Actress and former Big Brother Naija housemate Erica Nlewedim has strongly responded to backlash she received after a video of her attempting to speak Igbo surfaced online.
The clip, which showed her struggling to express herself fluently in her native language, triggered a wave of negative reactions—mostly from fellow Igbos.
Rather than shrug off the criticism, Erica took to social media to call out what she described as “self-hate” and unnecessary division within her ethnic group.
“Look at my Igbo people in the comments showing how much they hate their own! Continue but please don’t complain when others don’t show you love,” she wrote.
Erica, who has often proudly identified with her Igbo heritage, questioned why her inability to speak the language fluently should be a reason for mockery or abuse.
“You can’t be so openly divided against your own people and expect trust from outsiders! Don’t you think it’s foolish for someone to choose to become your enemy because you can’t speak a language?” she added.
The actress expressed frustration at the insults hurled at her, noting that other ethnic groups often stand together and don’t attack each other over language fluency.
She emphasised that unity should be prioritised over ridicule, especially among people of the same background.
“You don’t even see other tribes insulting themselves for not speaking their language. They are united!
“Is it your first instinct to insult someone who is [from your tribe] but can’t speak the language? And use words like pig, bitch, shame etc? Of course not!” she fired back.
