The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Atiku Abubakar, has hailed the UK government for naming the director, new media of the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign council, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode among those making incendiary comments.
Recall that the British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Ben Llewellyn-Jones, had in an interview on Sunday tacitly named Fani-Kayode as one of those politicians put on the watch list for alleged ethnic profiling and undermining democracy during the elections which ended recently.
“We watched very closely. We have a list, we are working through our list but we don’t publish those names. And we are gathering the kind of information that will enable us do this, on specific individuals. At the moment the list is between 5 and 10 and it is growing.”
Although the envoy did not mention names, he particularly made reservations about Fani-Kayode’s tweeted comments.
“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,”
Responding, Atiku said in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Phrank Shuaibu that the UK envoy deserves special commendation for pointing out that Fani-Kayode had been making inciting comments and ought to have been cautioned by Tinubu as well as invited by the DSS.
The PDP presidential candidate said Fani-Kayode’s crude remarks could set the country on fire.
“We acknowledge as timely the statement of the DSS call on politicians not to overheat the polity. We call on the security agency to arrest Fani-Kayode for not heeding the counsel of the DSS when he threatened to make Nigeria ungovernable.
“The DSS rightly invited Fani-Kayode after he made false claims about Atiku planning a coup back in January and asked him to report daily. But for some reason, he has continued unhinged to spew hate.
‘Recently, he even justified the attacks and the profiling of the Igbo in the recently concluded fraudulent governorship election in Lagos State. He has also threatened to make the country ungovernable if Tinubu is not sworn-in.
“I think it’s a good time to remind the DSS that Femi Fani-Kayode has returned to his old ways. Now, he is threatening fire and brimstone over a most contentious election, which Nigerians have refused to endorse or celebrate one full month after the collective disenfranchisement of the electorate.
“Fani-Kayode is threatening that he and some other desperados will make Nigeria ungovernable if Tinubu is not inaugurated on May 29, 2023. It is time to take in Fani-Kayode so he doesn’t inflame any further, the already combustible national angst.”
Atiku alleged that the police had continued to give Fani-Kayode cover by allowing him to continue to move with heavy security presence like a governor.
“Although Nigeria is grossly under-policed, over 40 per cent of its police is attached to VIPs and unauthorised persons. With between 350,000 and 370,000 personnel for a population of 200 million, it cannot meet the United Nations recommendation of 340:100,000 police-to-citizen ratio, rendering it grossly ineffective in fighting crime.
“Yet, Fani-Kayode, who has not held any political office since 2007 when he was Aviation Minister, moves with a siren-blaring convoy. He should immediately be stripped of those security aides, uniformed or otherwise. He only uses the security to sustain that delusion of self-importance. He is posturing with state owned security personnel – that is not even enough for the rest of us.
“The likes of former vice president, Namadi Sambo, former head of state, Yakubu Gowon, ex-presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo do not enjoy the number of security details FFK has around him and honestly, this is what fuels his feeling of self importance.”
He called on Nigerians not to take Fani-Kayode seriously as he is more concerned with stomach infrastructure.
“Fani-Kayode’s life story is one of ‘anywhere belle face’. In 2018 he said he would ‘rather die than join a filthy, rat-infested sinking ship like the Almajiri Peoples Congress’. Then when his pocket began to dry up, he embarked on a nebulous tour of PDP states in search of money.
“Immediately Lawan lost, Fani-Kayode began begging associates of Atiku Abubakar to facilitate an appointment into the media team of the PDP. After he was rejected by Atiku’s camp, Fani-Kayode began following Tinubu all over the place in search of a position in the campaign. After Tinubu’s illegitimate victory, Fani-Kayode is now lobbying for a new position in the ill-fated government that will be sent packing by the courts,” Atiku said.
Recall that Fani-Kayode, had, in newspaper articles and series of tweets, used words that could inflame violence.
In one of his recent articles entitled ‘Respect us or leave!, the APC chieftain wrote: “The truth is that the Ibo in Lagos is no longer welcome by the people of Lagos. And unless they change their attitude quickly and drastically it may well be better for them to go home.
“As a consequence of recent events and the outrageous and insulting “Lagos is a no man’s land” battle cry and mantra which many Ibos in Lagos espouse and constantly bellow and mouth, many of our people believe that Alaba International Market, Computer Village, Trade Fair and other places that they have occupied and taken over should be evacuated and vacated and converted to schools, deep sea ports, housing estates and amusement parks.”
In one of the tweets, he said: “The single greatest lesson that the 2023 presidential election has taught us is that God will NEVER allow a practising sodomite and his repugnant retinue of perverts, pimps, fraudsters, court jesters, degenerates, monkeys, slaves and malefactors to lead Nigeria,” the former minister had tweeted.
In another, he said: “What @PeterObi, @atiku & their thugs did to the CJN is despicable. They lied on him, defamed him, rubbished his reputation & sought to humiliate, blackmail, undermine, destroy & disgrace him out of office. These savages & barbarians seek to destroy all our revered institutions.”
