‘Shut Up, You Little Englander ! – Fani-Kayode Replies UK Envoy Over Visa Ban Threat

Nigeria’s 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.

During an interview with Nigeria Info FM on Sunday afternoon, the British Envoy took on Fani-Kayode and some politicians for making hate speeches and ethnic slurs during the 2023 elections.

In a swift response on Sunday evening, the Director of New Media of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) 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.

“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 APC chieftain challenged the British envoy to do his worst, saying he fears no one.