Ifeanyi Ebenezer OnyikeThe Arise TV Presenter and a former presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, has received knocks over the week for his anti-Igbo comments while on-air.
According to him, Igbos do not sell land to non-Igbos in the South-east. He said this during The Morning Show on Arise TV Which he co-anchors.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAbati was reacting to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio‘s remarks at the burial of Sen. Ifeanyi Ubah that the Igbos build houses and establish businesses in any state they reside across Nigeria. Abati wondered why the Igbos can’t reciprocate the gesture. He referred to a comment made by a pre-independence Minister for Information, TOS Benson, at the National Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) that “he had an Igbo wife and daughter. He said he wanted to buy land in Igboland, but, was told that ‘we don’t sell our land to outsiders.”
However, Abati added, “that is the irony of the politics of Nigeria, about the politics of the federation of unity. The same Igbos who are so industrious that they do well all over Nigeria, you go as a non-Igboman, to buy umunna land, you will be told that you don’t belong, even as an in-law”.
This comment has since gone viral and sparked reactions from Igbos who allege misrepresentation of the realities of the Igboman as regards sale of land and treatment of non-Igbos in the South-east. However, the seasoned journalist claimed he spoke in context and refused to apologize. He accused the audience of selective understanding and referred to their views as nonsense.
No doubt, Dr Reuben Abati (as he preferred to be addressed) is a brilliant journalist. He is one of the faces of the The Morning Show. His presence in that team douses the tension created by the much younger presenters like Rufai and others. In fact, the audience relied on him to provide a balance to Rufai’s ferocious and unapologetic hard tackles, especially where the political class is involved.
