Yesterday, we published the first part of the article in which an Igbo scholar, Dr. Samuel Okafor, expertly demolished some of the claims made by one-time Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, in the August 8 article, “The Bitter Truth About The Igbo”, which immediately kicked off a storm that has yet to abate.

In the first part of an article entitled “The Lies of Femi Fani-Kayode”, Okafor, a First Class History graduate of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) and Ph.D holder in the same discipline – on scholarship, also from the UNN – gives attention to other issues raised by Fani-Kayode, whom he dismissed as a “half-baked intellectual . . . a character who with each punch of his keypad stresses his severely unwell conditions of logorrhoea, delusions of enlightenment, history and sociology – amongst others.” Please read on:

•FEMI LIES ABOUT THE IGBO CONTRIBUTION TO NIGERIAN POLITICS

Politics with the great Nnamdi Azikiwe of Africa also had an Ibo colouration

Indeed the action group developed as a result of Ibo domination of politics in Nigeria with Awolowo selling tribalism to his people as the only way to check the Ibos whom he felt had taken his birthright by sweeping the elections into the Western House of Assembly. It was only after putting fear into the average Yoruba man at the time did they cross carpet. These are facts. Awolowo started tribalism in Nigeria; that is why he never ruled our country. Hate can never stand. All the Ibos ask for is fairness and competition. Open up all the job positions and academic spaces in our institutions and let us compete and we would see who comes out on top.

Nigeria, anyway, has no choice. To remain relevant in the world, it must adopt best practice and become a merit-driven society. When this occurs the Ibo would again dominate for in the words of the greatest African writer of all time, the man who has sold the most books and the only African whose books have been translated into more languages than any – Professor Chinua Achebe – “the Ibo is a creature built for competition held down neither by religion no tradition.” My Yoruba brothers, stop crying; the game has only just started. Thank God GEJ would do another four years. It would only help to create a level playing field for all Nigerians. To those who claim they were first at everything I have one simple thing to say: Again, I get am before no be property. Game on.

•FEMI AGAIN LIES WHEN HE SAYS “LAGOS IS OUR LAND”

Femi, to answer your question “who owns Lagos?” the question can be answered in a number of ways.

Constitutionally, Lagos is owned collectively by all Nigerians. What we know as modern Lagos started when the British annexed Lagos as a colony. Till today most of the titles for landed property in places like Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Yaba, Ebutte-Metta, Lagos Island, etc., take their root from the Queen’s Registry. The said titles were recorded in Her Majesty’s Registry evidencing the parcels of land allocated. These titles after independence were passed on the Federal Government and held until the recent sale to private individuals under the Obasanjo administration. Now the owners of the land are private individuals from various ethnicities. Further communities in Lagos have also sold extensive land to new owners who come from other parts of Nigeria. When you sell a property and receive adequate monetary compensation for the property do you still own the property? Femi, answer me. The Ibos have worked hard and bought their properties from constituted authority and thus like every Nigerian have a right to lay claim to Lagos for they own a part of it. Femi, what is all this talk about Ibos owning Lagos? Why are the Yoruba not concerned about the Ibos owning Ibadan, Ife or Akure? Why is there so much emphasis now on the Yoruba owning Lagos? Is it because Lagos has all the attractions that other major cities in the South West do not have? Femi, the truth is that modern Lagos as we know it today is a product of the collective efforts of all Nigerians – Ibos inclusive.

The Third Mainland Bridge, Eko Bridge, Tincan Port, Apapa Port, Nitel Building, Carter Bridge, all the fly overs that you see; Federal Palace Hotel, Ikoyi Hotel, just to name a few, were not built with cocoa money but mainly from oil money. I would refer you to the 1 2 3 4 development plans of the Federal Government and see what allocation Lagos got directly from the Federal Government for development. It is wrong for the Yourba to now start claiming Lagos and asking other nationals to go home. Let me ask you further how many states in the South West produce the resource which we all depend on? My dear Femi, only one – Ondo – yet all the states from the South West continue to derive benefits from the Federal Government and there is nothing wrong with that, for we are a federation. And all the federating states have certain rights as well as obligations to its citizens. Femi, Nigeria fought a bitter civil war to ensure we are one nation and so nobody would ever divide us again neither you nor Orji Uzor Kalu. If we all start saying our Lagos, our oil, our Abuja, our gas, collectively, we would all be losers.

