Daily Mail, a British Newspaper notoriously known for trolling Prince Harry and Markel Meghan following their visit to Nigeria, has refused to capitulate as more hateful attacks are launched on the calm couple.
NewsBand reported that Harry and Meghan were in the oil rich nation to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.
The Invictus Games, which he founded is designed to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick service members and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
But Daily Mail which appears so infuriated about the 72 hour visit in a report on Saturday said that Prince Harry looks like African royalty after he was snapped accepting a picture of Princess Diana from Kaduna State governor, Senator Ubah Sani.
Mr Sani had presented Harry with the framed portrait of Diana holding him as a child along with another portrait of him and Meghan on their wedding day and other gifts before decorating him with traditional Hausa attire.
Also, the British paper in a report on Monday, went berserk again, described Meghan Markle as the ‘new princess’ of Nigeria after she was honoured as an ‘Ada Mazi’.
A tag which many careful observers have seen as derogatory and unbecoming of the British tabloid.
The mother-of-two was on Sunday honoured as an ‘Ada Mazi’ – seemingly a title of respect meaning ‘daughter of an aristocrat’ – of the Ancient Arochukwu Kingdom.
Three Kings – His Eminence Engr Eberechukwu Oji, Eze Aro of Ancient Arochukwu Kingdom, Igwe Alfred Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha and Great Olu Of Warri Kingdom – took part in the naming ceremony.
In a TikTok shared by Arochukwu Network, a video shows a happy Meghan making a grateful speech.
“Thank you so much,’ she told an audience. ‘I’m very very grateful I’m very humbled.
“And today is Mother’s Day so it feels appropriate – because of course we are missing our children, I’m missing my babies – it feels really good to be in the motherland…
“Thank you so much for the titles and really beautiful names. We can’t wait to come back, thank you so much.”
Meghan wore a golden sash depicting the Ada Mazi title and also held onto a fabric depicting the ‘Oru-Arochukwu’ insignia.
While explaining its symbology, one poster on the forum Nairaland in 2017 said, “The Omu and Omu Aro, for purposes of clarity and better understanding are not interchangeable.
“The omu is the young leaf or leaves of the palm tree or the knot, tied from this leaf by the Eze Aro, while the Omu Aro is the insignia or emblem of authority of the Eze Aro.
“The omu as we have it anywhere on Aro documents, monuments or wrappers has the knotted Omu leaf at the center, with a hand giving it and the other receiving it.”
Arochukwu is one ‘one of the foremost ancient kingdoms in Africa’, as reported by local newspaper Punch, and is located in the north of Abia State.
Their visit comes after Meghan revealed on her Archetypes podcast in October 2022 that she found out through the DNA-based test that she was ’43 per cent Nigerian’.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called for a comprehensive investigation into the recent visit of Prince Harry and Meghan to Nigeria.
The association expressed concerns regarding the funding of the visit, questioning whether it was accounted for in any existing budget allocation and demanded transparency concerning who financed the trip.
HURIWA also condemned what it called extravagant hosting of wives of African presidents in Abuja, Nigeria at a time millions of Nigerians are confronting the costs of living crisis and adverse economic crunch with over 133 million Nigerian households in multidimensional poverty and over 18 million Nigerian children who are out-of-school.
In a statement signed by its national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA expressed bewilderment over the official protocols extended to the royal couple during their visit, especially in light of the British government’s explicit disassociation from the trip.
“The visit purportedly initiated at the invitation of Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa has raised questions about its funding source and official endorsement, particularly as it was clarified by British High Commissioner Dr. Richard Montgomerry that the visit was of a private nature and not affiliated with the British government.”
“Despite this clarification, Prince Harry and Meghan were accorded significant diplomatic courtesies, raising questions about the involvement of Nigerian government departments and the expenditure of public funds for a private engagement,” HURIWA lamented.
The advocacy group stressed the imperative for accountability and transparency in public expenditure, especially given Nigeria’s ongoing socio-economic challenges, including protests by detained soldiers over poor living conditions and inadequate facilities.
