well, let me say clearly and categorically that I have no apology for saying this and I stand by every word I said. We do not need any lessons from him. Foreign diplomats come to this country to enhance our relationship with theirs and not to give us lectures.
“They are not supposed to interfere in our internal affairs, to be partial, to tell us what to do or to tell us how to do it. They are meant to observe in studied silence and make their concerns and representations, if any, known privately. They cannot get into the political ring of fire.”
The Director of New Media of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) challenged the British envoy to do his worst, saying he fear no one.
Fani-Kayode stated that he will take up the visa ban threat formally, stressing that the UK envoy’s diplomatic immunity is not absolute.
He added, “That strange little bald man with sloping shoulders at the British Embassy has really got a nerve. I will take up this matter formally. His diplomatic immunity is not absolute: it is qualified. He is therefore subject to our laws.
“As for his threats, I challenge him to do his very worst. We are not your slaves. Nigeria is an independent sovereign nation. We are no longer a colony. To hell with him and those that are egging him on and licking his feet. I am FFK: I fear no one and I bow before no man.”
He asserted that the hands of the British government were also not clean saying their “strong economy was built on the blood, sweat, and tears of Irish, African, and Indian slaves.”
“The days of dictation are long gone. What they are trying to do in our country and to our country will not work. Bola Tinubu won a free and fair election and, whether they like it or not, he will be sworn in on May 29th 2023.
“Those that want to impose an ING on our nation and follow it up with a civil war in an attempt to dismember and destroy her shall not prevail. Nigeria shall remain united, shall be at peace, shall flourish, shall we excel and democracy shall be alive and well in our nation for many years to come,” he added.
