Nigerian Man Refused Home in Ireland for being an African man ("Blackman")

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Northern Ireland has been making the international headlines for the past few months because of racism. It is reported that there are at least two violent racist attacks everyday in Northern Ireland.


34-year-old Nigerian man Michael Abiona is the latest victim of a racist move.
On Tuesday, Abiona who lives in Belfast, the largest city in Northern Ireland, was greeted with posters reading “Local Houses 4 Local People” outside a house he planned on moving into.
He tells the us he is now too afraid and his plans to move into the house, are now “shattered.

Abiona who has osteoarthritis, was allocated a bungalow in Garnerville by the Housing Executive. He revealed that he was going to meet a boiler repairman at the house when he saw a group sitting outside.
He says;

“I thought they were just out enjoying the sunshine and having fun but then I saw the banners at the front of the building.
A woman told me the place should be meant for locals, she said there are a lot of local elderly and disabled people living in the area who have been on the housing waiting list for about nine years, so how come I got the house?

A woman told me the place should be meant for locals, she said there are a lot of local elderly and disabled people living in the area who have been on the housing waiting list for about nine years, so how come I got the house?

She said it wasn’t personally about me, it was about housing.
She was even asking me if I am disabled and I said I am, but I was wondering why she was asking me this.

I went through the normal channels of getting the premises.”
Abiona who has been living in Northern Ireland since 2010, believes he is being targeted because he is black.
“It is not about me being elderly or local – it is about intimidation and discrimination.
A housing officer told me they were trying to resolve it, but with what was written on the banner I don’t think I will be able to move in there.
The safety of my son comes first. His mother told me she would not allow him to come and visit me there.
My son comes first, so I’m not going to go back to the premises.” he said.
Local authorities have removed the banners this morning and “enquiries into the incident are ongoing”.
A few hours ago, the Deputy First Minister of Sinn Féin Martin McGuinness took to Twitter to speak on the racist move.