Bwala clarifies comments, confirms the identity of Yoruba Lagos’

Presidential media assistant, Daniel Bwala, has reiterated that the legacy of the Lagos State Yoruba was not in disputes, following the controversy over the comments he made during this new television interview.

In a statement distributed on X on Wednesday, Bwala said his statement had been misinterpreted, emphasizing that the cultural and historical identity of the state as part of the Yoruba homeland “never competed.”

“Lagos culturally, historically, and constitutionally, owned by the people of Joruba, and it has never been disputed. Lagos’s unique identity as the homeland of Joruba is resolved and outside the dispute,” he wrote.

Describing Lagos as a Nigerian economic power plant and a relevant city, when comparing its role with global financial centers such as New York, Paris, and London. He noted that the state provided opportunities for Nigerians from various origin while still rooted strongly in Joruba’s legacy.

The President’s assistant explained that his advocacy was directed to ensure substantial federal investment in the lagos infrastructure, which according to him was needed to maintain his social and economic responsibility.

“Every president who is truly trying to succeed must critically support Lagos, not because it is ‘there is no human land,’ but because it is the heartbeat of the nation’s development,” he added.

Previously, Bwala made a statement on Wednesday during the interview on the Arise Television Faybreak program, where he defended the federal government’s decision to channel around ₦ 3.9 trillion into infrastructure projects in Lagos in the last two years.

According to him, Lagos cannot be claimed by a single ethnic group because of the nature of cosmopolitan and its national interests. He showed that although President Tinubu came from the southwest, he lost lagos during the 2023 presidential election, a result, according to him, underlines the political and cultural diversity of the state.

“Lagos is a no -man’s land. If it really belongs to one group, then President Tinubu, who is a Joruba man, will never lose the country in the election. Actually, Lagos reflects the diversity of Nigeria,” said Bwala.

He added that the richest people in Nigeria, such as Mogul Business Aliko Dangote, have chosen lagos as their operating basis rather than their ancestral country, underline economic magnets.

Bwala further confirmed federal investment, saying they were not driven by sentiment but by economic logic, equating lagos with other world capitals such as London, New York and Paris which naturally attracted the biggest part of the government’s attention.

“When you run the economy, you do not bring money to the place there is no return on investment. Lagos is a Nigerian commercial nerve center. If you want to encourage economic growth, you must invest in the most important place,” he said.

The phrase “land no human” has long been sensitive in Nigerian political discourse. Meanwhile historically has been used to underline the inclusive character and Pan-Nigeria Lagos, who is famous by Jaja Wachukwu in 1947 and then by former Governor Lateef Jakande in 1979, many claimed to be the native of Lagos had frowned.