Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that alleged hate songs against the Igbo people of the South East in some states of the north portends grave danger and must not be taken lightly by the authorities.
Jonathan who also expressed shock over the Catholic Church shooting in Ozubulu, Anambra State, reminded Nigerians that it was a similar hate song that precipitated genocidal attacks in Rwanda in the 1990s.
Reports indicate that a certain hate song has been circulating in the north against the Igbo lately, which is coming on the heels of a quit notice handed down to Ndigbo by a coalition of northern youth groups to vacate the region on or before October 1, this year.
Despite efforts made by the Federal Government and groups across the spectrum to put the matter to rest apprehensions have persisted, with Igbos in the North already relocating their families to other parts of the country.
Jonathan while reacting to the to the developments on his Facebook page on Tuesday, reminded the purveyors of the hate message that a similar song in Rwanda prompted a genocide whose pangs were still being felt to date.
Like Rwanda, Nigeria had also passed through a 30 month civil war that saw over one million people dead and about the same figure languished in penury between 1967 and 1970.
The former president condemn in strong terms the mindless killing of worshipers in an Ozubulu Catholic Church, urging Nigerians to eschew such acts of extreme hate and embrace brotherliness and love for one another.
He wrote, “I have taken my time before commenting on the killings at the St. Philips Catholic Church, Ozubulu, in Anambra state, in order that I could be accurately briefed on the truth of the matter.
“However, I condemn the killings and express my shock at such an event which is outside our culture of respect and reverence for religious places of worship and love for our fellow man.
“I condole with the survivors and the families of the victims and pray for the departed. In order to ensure that such occurrences never reoccur, we must rededicate ourselves to our principles of being our brother’s keeper and that without delay.
“I am also disturbed about the news of a song celebrating hatred against a particular Nigerian ethnic group. Given that a similar song is what ignited the Rwandan Genocide, as a nation, we must not take these reports lightly.
I urge the security services to do their utmost to nip this wickedness in the bud. “As I have said previously, we must understand and accept that all Nigerians are brothers and sisters born from the womb of one Nigeria. May this be uppermost in our minds as we pray that God may bless Nigeria. GEJ.”
