AGF Malami: Is It A Crime To Be Igbo In Nigeria? Fani-Kayode Asks

Former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode has condemned the constant attacks on Igbos, stressing that he would never forgive Nigeria if he was from the south-east.

Recall that Southern Governors had in a meeting in Asaba, Delta, ban open grazing in the region while calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to convene a national summit.

But speaking in an interview with Channels TV, Malami said the resolve to ban open grazing by southern governors is equivalent to prohibiting spare parts trading in the north.

According to the AGF, the decision of the governors does not align with the provisions of the constitution and “does not hold water”.

He said: “It is about constitutionality within the context of the freedoms expressed in our constitution. Can you deny the rights of a Nigerian?”

Malami’s comments have been widely condemned with many seeing it as a direct attack on Igbos by a federal government official.

Reacting in a post on his Twitter page on Friday, Fani-Kayode stated that Malami’s comment was totally unacceptable and deeply and inherently racist to compare spare part dealers to killer herdsmen.

Fani-Kayode wrote: “Permit me to ask: is it a CRIME to be Igbo in Nigeria?

“We killed millions of them (including their children) over the last 61 years. We terrorised them.

“We traumatised them. We insulted them. We denied them. We deprived them. We dehumanised them.

“We mocked them. We criminalised them. We marginalised them. We humiliated them. We forced them to stay when they wanted to leave.

“We caged them. We broke them. We cheated them.

“We flogged them. We stole from them. We held them captive and we did so much more to them yet some say this is still not enough.

“They believe that we must spit in their faces, rub dirt on their heads, rub salt in their wounds, conquer them, enslave them and treat them with utter contempt & disdain as if they were sub-human or third-class citizens.

“This is not right! It is not proper! It is not fair!

“It is ungodly. It is evil! It is totally and completely unacceptable.

“It erroneously depicts us as a nation of unrepentant barbarians, savages and sadists that have no sense of justice or decency and that is NOT who or what we are as a people! We are far better than that!

“The Igbo is a human being just like the rest of us and he is entitled to be treated with decency, decorum and respect just like every other Nigerian.

“I often ask myself whether, if I were Igbo, I could ever forgive Nigeria for what we have done to them.

As long as we have this utterly racist, bigoted, shameless and self-deprecatiing mindset about our Igbo compatriots and fellow human beings things cannot go well for us as a people and as a nation. This is the bitter truth.

“Though some refuse to admit or accept it, ALL Nigerians are equal before God and the law. There are NO slaves and NO masters. None were born to rule and none were born to serve or to be ruled.

“The sooner we recognise and accept this fact the better it shall be for us all.”