Chief Femi Fani Kayode Is My Spokesman By Olagunju Isaac

They called him names, pronounced him mental, some even threatened his family members. His crime was that he spoke, not only did he speak, he spoke the truth. This is a very grievous crime to the Igbo. They have their own ideology of what the truth ought to be and all creature must propagate Igbo's version of 'the truth' even if it contradicts the facts on ground. It is a mission that must be accomplished.

According to Igbo intellectuals Chief Femi Fani Kayode erred because he replied the ever present idle and idling mob of Igbo online activist. He shouldn't have said a word. After all, he's a Yoruba man and according to them Yoruba's are cowards. A reason he's expected to keep shut like the rest of the voiceless elders from his tribe. Even when they are peddling lies, preaching hate and spreading propaganda, he must keep mute, after all, he's Yoruba.

But they miss the point. FFK is not alone on this, he spoke the mind of millions of his people(myself inclusive). So how did FFK suddenly get his voice? Its very simple. Hooke's law states that: 'Provided the elastic limit is not exceeded', the extension(e) of an elastic material is directly proportional to the force applied(F). Emphasis on: "Provided the elastic limit is not exceeded". The truth is- the elastic limit has been exceeded. The Igbos have pushed their luck too far and 'F' is no longer directly proportional to 'e'.

When Babatunde Raji Fashola, governor of Lagos state deported the destitutes that caused this whole brouhaha. Our ever loving Igbo online community; known for their gospel of hate, anger and lies saw it as an opportunity to display their talents. They did what they know how to do best. Shout! Boast!! Curse!!! It's no news that Igbos are noisy. They seized that opportunity to call BRF all the bad glorifying names in their dictionary, they lied that he's sending Igbo's back home because his tribe is envious of the Igbos, they said he dare not do that to other tribes(hausa fulani's), they labeled him Igbo hater, some said Yorubas are Nigeria's problem. There's nothing they did not say. In their usual way, they talked and talked and wrote and wrote and pinged and pinged and buzzed and buzzed about their hatred for the Yoruba race.

Unknown to many of them, Fashola's deportation of Igbo destitute made the news because- somebody(a certain hypocrite- Peter Obi) 'purposely' want to draw Igbo sympathy to himself. It's an election year in his state. So 'Mr hypocrite' must appeal to his people as caring and pro-Igbo even if it means wearing a mask of deceit. He knows his people are often vulgar, uncouth and very emotional. Fashola's deportation of destitutes offered him a perfect opportunity to conceal his intentions. When he deported 29 beggars to their home states of Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom states in December, 2011. FFK's accusers did not find their voice then- Deportation within an Igbo speaking state will not draw the required sympathy. It's that simple.

While the champions of ethnic jingoism(Igbos) were all over the web displaying their bitterness and hatred for the Yorubas. No yoruba man talked. We didn't talk not because we are cowards neither did we write, not because there's no ink in our pen but because we are more refined than them. Not one prominent yoruba elder statesman replied them because we know that this is who they are. We know them because we are very conversant with their story, we remember vividly their history of 80 - 100-years ago. We have since formed our opinion about them.

We know that this ethnic debate didn't just start today. We also know that the genesis of this ethnic debates emanates from Achebe and the Igbo bitterness that has permeated subsequent generations.

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But, when one of their kins men, another pretentious hypocrite(Orji Uzor Kalu) called Lagos 'A no man's land'. FFK reminded them of their history and warned them not to push their luck too far.

Then, hell let loose. Now, heaven must fall. They questioned his audacity to state facts and truth(after all, he's expected to be a coward). These Igbo illiterates (The illiterate of the 21st century is not those who can not read and write but those who can not learn, unlearn and relearn) painted the web red with insults, lies and falsehood. They blackmailed him. They made attempt at digging a hole in his reputation.

They called him a 'tribal bigot'(a label that on d contrary perfectly describes them). Some even called for his arrest. But not one of them was able to counter the facts stated by FFK. They still haven't been able to explain to us how Lagos suddenly became 'A No Man's Land'.

Instead of them to vest their venom on Peter Obi for mis-informing the public and politicising the Lagos state deportation saga( because this isn't the first time other state including Igbo speaking states have been deporting destitutes to Anambra state yet he's never complained) they choose instead to leave the basic, the foundation, the root, the very beginning of the matter for their imaginary, leafless and flawed propagation of their version of the truth. They couched tribal sentiments

in sophistry; Their intellectuals inclusive.
Chief Femi Fani Kayode isn't the problem, the problem is the Igbo bitterness that has permeated subsequent generations.

Chief Femi Fani Kayode is no bastard. Infact, he rightly responded and his response best represent Yoruba's opinion. We are very proud of him. No amount of blackmail can distort the fact, truth and history. As a matter of fact. Orji Uzor Kalu owes the Yorubas an apology for calling our land 'A No man's Land'. We belief that as soon as the cloud of hatred presently on his reasoning vanish away, he'll do the right thing- Tender his apology.

As for the master of hypocrisy, pretentious confusionist- Peter Obi; I really do not have much word for him, he can continue to disguise his cunnings, he can paint himself snow white but some of us can never be fooled. We know him, we know that, his mastery of deception is legendary. We also know that he'd soon come back in the DARK to beg.

While, there's no space for hate in the heart of the average Yoruba man. The igbos have been pushing their luck. We will see how far they are prepared to push before they are firmly put in their place. Igbos hatred of Yorubas will not be let unrequited for too long.

Call me a tribal bigot, insult me, threaten me, blackmail me. Chief Femi Fani Kayode is my spokesman. His response is the opinion of millions of Yoruba's. I am first a Yoruba before being a Nigerian. Like FFK said: perhaps its time to answer the nationality question.

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Articles by Femi Fani Kayode