Why Nigeria Must Apologise To Igbos – Fani-Kayode

Former Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, says Nigeria must offer an “unreserved apology” to the Igbo people of the South East region of the country for the genocide, ethnic cleansing and mass murder that was unleashed on them during the civil war.

Naija News reports that Fani-Kayode, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s main opposition party, made this call on the micro-blogging site, Twitter on Tuesday, May 28.

The former minister stressed that the civil war was the “greatest act of black on black genocide on the African continent in history.”

Fani-Kayode noted that nothing can go right in Nigeria till a “genuine and heartfelt expression of regret” for what the nation did to the Biafrans is tendered by the leadership and people of Nigeria and some form of “restitution and compensation” is made.

His words: “Nigeria must offer an unreserved apology to the Igbo people of the SE for the genocide, ethnic cleansing and mass murder that was unleashed on them during the civil war. 3 million Biafran were slaughtered(1 million of them children) in the space of 3 years during that conflict.

“This represents the greatest act of black on black genocide on the African continent in history. It is only surpassed, in terms of casualties, by the bestial acts of King Leopold 11 of Belgium when he and his subjects slaughtered 10 million Congolese during the colonial era.

“Nothing can go right in Nigeria till a genuine and heartfelt expression of regret for what we did to the Biafrans is tendered by the leadership and people of our country and some form of restitution and compensation is made. The mass murder, ethnic cleansing and genocide that we are witnessing today in Nigeria and which is being inflicted on us by a callous, brutal, heartless, cold-blooded and wicked horde of strangers and homicidal maniacs that came from a foreign land 200 years ago is a spiritual consequence of what we did to the Biafrans in the war.

“The only way that the carnage and bloodfest can be stopped and the vicious and endless cycle of violence can be broken is when we repent for what we did to those innocent and defenceless Biafran civilians during the civil war and apologise for it.

“Until then Nigeria will continue to wallow in blood, death, sorrow, failure, shame, poverty and carnage. Why? Because we are a nation under God’s judgement,” Fani-Kayode added.