The Ohanaeze Ndigbo has called on the world to understand the comments by US-based Nigerian lecturer, Prof. Uju Anya on the death of Queen of England, Elizabeth II.
Anya had tweeted that she wished the Queen “excruciating pain”.
“I heard the chief monarch of a thieving raping and genocidal empire is finally dying. May her pain be excruciating.
“If anyone expects me to express anything but disdain for the monarch who supervised a government that sponsored the genocide that massacred and displaced half my family and the consequences of which those alive today are still trying to overcome, you can keep wishing upon a star,” she tweeted.
The tweets however attracted condemnation from Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, where she teaches and the world’s second richest man, Jeff Bezos.
“We do not condone the offensive and objectionable messages posted by Uju Anya today on her personal social media account.
“Free expression is core to the mission of higher education, however, the views she shared absolutely do not represent the values of the institution, nor the standards of discourse we seek to foster,” the university tweeted.
Bezos wrote: “This is someone who is supposedly working to make the world better? I don’t think so. Wow!”
Bashir Ahmad, an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari also said: “I don’t know that Uju Anya until I saw some of her tweets for the first time on my timeline this evening. Her tweets about the late queen Elizabeth were so unfortunately unnecessary.”
Reacting to the controversies surrounding Anya’s tweets however, the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Okwu Nnabuike urged those attacking the Professor to understand that she spoke with emotions.
“We deeply commiserate with the entire people of Britain on the passage of their Monarch, the Queen of England, just as we congratulate the new monarch, King Charles III,” he said.
According to Nnabuike, though Ndigbo do not wish anyone death, “it will be difficult for the people to forget the civil war massacre.
“Anya’s choice of words was one fueled by emotion, similar to that of millions of Ndigbo who are yet to recover from the effects of the civil war and the accompanying genocide.
“It is a known fact that Ndigbo do not wish anyone evil, let alone death, and this is why we are highly forgiving and accommodating.
“But the fact is Ndigbo are yet to recover from the civil war experience, as they still face visible marginalization and exclusion in every segment of the country’s life.
“We, therefore, urge those calling for Prof. Anya’s head to exercise restraint as we join to mourn the departure of the Great Queen Elizabeth II,” Ohanaeze stated.
With additional reports by NewsBreak365
