So, early this morning, I was surfing through Facebook and stumbled upon a write up by a lady bearing a name that makes her either from the north or a Yoruba Muslim.
The write up alleged that the Igbo people are given certain privileges in other parts of Nigeria, which privileges we Igbos don’t give people of other ethnic groups in the southeast. Being a southeasterner and already bewildered at the recent trend of inciting narrative being stoked by those who are trying to make Obidient Movement an ethnic movement, I quickly replied her refuting the claim.
But the lady took her mudslinging to another notch by stating; “the world knows that Igbos are ethnic and religious bigots.” I quickly condemned the claim and corrected the wrong notion.
So, I ask my fellow Ndigbo, is this new trend that we are a bunch of boisterous bullying religious and ethnic bigots true? Can this mindset be fuelled by our tendency to refer to the ethnic alliance we always use as proof of validation for our political support…from time immemorial?
For instance, could making an emotional issue of the ‘Ebele’ in Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s name back then (even though we later realised that the Ebele was far from Igbo after we had been swindled politically) be part of the premise that gave rise to this classification by our Hausa Fulani and Yoruba brothers?
Or maybe this recent brouhaha about Lagos being no man’s land obviously because of the large volume of the geographical location bearing Lagos that has been bought over by the Igbo, Ndigbo. And to add insult to injury, the winning of Lagos State in the recent most controversial presidential election by the Obidient Movement (which is being wrongly tagged an Igbo group)?
Or maybe it is this whole trepidation emanating from a background check of the LP guber candidate that alleges he has Igbo blood, married to an Igbo lady and therefore the huge frenzy to replace Sanwo Olu with him at the Lagos Government House.
What is it about us that is inspiring this level of hate, UmuIgbo? How do we change this narrative before it degenerates to another pogrom. See the arsons and attacks that had happened in the past and recent times. My family was and still is victim to an Igbo cleansing in the north in the early 90s. We barely escaped with our lives.
As we chill this evening and share bottles of whatever make you happy, let us carry out this introspection as a people and seek for solution before it is too late. Ka anyi wepu aka enwe na-ofe tupu ohoro aka mmadu.
@ostareze
