At the college where I completed my undergraduate studies, one of the two female dormitories was completed in 1956. Named "Queen Elizabeth II Hall," the formal opening ceremony was performed by the queen while on a visit to Nigeria in February of that year.
Since after my time at the University of Ibadan, anytime I hear anything about Queen Elizabeth II, my mind immediately goes back to “Queen's Hall”, as many of us who studied in that college referred to that hall of residence. That’s what came to my mind when I heard of the passing of the British monarch a few days ago.
I've never been a close watcher of the inner workings of the royal family, so I'm neither a fan nor a detractor. I do know that when it comes to the British Empire, many people around the world have strong feelings. The reason for this is not that difficult to decipher since the British, at the peak of their empire, colonized about a fourth of the planet.
Despite that, I've been surprised by the level of viciousness with which some people have responded to the death of the queen. Even before her passing last Thursday, when news reports initially said she was in grave conditions, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University tweeted what I thought is one of the most vindictive statements I've come across: “I heard the chief monarch of a thieving raping genocidal empire is finally dying. May her pain be excruciating.”
The reactions to her tweet were swift. While Twitter deleted it (saying it had violated the platform’s rules), Uju Anya continued to defend her beliefs, saying “There’s not going to be any apology from me. I stand by what I said.”
Despite widespread criticism of her comments, including an official statement from Carnegie Mellon (calling her statement “offensive and objectionable,”) Anya doubled down on her stance. In a follow-up tweet, she wrote, “If anyone expects me to express anything but disdain for the monarch who supervised a government that sponsored the genocide that massacred and displaced half my family and the consequences of which those alive today are still trying to overcome, you can keep wishing upon a star.”
Even though many mourned the queen's passing and celebrated her longevity and 70-year reign, the majority of the condemnations from other quarters were mainly denunciations of the British monarchy’s legacy of colonial violence and exploitation. Professor Anya took this a little further.
Her vicious statements were made because of what happened during the Nigerian civil war in the late 1960s when a secession attempt by a part of the country was quelled. She seemed to be blaming the British for aiding the Nigerian government to crush the breakaway attempt. More than 1 million people were lost during that period of unnecessary bloodshed.
But I'm not here to relitigate what happened decades ago. Personally, my prayers and thoughts are with everyone in the royal family as they mourn the loss of the Queen.
The first thing I wondered about on seeing Anya's tweet was the state of her heart. I could only imagine the amount of hatred rummaging around in her heart, and the level of damage this must be doing to her. Her anger and hatred are not just towards the queen. It is towards what she represented as the head of the British monarchy.
With Prince Andrews' scandals and the falling out of Prince Harry and Meghan Markel dominating the news over the past few years, it's not too far-fetched to imagine that each time something from the royal family comes out, that deep hatred digs in and puts another hook into Anya's heart. What we saw in her tweets was just a symptom of something that's been growing in her heart for decades.
Here's what I know: hate is a strong force that destroys. It's a poison that eventually kills the hater. I recollect a quote from Matshona Dhliwayo: "Hatred destroys you before it destroys the ones you hate." The negative emotions that accompany hate anytime the subject of the hatred is remembered strips you of your creative mental energy. You are the one who loses. You are the one who gets destroyed.
Please don't let that happen to you. Don't let hatred destroy you. Make efforts to forgive.
Forgiveness sets the prisoner free. You are that prisoner.
Set yourself free.