Special Adviser on Policy Communication to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Daniel Bwala, has clarified his controversial remark describing Lagos State as a “no-man’s land,” insisting that the state is historically and constitutionally the ancestral home of the Yoruba people.
Bwala had earlier defended the Federal Government’s reported N3.9 trillion infrastructure investment in Lagos, arguing that the state’s cosmopolitan nature and economic dominance justified such heavy funding. He cited the presence of businesses owned by Nigerians from across the country, including Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, as evidence of Lagos’s national character.
His earlier remarks sparked backlash, particularly over his description of Lagos as a “no-man’s land.”
In a post on his official X handle, Bwala made a U-turn, clarifying that his words had been misinterpreted.
“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,” he wrote.
The legal practitioner, however, stressed that his point was about Lagos’s role as Nigeria’s commercial hub and a magnet for people from all regions, likening it to New York, Paris, and London, which, despite their global appeal, remain rooted in their original identities.
“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,” he explained.
