Ben Llewellyn-Jones, the British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, has come under fire from the Nigeria’s former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, for threatening to impose a visa ban on him.
This is because he also stated that a “British civil servant” would not be allowed to dictate how he would speak or handle matters relating to Nigeria in Nigeria.
Ten persons were on the UK’s watchlist for visa bans, the envoy said in an interview with Nigeria Info FM on Sunday.
He stated that those on the list were allegedly responsible for undermining Nigerian democracy. Also, he criticized Fani-Kayode’s recent remarks as the Director of New Media for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council.
Reacting to Llewellyn-Jones’ remarks in a series of tweets on his Twitter handle on Sunday, Fani-Kayode said: “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 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. Frankly, I could not care less.
“Neither will we accept lessons in decency, etiquette, what to say, or how to speak from a British civil servant. I advise this 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.”
