₦airaland Forum

To all my Nigerian brothers and sisters…



I am, always have been, and always will be
proud of my Nigerian heritage. I understand
the pain and anger caused by some of the
comments I made in a recent interview, and
I wanted to address you directly.



Contrary to popular belief, this interview was not the first in which I mentioned Nigeria. In fact,
I’m frequently bragging about how
Nigerians attend the world’s most
prestigious institutions, and how we are
known to produce world class doctors,
entrepreneurs, innovators, lawyers,
engineers, professors, athletes and artists.
Unfortunately, people tend to leave these
moments out, and, in this case, highlight
stereotypes. I would never do or say
anything to intentionally disgrace the
legacy of my father nor my fatherland.
But to not relay my own story, both the
good times and the bad, would be a
disservice.



My name is Jidenna, which means “to hold or
embrace the father” in Igbo. It was my
father who gave me this name and who
taught me countless parables, proverbs, and
principles that made me the man I am
today. These same principles helped me to
write the record “Classic Man.” When I
brought home a 98 percent on a test, my
father would say, “ah ah, where are the
other two points? Go and get them, then
bring them back.” My father and Nigerian
culture has always stood for excellence.
While the majority of my childhood
memories are beautiful, I also have
experienced the challenges that Nigeria has
faced since Independence.



When I was 5 years old, my family was
robbed at gunpoint, my mother was beaten,
family members were kidnapped, and I was
shot in my foot. As is the case with all
kidnapping, targeting those who are
perceived to be wealthy is the objective. In
this instance, my father was the target
because of his prominence in the community.
This was a traumatic experience for my
family that would shape our entire lives and
our experiences in both Nigeria and
America.



As a little boy, I swore that I
would never let that happen to my family
again. As my father often said, “Once
you’re bitten by a snake, you‘ll be ready to
shoot a lizard!” At the time of my father’s
burial 5 years ago, my family in the village
was concerned about increased targeting
for kidnapping since the rate of abductions
had increased dramatically in the area we
are from. We were traveling from America,
which along with our biracial appearance,
had the potential to attract attention and
pose a threat to our security. In light of
what happened in the past and the tense
climate at the time, my family took
precautions to ensure our safety. This was
not an uncommon protocol at the time. I
recognize incidents such as these are not
unique to Nigeria or the African continent,
and there have been significant
improvements in the region since this
period.


In the recent interview to which I’ve been
referring, I shared my family’s experience
traveling from the States back home for
the burial. In this interview, I used the term
“light-skinned.” When using this term, I was
actually referring to my immediate family’s
mixed or biracial appearance. See, no matter
what language I use to describe my
heritage, I’m certain that someone will feel
some kind of way. This is a larger discussion
not meant for this statement, but certainly
derives from our colonial past and
postcolonial present, and in the States, from
the days of slavery to the present times.



My comments about skin tone were related
to the notion of perceived wealth and value,
not my personal beliefs. My point was never
to imply that biracial or “light-skinned”
people are the only ones or the most
targeted group of people kidnapped, or that
I myself was wealthy at the time. Rather
than focus on my perceived value, let us
continue to focus on the value of Nigeria.
There is no question that Africa is playing a
pivotal role in the future of our planet and
that Nigeria, with it’s booming economy and
burgeoning middle class, is a driving force.



I will continue to play my role in the
Renaissance taking place in Nigeria and
Africa at large. We may not agree on
everything, but know my heart is your
heart, and my experience is part of our
collective experience.

jidenna.com/dearnaija/

www.bellanaija.com/2015/07/16/jidenna-pens-open-letter-to-all-my-nigerian-brothers-and-sisters/

cc: lalasticlala

Ok

I don't see no link

The sauce, is not credible

Sparrow13:
The sauce, is not credible

look again

nkemie:
I don't see no link

it's up there

I am a saint, I do not hold grudges. You're forgiven. Go and sin no more, or sin again and be forgiven again. Shalom.

The arm robbers were the snake and you didn't shoot them



Nigerians are the lizards and you shot them

I hope is nt too late to 4 dz sa

welcome to propaganda world, the zoo .


a place where nothing works . except stealing and corruption . no quality education . you going down .

I never saw anything wrong about your interview


Nigerians just like people to be saying good things about them when they are not really good people, how does that work?

true Nigerians know you've done nothing wrong, our country is not perfect and in fact we are below average, its better to lay things the way they are than to hype it.

jidenna you're blessed. we love you.

spoke like a true son of the soil

Dude is like 30 years, so he should be 5 around 1990 and I believe kidnapping in the country started like recently. They were attacked then, maybe the attackers had something else in mind then, maybe dem dey drag land