THE CANNIBALS FROM UGEP

THE CANNIBALS FROM UGEP

I went to sit out at The Parliament today, we call Jude’s place that name because almost on daily basis people converge there to discuss several issues about our immediate society, the nation and the world in general. I had hardly sat down when I was asked by one of the persons there.

“ have you heard the latest?”

“No” I responded. “ what happened recently?” I had not been to The Parliament for more than a week so I believed I had missed out on the latest information.

“hmmmmm” began Tom, “ it happened last week o” I knew he needed a little nudge to delve into the full cover story he had in mind for me, so I gave him the nudge he needed.

“So this my uncle’s son who is a military man went for NYSC, he was posted to Kogi state. While there he fell in love with a girl from Ugep, in Cross River State”

“ I know Ugep” I interjected, “ It is the largest village in Africa” I declared from my perceived knowledge of geography and current affairs. I had more to say about Ugep, but my friend was more enthusiastic about his story so I allowed him hold the floor while adjusting myself for the latest story.

“So, after NYSC , his dad wanted him to get married. His dad is a military man, very wealthy and he had only one son, that was why he wanted him to get married immediately after his NYSC. Now, my uncle’s son had taken his girlfriend home and my uncle had loved the girl so after NYSC, the boy decided to go and meet the girl’s parents in Ugep so as to tell them his intentions to marry the girl. He went and was well entertained by his would-be in-laws. When it got dark,  his in-law told him he is not allowed to sleep in their house until they have become in-laws so he would take him to his friend’s place where he would sleep. You can’t imagine where he took him to. The man did not return till the wee hours of the morning. His daughter started asking where he was and after much effort she got to her dad’s friend’s house and saw them eating as if there was a celebration the night before. When she started asking questions, she discovered they had killed her fiancé and had eaten him.

 You know Ugep people are cannibals right?”

I was flabbergasted.

“Ikwo people also eat human beings” another person at the Parliament interjected.

“Anambra men are ritualists” another person who I guess is either from Ikwo or from Ugep blurted angrily.

“Edo people are prostitutes, Calabar people are sex addicts,  Akwa Ibom people are wicked…”  “Akwacross people are only good to be cooks, gatemen and drivers” the list is endless.

We need to stop stereotyping people.

The truth is that it does no good for humanity to have a prejudiced view about people from other ethnic groups than ours. At the end of the day, when I started asking pertinent questions about the fictitious story I was told, it turned out that the story about a man being eaten up was a mere figment of the imagination of an individual. I have heard on several cases that if a person’s vehicle breaks down in Ugep and he sleeps over, under the cover of darkness, that person would be killed and eaten. The stories have been so vivid that one would believe it is true.

However, as an individual, I have visited the place and have passed several nights there on different occasions and I am still alive. People have said several things about people of other ethnic groups but when you get to meet the people from that region, you get to realize that they are totally different from the preconceived notions.

Let us come back and realize that we are all humans first. People are people. People have their different idiosyncrasies and may act out based on their beliefs. It would be wiser to give people equal chances and place them on the same pedestal. What is the difference between us today who because of our prejudice against people of a particular ethnic group, we treat them with disdain and Adolf Hitler who killed millions of Jews just because he believed the Germans should be the greatest race on earth and that the Jews were holding them back from achieving their dreams?

I read about a study recently which found a genetic link between people that spans across different continents. This means as an individual, you have ancestors who are from Russia, Iraq, America, Brazil, Netherlands and many more. Now, if there is such a link across continents, how much more will there be link among people from the same country?

Let us drop our tribal sentiments and embrace people from who they are. Let us drop racism and judge each individual by the content of their character and not by virtue of their ancestry. We did not choose where we came from and we are not more important than the person from the other side of town.

Whether we like it or not, we are one. We can overcome any challenge when we come together, we need each other and no person is more important than the other. Let us drop our sentiments and see people from other ethnic groups as we see ourselves.

Let us please drop the ethnic bias, prejudice and sentiments and judge people based on the contents of their character.

Thank You.