Danger of sweeping generalisations and stereotypes

Sir: When President Muhammadu Buhari procrastinated and pussyfooted for six months after being sworn into office and patriotic Nigerians reacted by constructively criticising his actions, Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina characterised them as “Wailing Wailers” and opposition sympathisers who were bemoaning their electoral loss.

In the past few weeks, we have seen attacks on some communities in Lagos and Ogun states by suspected militants, but without due diligence and proper investigations by the police, those attacks have been ascribed to Ijaw militants and are often over stretched by mischaracterising the attackers as Niger Delta militants thus casting the whole Niger Delta region comprising not just Ijaws but over a 100 ethnic nationalities in a crude caricature.

What is more painful is the fact that the media that is supposed to be a veritable tool for information and education has been more culpable in the feeding of this
injurious narrative.
Eneruvie Enakoko,
Lagos