About two months ago, MMMG Label boss, Ubi Franklin shared a very troubling story of something that had happened to him on the 9th of May as he shopped in Lagos.
On his Instagram page, he posted:
“Earlier today I was at LIFEMATE furniture showroom at the palms Lekki to enquire about a service I paid for that wasn’t attended to. I was then asked by a junior staff (Nigerian) to speak to his “OGA” (a Chinese man).
“The Chinese man paid me no attention when I approached him with my concerns, he rather walked away as I was still trying to make my concerns known to him. So I followed up to say his attitude was unacceptable and then proceeded to leave the shop since he wasn’t going to pay me any attention or courtesy as a returning customer. As I was walking out the door I heard someone scream, I turned my back, only for me to see the Chinese man running towards me with two knives. But for the quick intervention of my cousin the story would have been different.
“I handed him over to the police who then transferred him to Maroko police station and he was asked why he wanted to stab me and he said Cos I said, ‘see this Chinese man o’.
“Anyways God got me covered Physically and spiritually.”
Although that post has now been taken down on Instagram, Ubi Franklin’s situation was one that a lot of Nigerians empathized with, understanding the “Oyinbo-privilege” that a lot of expatriates and light-skinned foreigners take advantage of in Nigeria.
One commenter, Ehimatie Ivie Eva said: “I celebrate with you my brother…the things we take from foreigners especially these Chinese in our own country is unbelievable.”
When the TripleMG later posted that the Police officers had released the man the next day, there was total outrage. A lot of people speculated that the Chinese foreigner had paid his way out of getting full measure for his actions.
Police release Chinese man who tried stabbing Ubi Franklin pic.twitter.com/ESRNZPf4mZ
— Pulse Celebs (@PulseCelebs247) May 10, 2017
When reporters tried to reach out to Lifemate and Ubi Franklin afterwards, they were met with silence.\
Ubi Franklin, who has since gone on to share more personal stories, including one about his bout with depression, is yet to make any further comments on the issue. Which leads to wonder about how that matter was resolved or if it was even resolved.
Creative mind. Enthusiast. Learner. Multipotentialite. And here, an assistant editor.
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