Emeka Okafor
Awka
The youth wing of Ohaneze Ndigbo has condemned condemned the allegation of putrefaction leveled against Ndigbo by one Adeyinka Granson.
Adeyinka Granson had ascribed the blame of Xenophobic attack on foreign nationals in South Africa to Igbo immigrants in the country.
The Igbo apex socio cultural youth group said the statement fall short of patriotism and should be cautioned by all and sundry.
In a statement signed by its national leader Amb. Arthur Uchenaa Obiora, the group dissociated Igbo from the ill-conceived allegation, stressing that the nation remained most formidable ethnic society in present day Nigeria and in Africa at large.
Retrospecting on the evolution of foreign nationals in South Africa, the statement read, ‘’This few days ago, the South African embassy in Lusaka Zambia came under attack by Zambian citizens. They were protesting the xenophobic attacks by South Africans against Zambian nationals.
"About a month also it was Tanzanians who descended on businesses with known South African interests operating in Tanzania.
‘’At another time it was Mozambique Nationals protesting South Africans killings Mozambicans, while Zimbabweans were next to follow.
‘’The list of other Black African nations suffering the same fate in the hands of South Africans is long.
‘’Yesterday and today it is Nigerians registering their displeasure, if violently against businesses of South African origin operating in Nigeria because of the wanton killings of Nigerians living in South African by South Africans.
‘’No matter how one wants to look at it, South Africans have been adjudged guilty of Xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals living in their country.
‘’Nigerians have unfortunately been worst hit, perhaps, more than any other countries' nationals living in South Africa.
‘’This is a tragedy of enormous proportions given the gruesome dimensions of the killings and maiming, the attendant loss of property and livelihood and the entire pathetic humanatiran conditions left in the wake of these xenophobic destruction.
‘’This is certainly a cause for bitterness and regret amongst Nigerians especially given what Nigeria invested in men , material and finances in the liberation of South Africa from the stranglehold of Apartheid."
The Igbo youth apex socio cultural group said focused should be centralize as it is perceived in other climes rather than resorting to name calling among fellow Nigerians over what many countries of the world have collectively condemned and described as barbaric, saying it was an action that is least expected of a third world country that is recently being regarded as a fast developing nation.
‘’It calls for condemnation of South Africa and calls for sanctions and possible embargoes on South African businesses , services and interests in Nigeria.
‘’It is a time for sober reflection on our relationship with South Africa going forward.
‘’It certainly shouldn't be silly seasons when some misguided Nigerians can recklessly tribalize and trivialize a national tragedy such as one Adeyinka Granson , an obviously disturbed and possibly deranged young man , has recently done.
‘’It is a settled matter that every ethnicity in our country has its bad elements and of course its good.
While calling for a unifying front in the face of obvious action of eradication melted at Nigerians in South Africa, ‘’It is uncharitable to brand the Igbo tribe with the brush of its few bad elements.
‘’The Igbo will not accept that victim status anymore.
‘’We resolutely will not accept to be adopted as the chronic scapegoats anymore by anyone no matter how lowly or highly placed," he exclaimed.
According to Obiorah, Igbo stands later if not the best tribe that has won most of the globally acknowledged laurels and still counting in terms of academic, Sports, Economic, commerce, business and industry, that place Ndigbo and Nigeria on the globally map, which have the greatest contributions if not solely achieved by the Igbo race.
‘’There is a surfeit of excellent, decent , legitimately living , hardworking, creative , innovative, very educated and highly respected and respectable Igbo in Nigeria and in every part of the worl.
‘’Of the 46 award winners in Havard University recently, an overwhelming many were Igbo.
‘’The Igbo have blazed multiple trails in the academia , industry, science, military ,commerce , banking and finance, administration, sports , music , religion the world over and especially in Nigeria.
‘’They have borne the full brunt of nation building more than any other ethnicity in Nigeria.
‘’Individuals like Adyemi Granson should look deeper into the morass and unbelievable decay of the fabric of the Nigerian economic and social matrix that is making its citizens emigrate in droves to countries less endowed to be treated less than sub-human.
He continued, ‘’Igbo will stoutly resist changing the dismal frightening security narrative of today's Nigeria in which killer herdsmen have mutated and mestersized into wholesale Kidnappers uncontrollable by the country's lopsided police force and other security assets.
‘’That narrative of heinous activities of murderous bandits, terrorists and Kidnappers ruling the Nigerian nation will not be interchanged with the cheap blackmail of a few fraudsters sought by the US or some so called drug skirmishes going on in South Africa which is even said to be championed by Tanzanians.
‘’Those are tips of icebergs (that should be taken care of appropriately by those countries' law enforcement agencies.
‘’They should not in any way be used to divert attention from the GLACIERS of collapsing security , social and economic matrixes of our country by a bad , barbaric and insensate Government whose poor and irresponsible governance is forcing its citizens unto other nations.
‘’The causes of these wanton seemingly unstoppable emigration's our of Nigeria is what we should do well to study and master."
He rebuked the unguarded statement credited to Adeyinka Granson and called on respected Yoruba leaders to caution his infantile demeanor which according to him does not reduce the love Ndigbo have with real Yoruba and Nigerians at large, said they stand to rebuke any further spurious allegation from the uncultured youngman, seeking relevance through the means of socio media.
He advised Nigerian leaders from the three all tiers of government to take the Xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa as a reflection of the rot and decay in the country economic system, which he said chases young Nigerians abroad in search of greener pasture in foreign land.
The Youth leader however noted with fact that if Nigeria economy is fixed and appropriate things are done to boost the human capital development of the country, less attention or interest will be drown to the plight of one traveling out of the country for the perceived greener pasture.
‘’Until our government starts to pay more attention to the unbearable economic, social and security situation in Nigeria which forces our citizens' mass egress/exit out of Nigeria, Nigerians will continue to be victims of such unnatural grissly slaughter in the hands of misguided countries like South Africa," he advised.
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