A list of fraudsters released by the FBI was shown to me last week. After scanning through and seeing the bigoted uproar that followed, I was forced to inquire if the FBI went round the world then found only the ones on the list to be guilty. My instinct kept telling me that the said raid took place in a US territory mainly inhabited by Igbos.
That question was necessary as I didn’t want to join the bandwagon that concluded that Igbos are top when it comes to crime. If you decide to make arrests in my hood for instance, majority of those who’ll end up in your net will be from the South West, so in a situation like this, it will be demeaning to conclude on matters with just one list.
‘Na who dem catch be thief’.
Now to my main concern!
I was not cool with the manner in which the issue was turned tribal by many. Our priority on matters like this should be to lament on the dent some of us keep placing on our country’s name in the international community and not pointing fingers to one section.
Those dudes have Nigerian passports, not Igbo/Yoruba/Hausa passports. Have you for once heard those in the developed world say ‘We arrested an Igbo/Yoruba/Hausa man for fraud’? I am sure your answer is ‘No’.
When Bloggers complain of finding if hard to get some accounts for monetization purposes, it’s mostly because of the Nigerian factor. Shey AdSense dey ask your tribe if you wan register ni?
What affects one of us affects all of us. Think it and make amends.
Lest I forget, yesterday, another compilation of 23 names to be executed for drug peddling showed up from Saudi. This time, the Yorubas topped but the headline reads: ’23 Nigerians…’ not ’18 Yorubas, 3 Hausa’s and 2 Igbos…’
-Ameh Joe Lucazzy
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