Frederick Douglass

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them..." Frederick Douglass

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The most tragic day of Igbo history: 29 May 1966

Linked is a horrible story of the "genocide" of the Igbo people of Nigeria. Not to make light of the horrors, but the article's author presents a very one-sided affair.

I wrote the following in an e-mail to the editor. If he replies, I will post it.

Don't know much about Igbo/Nigerian history, but it seems the author of this article has manichean/tendentious view of the subject. He presents the Igbo as advanced, intelligent, evolved, and the Yoruba/Fulani/Hausa as bloodthirsty savages. Not knowing much about the events described herein, it does smack of sectarianism. I wonder, does the editor stand behind this version of events? I haven't known many non-Igbo Nigerians but the ones I have met have told me that the Igbo were involved in the slave trade, and were very unpopular with their fellow countrymen as a result.

I would be happy to know if this article is rebutted.

Thank you. I love yr newsletter and link to yr essays often from my blog.



Even if unbalanced, this is worth a read if you are interested in the topic.

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/articlecomment.php?id=73417