Actress and former BBNaija star Erica Nlewedim have fired back at critics who mocked her for struggling to speak her native Igbo language in a recently shared video.
The clip, which showed Erica attempting to communicate in Igbo, sparked a flurry of harsh reactions, particularly from fellow Igbos, some of whom ridiculed her fluency and used demeaning language.
In a response, Erica condemned the backlash, attributing it to what she described as “self-hatred” within the Igbo community.
“Look at my Igbo people in the comments showing how much they hate their own!” she wrote. “Continue, but please don’t complain when others don’t show you love. You can’t be so openly divided against your own people and expect trust from outsiders!”
She questioned the tendency to insult members of the same ethnic group over language struggles and called for greater compassion and solidarity.
“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! We, on the other hand, need to learn love and unity,” she added.
Erica’s remarks have sparked wider conversations on social media about language, identity, and intra-ethnic support among Nigerians.