Historically, the rights of who own Lagos are clear: Lagos was a Benin town with a Benin Oba who paid tribute to the Oba of Benin – indeed, his chiefs were the descendants of noble Benin families. The Benin Empire ran Lagos for over 400 years before the colonial powers took over.

Yes, the dominant people in Lagos were Yoruba but they formed not the rulers of the town but the subjects of the Oba just like we find in the United Kingdom today where people are subjects of the Queen of England and not citizens. I would explain citizenship rights to you later.

So who owns Lagos? All of us! Take Abuja for example – who owns Abuja? The land was bare land owned by the Gwari people and in a span of 30 some years federal resources turned bare land into a paradise on earth. So who owns Abuja? Can the Gwari who are the original owners say to the Yoruba there – go back home? My answer is simple “no” – they cannot. That city was developed by our collective efforts and resources indeed if anything the Gwari should be grateful to the Almighty for bringing them such lucky federal development. The South East continues along with the South-South to produce the resources that drive our economy. Imo, Abia, Anambra are oil-producing states. The reserves of oil in Anambra State are now proven to be more than those of Rivers. The Ibo-speaking part of Delta also has huge deposits of gas and we thank the Almighty for blessing this land called Nigeria. Who owns these resources? All Nigerians. So when you lay claim to Lagos as “our town”, I say to you; my dear, you are myopic. We all own this land with its resources. Fashola has only built on a good foundation – federal effort. He must learn to correct his mistakes and not be misled by Fani-Kayode whose family has been in the hate business for decades. His father was directly responsible with Akintola for Operation Wetie that led to the destruction of the First Republic and later a civil war.

We must not allow his son to sell hate to us as Nigerians. When the trouble starts Femi would run to London where I am sure he holds dual nationality. Where do we have to run to? We must focus our efforts to ensure that we build a collective future for our children. We must collectively defeat these hate mongers.

THIS UNWELL HATE PREACHER CALLED FEMI FANI-KAYODE

Femi, return all the money you stole from the Ministry of Aviation and stop hiding behind your own personal agenda. For someone who cares so much about his country he would not have stolen 29 billion naira meant for the development and rehabilitation of our airports. We are not surprised at your behaviour – you come from a long line of thieves; Your real grandfather was shot dead in a court house in Lagos for duping a returnee slave descendant. Igbos say if a child does not know what killed his father, what killed his father will kill him. Like your grand pappi, the historic thievery of your ancestry and the arm of the law – this time in the authority of the EFCC have come for your blood. De ja vu.

Let me significantly have the Nigerian people know this too: that the name Fani-Kayode comes from your maternal side and the Kayode part is a borrowed name from a friend. That your father dropped his real name out of shame. That was the only way he could practise law in Lagos. Femi, tell us who your father’s father is? Stop hiding behind all Yorubas; who is your father’s father, you bastard? A slave is always the one to shout the most for fear of being identified as a slave. The Yoruba nation would never trust your family, you drug-addicted son a dead thief. Your paternal grandfather was killed for stealing. Your father worked for the Ibos all his life heading the NCNC for most of his political career and the great ObafemiAwolowo never trusted your father Remi.

Even in 1979 again your father worked against the great Awolowo and joined the NPN. Nigeria and the Yoruba nation would never forget these facts. Again, you see your own political life? De ja vu. Which party did you just cross-carpet to? I think the drugs you are taking are affecting you. Better face your EFCC cases – and squarely too – and stop trying to gain favour with the Yoruba nation.You can never correct certain known facts try as heard as you want. Again, the Yourba are not a race but an ethnic group – Cambridge fool.

You say the Yoruba are the first to go to school and the owners of Lagos: again history calls you to its books: Eko is a Benin word for camp; Idumota is a Benin word; Idumagbo is a Benin word; Eti Osa is a Benin word; the Oba of Lagos was a vassal of the Oba of Benin crowned by the Olotu.What history did you study in Cambridge, you crack head? The Yoruba were the slaves of the Benin Empire sold to faraway places like Brazil. You grandson of a thief; say more and we would tell you a few truths. Thief.

•Photo shows Femi Fani-Kayode.

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