Nollywood actress Nse Ikpe-Etim said in an interview that she was always told not to say she was from Akwa Ibom so that she could go higher.
In 2022, Nse Ikpe-Etim appeared in the movie “The American King,” where she played an African high priestess to an ex-con, played by Akon. She used Ibibio as a representation of her culture.
According to her, “No matter the script, you cannot stop me from speaking my Ibibio dialect on a movie set. You cannot bring language discrimination to me.”
Me: It is not funny, but language discrimination is what people who are not Igbo, Hausa, or Yoruba face every day. When you speak your language, they make a jest of it.
I know a particular tribe that does this the most. They walk up to you and start speaking their language. When you tell them you cannot hear what they are saying, and you tell them where you are from, you hear them say something like, “Oh, you are too pretty to be from there. You look like us,” or “Why?”
During Hilda Baci’s cookathon, someone posted on TikTok: “Why would this girl come from Akwa Ibom?” Huh! Respect people.
Little things like this divide us and make us hate each other.”
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