The Director, New Media of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has tackled British Deputy High Commissioner in Nigeria, Ben Llewellyn-Jones over comments the envoy made about him.
In an interview with Nigerian Info FM over the weekend, Llewellyn-Jones deplored ethnic profiling of non-indigenes in Lagos by some prominent chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), including Fani-Kayode.
According to the British envoy, some of Fani-Kayode’s social media posts about the opposition contained words and phrases deemed derogatory, divisive and inciting.
He said he was surprised that the APC has not distanced itself from the former Aviation Minister’s divisive rhetoric.
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He added that 10 persons were already on the UK government’s visa ban watchlist for inciting violence during the just-concluded general election.
He added that the watchlist is growing.
Asked if there were triggers for violence leading up from the campaign to the election, the UK envoy, “Yes, let’s be specific, there were some people, like Femi Fani-Kayode. What is he saying and why is he saying it? I don’t understand.
“It is wrong from my perspective that he will speak on behalf of a party and that party does not distance itself from him and say stop doing that; it is wrong to say that.
“To me, it is really important, people, who have said I am part of a party’s press and media campaign, well, the party itself should say no you are not, and you should stop and we do not agree. I know that some leaders very clearly said we are about unity, and that is good, I encourage that.
“The problem is if you get the other people over here, who are very clearly associated with the party and giving you another message, and there isn’t any kind of calling out of that. What would you take from that as a voter?”
Reacting in a Facebook post, Fani-Kayode went ballistic, calling the British envoy names.
He called Llewellyn-Jones a “misguided, mischievous and clearly unlettered Englander who does not know his place” for mentioning his name in his remark.
“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,” he said.
Fani-Kayode added, “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.”
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