The recent unprovoked verbal attack on the Igbo by a Roman Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. James Anelu, from Edo State, brought the issue of Igbophobia to the fore once more in Nigeria. As if on cue, the next day, a deputy commissioner of police, Mr Ibrahim Babazango, from Adamawa State, was reported to have threatened the life of one Igbo man, Mr Vincent Umeh, for buying the property next to his residence in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State.
For Rev. Fr. Anelu, the Priest-in-Charge of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Enu-Owa, Ikorodu, Lagos State, the trigger was that the choir was singing “too many” Igbo choruses. It was reported that he stopped the choir midway and outlawed the singing of Igbo songs in the church. That was not all. He went into the usual ethnic tirade of how Igbo people liked to dominate everywhere, citing the example of an Igbo person being the bishop of his home diocese (Benin Diocese), and other stereotypical statements.
From his speech, captured on camera, it was obvious the singing of Igbo songs was not his main problem. The Igbo were his problem. Even though that parish was highly populated by Igbo people, for the sake of integration and inclusiveness, songs sung at such a church should reflect the ethnic diversity of Nigeria. A Roman Catholic head of a parish wields enormous power. He can sack the entire choir. If Anelu’s concern was truly the need for inclusiveness, he could have invited the leaders of the choir to a private meeting and explained to them the need to sing more songs from other ethnic groups and English. After that, if the problem persisted, he could apply punitive measures to the leadership of the choir or the lead vocalists with the sole aim of correcting the problem.
He could also take other practical measures to change the situation like encouraging more non-Igbo people to join the choir. He could also encourage non-Igbo to teach the choir more non-Igbo songs to deepen their repertoire. But the words of Fr. Anelu showed that his primary concern was not to promote inclusiveness but to express his views about the Igbo. The Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos quickly intervened by suspending him.
In the case of Babazango, Sahara Reporters had reported that he was caught in an audio warning Umeh to reverse the land purchase deal or face some consequences, including no guarantee of his personal safety.
“We’re a homogeneous community, I don’t want you; you can’t be my next-door neighbour, I swear. What sort of insult is this? Can any northerner move now to the South-East, say Onitsha, and just bump into any neighbourhood to buy a property just like that?” the senior police officer had allegedly said to Umeh. Sahara Reporters reported that when it contacted Babazango, he maintained his stand on the issue.
A follow-up news story by Sahara Reporters said that the Nigeria Police Force described the accusation as false, stating that Umeh never reported such a case to them as he claimed. However, Sahara Reporters confirmed that Umeh reported the matter to Zone 3 Police Command, Yola and also the office of the Department of State Services in December 2021.
These cases only became points of interest because of the status of those involved and because they were brought to the media space. But they are not unusual. They are only part of a bigger and deeper problem. In the recent past, some prominent Nigerians like the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.); Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu; Senator Oluremi Tinubu; Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, etc, have been caught on camera displaying Igbophobia. However, most non-Igbo, who don’t experience Igbophobia, would easily dismiss any claim that Igbophobia is systemic in Nigeria. But that should not be surprising because they are not involved. It is said that whoever feels it knows it.
