ABUJA, Nigeria — Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has clarified remarks he made describing Lagos State as a “no-man’s land,” after the statement drew widespread backlash.
Bwala made the initial comment on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, during an interview on Arise Television’s Daybreak programme, where he defended the concentration of federal projects in Lagos as justified investment in Nigeria’s commercial hub.
“Lagos State is a no-man’s land… Whatever Lagos benefits, the country benefits,” Bwala had said, drawing comparisons with global financial centres such as New York, London, and Paris.
The description immediately triggered outrage on social media, where critics accused Bwala of denying Lagos’s historical and cultural roots as part of Yoruba land.
By Wednesday evening, the presidential aide issued a clarification via his official X handle, stressing that his words had been taken out of context.
“Culturally, historically, and constitutionally, Lagos belongs to the Yoruba people, and that has never been in contention,” Bwala wrote.
“The unique identity of Lagos as a Yoruba homeland is settled and beyond dispute.”
Bwala said his argument was not about ownership but about the city’s unique role as Nigeria’s commercial heartbeat.
He described Lagos as a cosmopolitan hub that accommodates people from all parts of the country, while remaining firmly rooted in Yoruba heritage.
“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.
He added that his call was for deliberate federal investment in Lagos’s infrastructure, given the city’s national economic responsibilities.
“Such support is not because Lagos is ‘no-man’s land,’ but because it is the heartbeat of the nation’s development,” he said.
During his Arise Television appearance, Bwala also defended reports that ₦3.9 trillion worth of federal projects had been allocated to Lagos over the past two years, saying the spending was justified by the state’s role as Nigeria’s hub of commerce and economic growth.
“The idea that you put more in Lagos than in other states or the federation should be put into proper context. Lagos is the hub of Nigeria. Lagos is the pride of the country,” he said.
