Nigerian-American Professor, Uju Anya has expressed appreciation to Nigerians who backed her during the controversy generated by her comment on the late Queen Elizabeth II of England.
She tweeted her appreciation on Tuesday morning.
Recall that hours before the monarch’s death was announced on September 8, Anya had wished the nonagenarian “excruciating pain” in a tweet.
“I heard the chief monarch of a thieving, raping genocidal empire is finally dying. May her pain be excruciating,” the Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Critical Sociolinguistics and Critical Discourse at Carnegie Mellon University tweeted.
The comment drew the attention of American billionaire, Jeff Bezos, who condemned it, saying he did not believe she was “working to make the world better”.
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Bezos’ condemnation opened a floodgate of criticism of Anya, with many netizens calling her unprintable names.
In an interview with foreign-based news platform, The CUT, the Nigerian-American academic gave reasons for her comment on the Queen.
Anya said the Queen’s throne “represents the legacy of enslavement and colonialism and its direct harm,” stressing that she supervised the British government which caused very painful harm to her, and “the harm shaped my entire life and continues to be my story and that of the people she harmed.”
Also, she accused Bezos of inciting racist and misogynistic violence against her.
In Tuesday’s tweet, Anya thanked Nigerian Twitter users for supporting her throughout her ordeal.
She wrote, “+234 Twitter, good morning. I give you special thanks for riding hardest for me.
“My Nigerian people, especially in and from Alaigbo, saw how much I love you and showed me love back.
“Together we shared our pain and taught the world our history. Thank you
“P.S. I am still a gay.”
See tweet:
+234 Twitter, good morning. I give you special thanks for riding hardest for me. My Nigerian people, especially in and from Alaigbo, saw how much I love you and showed me love back. Together we shared our pain and taught the world our history. Thank you❤️
P.S. I am still a gay.
— Uju Anya (@UjuAnya) September 13, 2022