[1] Over the last 24 hours I have been inundated by my Igbo friends asking for my comments on the Femi Fani-Kayode saga. It appears I am not allowed to maintain dignified silence as Bianca so graciously did. Anyway, I think it is right that I air my thoughts, if for nothing else but to held end this mindless ethnic spat

[2] First of all, I do not think it is right for FFK to be airing private details of his love live on a public forum. Private matters should remain private in my opinion. Kiss-and-tell smacks of classlessness in my book. I must commend Bianca for the way she has handled herself in this matter. She has acted with utmost dignity. Luckily, Oby Ezekwesili has waded into the debate today, so she can take over the fight

[3] On to the substansive issue, I do not agree with FFK that Lagos is part of Yorubaland. Lagos and Abuja are unique cities in Nigeria that no ethnic group can honestly lay claim to

[4] When Lagos became a British Crown Colony in 1861, it only really consisted of Lagos Island with small communities in Ikeja, Itire and Isolo. Its was the making the city the capital of Nigeria that led to its expansion and development

[5] When Portuguese explorer Rui de Sequeira visited the area in 1472, naming the area around the city Lago de Curamo, I doubt if the population of Lagos was more than 1,000 people

[6] During the First Republic, Lagos was considered a federal capital territory just like Abuja is today and Musa Yar'Adua was the FCT minister. At the time, I am not even sure Yorubas were in the majority in the city

[7] Most of Lagos's infrastructure was build with federal funds. Look at the Apapa ports, the Third Mainland Bridge, the 10-Lane Ikorodu Road, the Lagois-Badagry Expresseway, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, National Theatre, National Stadium, Nitel Building, etc. It would be dishonest for Yorubas to try and claim such achievements as theirs

[8] Do you know that Victoria Island was totally uninhabited until Tafawa Balewa decided to convert this derelict swamp into a posh housing estate for the elite? At the time, there was no ethnic distinction between who lived there

[9] What I will agree with FFK about is that Lagos is the most welcoming of all places in Africa. It is only in Lagos that a non-indigene can work for the state civil service, rise up to a position of authority and suffer no discrimination as exists in the 35 other states. All the indigenous Lagos generally demand is that the head person, be it the permanent secretary, director-general, etc be one of them. Outside that, everyone else is free to rise up the ranks. How many of you even know that Lagos State has had an Igbo governor before? Yes, Ebitu Ukiwe was once the military administrator and he was appointed by a Yoruba head of state Gen Olusegun Obasanjo!

[10] Parts of Lagos, such as Ajegunle remain Igbo enclaves until today. Nnamdi Azikiwe was their MP in the First Republic and the area remains dominated by Igbos, who have built it up. Such Igbos, have no "Other home to go to." During the Eyo Festival, they come out in their white garbs and are just as Lagosian as a man whose grandfather was born in Isale Eko.