Electioneering activities have a way of bringing out the worst in Nigerians. Each time an election comes we begin to remember that there are indigenes and settlers.
Words and actions of certain individuals and a section of the media, foisting attacks on different ethnic groups, is a serious threat to national cohesion. History has clearly shown that ethnic profiling has grave consequences for the stability of a nation.
The dangerous tenor of rhetoric, however, reached a crescendo in the ethnic slur recently attributed to Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the Chairman of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Council of Elders.
Iwuanyanwu became the target of harsh criticism as a video of him allegedly labelling the entire Yoruba race as rascals went viral. Although he has since refuted the allegation claiming he was quoted out of context, the news has assumed a life of its own.
Iwuanyanwu reportedly made the comment at Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s one-year-in-office ceremony.
Reacting to alleged attacks against the Igbo in Lagos, following the tension-soaked presidential and governorship polls in the state, Iwuanyanwu said what he did at the ceremony was to admonish the Igbo who felt threatened by alleged attacks in Lagos that they had no cause to worry because there were no problems between the Igbo and Yoruba.
He said he did, however, mention to them that the alleged attackers “are political rascals and their action does not reflect the good relationship between the Yoruba and Igbo.”
Some pundits have equally dismissed the video in which Iwuanyanwu reportedly committed the ethnic slur, claiming it was edited with mischief; yet many people would rather go with the narrative that appeals to their personal politics thus reinforcing the rash of ethnic venom that has taken root among Nigeria’s ethnic nationalities.
The elder statesman had condemned the reported violence and informed the gathering of the efforts made by Igbo’s apex organisation to address it, even as he warned the Yorubas against further provocation.
The Ohanaeze chieftain was referring to the alleged harassment of Igbo in Lagos during the February 25 and March 18 elections.
Afenifere, however, fumed at Iwuanyanwu’s statement while appealing to Nigerians and particularly the Yoruba, to eschew violence and embrace people of all races, cultures, and backgrounds.
•Written by Alao Abiodun
