The media, commodification of Igbos and the inherent dangers

Different ethnicities in Nigeria have always had different stereotypes with which they are associated with. Yet, such casual jokes, have become caustic, harmful and weaponised with the passage of time. Further it has morphed to something more sinister and dangerous, especially in the current political dispensation.

My concerns however is the use of the media to further push these stereotypes, sometimes harmlessly or unconsciously, but all with the same result: maligning and framing of Igbos with ugly imageries. For example, a columnist in a prominent national newspaper from the northern part of the country wrote about a trip she made with her daughter from Ethiopia and experiences another passenger (an Igbo) had with an air hostess. While the writer had called the passenger an Igbo, she coyly deferred later that she doesn’t like profiling people according to their ethnicity while the damage had been done earlier.

In another situation, in a popular entertainment satellite TV station, a storyteller was narrating about two friends Kunle and his friend, Ekene (an Igbo) who were walking along, and not too long after, a car stopped to rob them. At that point, Ekene brought out the #5000:00 he was owing Kunle and gave it to him. That was bad enough, but on air, this storyteller repeatedly derided the Igbo race, repeating, Igbo! Igbo! Igbo! don’t trust them oh! The live audience were children, and not minding the effect of his words on the young minds let alone on international TV, he continued with his lampoon.

These two incidents are examples of how an entire race is demonised, profiled and ridiculed daily either by political leaders, members of other ethnicities, on social media and traditional media. The dangers are inherent and if care is not taken would take other turns. And in some cases, pastors (non-Igbos) play God, and claim to pray for a whole race of people. Such would have been funny except for the dire consequences of such falsehoods. Now, most of such churches are peopled by members of this same race!

By the way, the Igbo is an indigenous group found in more than 8 states besides the 5 in which they inhabit. The Igbo inhabit parts of Edo, Delta, Kogi, Benue, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsea and Rivers states as minority groups. These are besides millions who are found in Lagos, Ibadan, Benin, Abuja, Kaduna, Zaria, Kano, Sokoto, Maiduguri, etc. And these are besides millions living in Equatorial Guinea where they are one of the majority ethnicities, and those found in Gabon and Cameroon. They make up the largest group of immigrants in the US, let alone Asia and other western European countries. By the way there are more than 30 dialects of this race of people.

Yet, they are treated somewhat as less than others whereas, the informal economy and growth of Nigeria is led by Nde Igbo.

Not to digress, to commodify would indicate ownership, and therefore a right to treat or use as desired. Unfortunately, and ironically, this ludicrous stance emanates from people who ought to know the importance integration and the need to turn our diversity to strength for the benefit of all. In Lagos for instance, everywhere becomes lean and barren when Igbos engage in their traditional trips to spend Christmas away to their towns and villages in Eastern Nigeria. This is ditto for other towns and cities in Nigeria. A recent look at the achievements of the Falcons and D’Tigress in soccer and basketball revealed the gift of Nde Igbo to Nigeria. In these victories, race was not an issue but Nigeria was all and in all.

Besides surveillance, news sharing and setting agenda, the media have diverse roles and should correlate societies for the wellbeing of everyone. When members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm become willing participants in such wilful manipulations, dangers are inherent. The media and the church played no little roles that led to the genocide that took place in Rwanda and in Gestapo Germany. These were achieved through wrong framing, disinformation, cancel culture and other anti-liberal activities. In Rwanda, the Tutsis were called cockroaches and tall trees which should be cut, while in Germany, the Jews were ridiculed as being anti-christs and blamed for the bad economy.

In Nigeria, the Igbo are portrayed as money lovers, brash and boastful and called other unsavoury names. In the country a former President called them a dot in a circle, while recently attempts are being made to erase their history and place in Lagos where they played great roles to build up politically and economically.
The media has a major role to play to douse the tension and reduce the gaping faultlines. If it allows itself to continue pushing narrow agenda of members of the political class without objectivity and fair-mindedness, it would have failed tragically, and helped to engender dangers all would regret.

Okiyi writes from Abuja