TheCable

On Thursday, Femi Fani-Kayode, former minister of aviation, finally joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) — the party he had described as an association of Fulani herdsmen.

The development put to rest the speculations and rumours of Fani-Kayode joining the APC as well as the repeated denials from him.

In the past, the former minister had described APC as a party of looters, saying he would rather die than join them.

Aside from his critical comments about the APC, the former minister had also made some negative comments against the Fulani ethnic group, alleging that the Fulani are making plans to dominate the country through a forceful takeover of people’s lands.

A GOVERNMENT ONLY FOR FULANI PEOPLE – FANI-KAYODE

In 2018, the former minister, in a response to the comment made by Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president that calling killer herdsmen Fulani is wrong, alleged that herdsmen killing people in some parts of the country are Fulani.

“It is bad enough that hardly any Fulani leaders have come out to publicly condemn the activities of their herdsmen but to condemn the horrendous acts and then attempt to shield the racial identity of those behind it by saying that they are not Fulani is even worse,” the minister said.

Also, Fani-Kayode, in an opinion titled: Ruga and the Fulani Agenda, published in 2019, accused the federal government of being a government only for the Fulani people, adding that Nigeria is a “conquered and subjugated” state crafted for the “benefits” of the Fulani people.

He also argued that Nigeria is not one nation and that Nigerians are pretending to love one another while secretly hating one another.

I HAVE FULANI BLOOD IN ME – FANI-KAYODE

Surprisingly, the former minister, in an article titled: I have Fulani Blood in Me, published in 2013, narrated how his maternal great-grandmother was a pure Fulani woman from Sokoto.

Putting twist to his words, Fani-Kayode said his mother had one-quarter of Fulani blood in her, and he has one eighth, adding that out of respect for the Muslim side of his family, all his siblings had both Christian and Muslim names.

He added that his Muslim name is Abdulateef while criticising critics who accused him of being anti-Islam of not knowing his background.

“My maternal grandfather was a great and powerful Muslim cleric and scholar by the name of Sheik Nurudeen Sa’ Id. He was from Ilesha. He was also a civil servant, and he spent a good deal of his adult life in Lagos,” he wrote.

“His father, that is my maternal great-grandfather, was a pure Yoruba man from Ilesha. However, his mother, that is my maternal great-grandmother, was a pure Fulani woman from Sokoto.

“My grandfather, Sheik Nurudeen Sa’ I’d, who was half Fulani and half Yoruba, got married to my grandmother, Alhaja Abeke Sa’ id (nee Williams), who was a pure Yoruba woman. She was also known as ”Mama Ofin”.

“She was from Lagos (Isale Eko) and she was the daughter of Alhaji Isa Williams who was a key leader in the Muslim community and the richest businessman and trader in the whole of Lagos in his day.”

He further added that he is a true Nigerian that will love and live in Nigeria till death, regardless of the country’s numerous challenges.