A former Minister of Aviation and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has reacted to the threat of Visa ban by the British Government over his alleged hate speeches against Nigerians of Igbo extraction during the just-concluded 2023 general elections, saying he cannot be intimidated by such threat.
The British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ben Llellwelling Jones, had accused Fani-Kayode of making inciting comments against the Igbo ethnic group, which triggered violence against mostly Igbos during the March 18 Governorship and State House of Assembly elections in Nigeria.
Jones spoke during an interview with Nigeria Info FM in Lagos on Sunday.
But, in a response to the British Envoy’s allegation contained in a statement issued Monday morning, the former Minister said he did not need any validation or endorsement from the UK Deputy High Commissioner or his ilk, advising Mr Jones to steer clear of commenting on Nigeria’s internal affairs and remain just an observer when it comes to elections.
“These are my personal views and I am constrained to express them given the fact that one Ben Llewellyn-Jones, a misguided, mischievous and clearly unlettered Englander who does not know his place, threw away all caution and mentioned my name in his inglorious commentary.
“I would advise this Ben, who I am told is the Deputy High Commissioner of the UK to Nigeria, to keep his dirty nose out of our internal affairs.
“Nigeria stopped being a British colony 63 years ago and we need no lessons from him on how to run our affairs or conduct our politics.
“I know that his preferred candidate did not win the presidential election but that does not mean he should cross the line and take liberties with us here. I wonder who the hell he thinks he is?
“I am not one of those Nigerians that bows, shakes, shivers and trembles before the British or indeed any other foreigner.
“And unlike most I do not need any validation or endorsement from him or his ilk and neither can I be intimidated by his veiled threat of a visa ban.
“Frankly I could not care less.
“I would however take this opportunity to assure him that regardless of his views and desire to compel us to accept their godless so-called “humanist” and “libertarian” values and introduce evil practices and policies such as same-sex marriage in our country this will never be the case.
“My aversion for sod*mites remains as constant as the northern star and whether he likes it or not we will never allow a sod*mite to be our President.
“Neither will we accept lessons in decency, etiquette, what to say or how to speak from a fading British civil servant and a man that represents a nation that has committed more atrocities than perhaps any other in the history of humanity.
“I advise this little Englander to respect himself and remain a silent observer when it comes to the politics of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“As a nation we are not a poodle of the British and we came of age 63 years ago.
“He should be more concerned about the shrinking fortunes of a once “Great Britain” and the systemic racism, inherent injustice and insufferable arrogance that is entrenched in the British establishment and society than in the intra party politics of Nigeria.
“He should also be more concerned with the efforts of his nation to bring us one step closer to WW3 given the unfolding events in Ukraine,” Fani-Kayode stated.
