Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication has addressed his statement on Lagos State’s ethnical heritage on Wednesday, a statement which has gained traction on social media following his pronouncement of “no man’s land”.
Speaking earlier during a breakfast television programme on Wednesday, Bwala argued that the concentration of federal projects in Lagos should not be seen as favouritism but as investment in the country’s commercial hub, as it is practised in developed countries across the world, like New York in the United States of America and London in the United Kingdom.
In a post later on his official X.com account, Bwala stated that the context in which he described Lagos as a “no man’s land” has been misinterpreted, and he sets the record straight on his earlier statement, saying that the Lagos State Yoruba cultural and historical legacy can not be contested.
The statement reads, “Don’t misinterpret what I said in my interview this morning. Culturally, historically, and constitutionally, Lagos belongs to the Yoruba people, and that has never been in contention.”
“The unique identity of Lagos as a Yoruba homeland is settled and beyond dispute. What I emphasised was the special place Lagos occupies in Nigeria and indeed West Africa — a city that, much like New York, Paris, or London, serves as the commercial nerve centre of our economy.”
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Bwala further clarifies the importance of investing in Lagos as the commercial hub of Nigeria.
“Lagos provides every Nigerian, regardless of origin, a level playing field to thrive, and in this sense, it mirrors the diversity of our nation while remaining firmly rooted in Yoruba heritage. My argument was, therefore, and justifiably so, for massive investments in infrastructure to sustain the economic and social responsibilities Lagos has shouldered on behalf of Nigeria.
“Any President who truly seeks to succeed must critically support Lagos, not because it is ‘no man’s land,’ but because it is the heartbeat of the nation’s development,” he concluded.
