by Alexander O. Onukwue

You would have thought it was a dance track in praise of the Igbos – until you listen closely and hear the association of “inyamiri” with “wawa”.

The available transcripts, like the one on SaharaReporters, reveal the outpour of hate expressed in the lyrics of the anti-Igbo song which is now said to be trending in some parts of the country. The repugnance of the words do not merit to be repeated and reproduced in every online page as that would be to give glory to the sinister persons who crafted the five-minute long infliction of harmonic invectives.

What the song does reveal is that the architects of the Arewa declaration are not relenting on their desire for Igbos to leave the North. By employing creative means through the use of a song, they want to make the message more appealing and reachable to more of their like-minded persons.

The use of the familiar tune of most songs produced in the North of the country gives this song a good chance to be nodded to, cause people to smile and cackle, and enjoyed by many members of the intended target audience, the ultimate aim being to subconsciously socialize them into disgust and hatred for Igbo people around them.

Imagine the scenario where a group of persons who understand Hausa are listening to the song over a cassette player. While they laugh and analyze the song, possibly agreeing with the sentiments expressed in them, an Igbo person passes by them or comes around to the shop to make a purchase. What would be the ordinary body language of those who have been listening to the song?

Music has a way of creating a channel for threads of thoughts and ideas to permeate unhindered into human minds. Those who will be exposed to open air loudspeakers bellowing this song if played in places like markets and street shops will be bombarded with the many hateful lines hurled at the Igbos, in order to stir their aversion.

It won’t be long before this song drops on every Whatsapp group chat. Unlike most other things that go viral on that chat platform, this has the potential to be a serious disease whose chain and spread must be broken.

Editor