Uju Anya, an American lecturer of Nigerian descent, is in the spotlight after tweeting that the late Queen Elizabeth II deserved a “excruciating death.” She talked from a place of great anguish and is unrepentant about her post, the professor of second language acquisition at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States of America tells Godfrey George.
You were born in Nigeria.?
I’d want to introduce myself as Ada Igbo first (the first daughter of Igbo land). Because I am a lesbian, they cannot deny me or my background. I was born in Igbo country, and my father is Igbo, so that is who I am. They cannot disown me, so I don’t disown them. I am also a descendant of igbo
My mother is from Trinidad, hence I am also a Trinidadian. I am therefore Caribbean and African. Since moving here in 1986, I have spent close to 40 years living in the United States. When I was ten years old, I moved here, and I’m now 46. As a result, I also identify as American. I have one stepson in addition to being the biological mother of two smart, loving, and compassionate kids. In addition, I teach and conduct academic research on multilingualism and language learning.
The world was outraged by your post, which wished the late Queen Elizabeth II a “excruciating death.” Are you sorry you published the article?
I must be completely honest with you and say that I am not. Not me. My tweet was written with great emotion and great sadness. I didn’t plan it or make any calculations before it happened. It came out of nowhere and was a part of my emotional response to my oppressor’s imminent death. At the moment, it was impulsive. It’s not anything I regret, though, and I won’t ever apologise for it. Knowing that I told the truth, I shall go to sleep each night and then relax.
You described the suffering your forefathers endured during the Biafran War, which you blame on the British. Could you elaborate on the type of experience your people had?