TheCable

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has condemned a song purportedly wishing the Igbo dead, which he said is currently circulating in various parts of the country.

Abubakar said the song is capable of replicating the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which hundreds of thousands were killed.

In a statement which his media office issued in Abuja on Monday, Abubakar urged security operatives in the country to “apprehend, try, convict and severely punish those behind this ungodly song which incites racial hatred”.

In the statement titled, ‘Nigeria does not need a Rwandan deja vu’, Atiku urged all Nigerians to rise above ethnic divides and condemn the song – “reminiscent of the beginning of the Rwandan genocide”.

“It has come to my attention that a song disparaging people of Igbo origin, and which wishes them dead, is circulating in some parts of the nation. I totally and unequivocally condemn this development, and I call on all men of goodwill to rise up against this evil,” the statement read.

“This song is reminiscent of the beginnings of the Rwanda Genocide. Nigerians need to be aware that the Rwanda Genocide was believed to have been ignited by a song titled Nanga Abahutu (I hate Hutus), sung by Rwanda’s then most popular musician, Simon Bikindi. God forbid that we should have such a déjà vu in Nigeria.

“Simon Bikindi was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for igniting and aiding the Rwandan genocide. Thus, let those who think they can treat their fellow citizens so unjustly know that within and outside Nigeria exist mechanisms that will ensure they answer to their crimes.

“I call on all men of goodwill to remember those immortal lines from our former National Anthem ‘though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand.”

The former vice-president also commiserated with the people of Anambra state over the killings at St. Philip’s Catholic church in Ozubulu.