By John Okiyi Kalu I was trying to understand the character called Femi Fani Kayode beyond the known fact of his past (and may...

By John Okiyi Kalu
I was trying to understand the character called Femi Fani Kayode beyond the known fact of his past (and may be present) history of drug use and accidentally stumbled on an article written by one Kola Ola Olaniran in January 2006 titled “rudeness runs in Fani-Kayode’s family”.
In summary, Kola Ola stated that the father of the man we now call FFK opposed and insulted Chief Obafemi Awolowo many times in public and the son must have learned rudeness and disorderly behaviour from the father. The only difference is that the son added drug addiction to his personal resume. That bit explained his extraordinarily loquacious behaviour.

I previously read FFK on FB saying he was Obasanjo’s “Minister for Toto” with his major assignment being to arrange women for Baba. He even boasted about cheating on his wife.

For someone who was a former Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria it should be easy to see why the rain continue to beat us in Nigeria. In which other country will characters like that be given cabinet positions that require common sense and decorum? Shame on those who appointed him minister just to spite Awoists.

“”I first read about Femi Fani-Kayode in 2001 when he, under the cloak of ethnic irredentism was threatening fire and brimstone to have Obasanjo removed by all means possible. He then put up a meretricious facade of a true defender of the Yoruba race. Obasanjo must have seen in him another ethnic militia in the making but decided to give him the appointment to drive home the point that “omo buruku lojo ti e” (a bad boy has his useful days). Femi was angry and hungry for appointment and desperately in dire need of prominence. He applied the contumacies of ethnic irredentism to balloon himself into the corridor of power, ever since then, he has eaten all his words against Obasanjo. He became a full time agent provocateur, he accepted the ephemeral appointment to mortgage his future, he now looms so large in giddy heights of notoriety and pomposity that he has forgetten that the nuisance value in him is all Obasanjo needs to use and that in the fullness of time, I mean when his notoriety runs its full tragic course, he will be consigned to the garbage heap of history…..Many well-meaning Nigerians have called on Obasanjo to get rid of this despicable and ‘misguided small boy”. Just last week, the Achbishop of Lagos, Dr Ola Makinde lent his voice to the number of people calling for something serious to be done to obfuscate the misdemeanor of this rapacious rascal and many have called on the need to cut to size the rude toga draped over his loutish behavior. If rudeness is a legacy he inherited, he needs to be told in clear term that the modern day Nigeria can not tolerate this kind of behavior.”-Kola Ola Olaniran

If those were the words of a fellow Yoruba man written many years ago about FFK then all I can demand is that Igbo and Yoruba youths ignore the rantings of this man. He is not worth the 10 minutes you spend reading him. Although he has inadvertently exposed the “hidden” bigotry of some of his “fans”. That is not entirely surprising because even Osama Bin Laden had fans who “liked” his tapes and messages. My only surprise was to see the names of some of my Facebook friends in his fans list. I thought they were better than FFK.

Let sane minds ask themselves what FFK intends to achieve with his rants. My best guess is that his writings are the products of a cocaine-overdosed mind. He doesn’t represent the feeling of Yoruba towards Igbo or vice versa. Like the Biblical thief in John 10:10 he has come to “kill, steal and destroy” the unity of our people.

I wish to personally use this opportunity to call on well-meaning Nigerians of Yoruba descent, particularly Pa Fredrick Faseun, to find a way to distance the hard working Yoruba nation from the infantile rants of this boy-man. If action is not taken quickly to contain or rein him in, his posturing aimed at redeeming himself and family from the history of anti-mainstream Yoruba politics will end up igniting unnecessary ethnic conflageration in South West states. That he intends to contest for governorship of his state is not enough reason to go overboard in appealing to primordial sentiments to be accepted as a Yoruba.

As a professional marketing person, I am fairly certain that thoughts like that of FFK will hurt Lagos and the intentions of true founders of Lagos who envisaged a mega city where everyone can come, live and have a sense of ownership and belonging. Just like me, those well intentioned men must be worrying about divestment from Lagos by those FFK see as “non-owners” who must leave. Calabar and Lokoja should be useful reminders of what can result when a good policy is hijacked by people who know next to nothing about running a modern mega city. It is possible to move from Mega (Capital) city to a mere town.

It is in the interest of Lagos and the Oduduwa nation for more “non-indigene” to see themselves as “Lagosians” and even forget their state of origin. That way they will be totally committed to “project Mega Lagos” with measurable benefits to not only Lagos but also neighbouring states like Ogun. A drug infested mind will not be able to understand this, especially one consumed with a patrimony of rudeness, madness and illicit drug use.

Send FFK back to a rehab home before he does more damage to individuals and national unity. Better still, arrest him for being a threat to national unity and cohesion.

The time to act is NOW.

 

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