Entertainment

French-Lebanese lady defends Nigerian identity after backlash online

A French-Lebanese lady raised in Nigeria has gone viral after furiously responding to critics who accused her of exploiting her Nigerian upbringing to gain social media attention.

The unidentified lady, who speaks Nigerian pidgin fluently, had proudly identified herself as being “from Nigeria,” a statement that some online users dismissed as opportunistic.

French-Lebanese lady defends Nigerian identity after backlash online
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One critic wrote: “That woman is a European that happens to live in Nigeria – someone explain this to me.”

Her fiery response

Not taking the criticism lightly, the lady hit back in a video laced with pidgin English, saying she was tired of being policed over her identity.

“E be like say you people dey mad, una dey craze for head. Is that not what I said? I said I am a white French-Lebanese but they raised me in Naija since I be pikin. I cannot be from somewhere again?

“Even if you ask Nigerians here in America, they will say Houston, Texas, but me that was raised in Lagos cannot say I am from Nigeria again?” she ranted.

Public reactions

Wizarab10 reacted, “This thing Nigerians do irritates me. A Nigerian would be raised in London or Atlanta and start claiming to be Brit or American. But when a foreigner raised in Nigeria does the same, you find a way to talk down on them. Migration happens both ways. You need to wake up.”

mind_talkss noted: “You are talking to a people that go to other countries and contest elections but will run mad if a foreigner comes in and contest in their country. Nigerians are the most tribalistic/racist set of people you will ever meet without self-awareness. Btw Hahaha this one is a Nigerian They should just give her citizenship 😂😂.”

UC_Emeliem opined: “What you have to understand is that most of these people are not angry that she identifies as a Nigerian, the problem is the Lagos that is involved. If she had mentioned any other part of Nigeria, they would have celebrated her online.”

Amaafrikaa said: “If Nigerians abroad can boldly claim British or American, then a foreigner raised here has every right to claim Nigerian too. Belonging isn’t about blood alone, it’s also about where you grow, live, and build.”

desrtquin noted: “When I say we’re more of a racist than most, ppl will hate on me but that’s what we’re, if not for poverty, Nigerians are less tolerant than a lot of nations/races that tolerate us, we want to not only excel in other ppls lands, we like to dig our foundations and even rule where possible but back home we don’t even give such opportunities to even our fellow Nigerians from other states let alone foreigners born and bred here, OUR HYPOCRISY STINKS!”

Watch the video below …