US Bombings And Nigeria's Igbo Problem!

By Azuka Onwuka

First they said the Christian genocide narrative was started by IPOB. That did not fly.

Then they said it was Peter Obi that was sponsoring it. That failed. 

When Trump bombed Sokoto and it was looking embarrassing that a foreign country could bomb a part of Nigeria and announce it, they quickly acknowledged that they collaborated with the US to bomb Nigeria, which was even more embarrassing. 

When the shame could not be erased, they used scarce $9 million (that can feed thousands of people) to secure a wishy-washy story of an Onitsha-based screwdriver seller being the architect of the Christian genocide narrative. 

How can you dish out millions of dollars to a lobbyist to get a foreign media outlet to help you create propaganda against a section of your country because of political power? 

Meanwhile, for years, the Middle Belt people, who have been the victims of ethnic cleansing in their land, have been showing videos and photos of mass burials. They even went to the US Congress to testify. 

But in a country that has an Igbo problem, somehow the sweetest default mode is to blame any problem in Nigeria on the Igbos, so as to unite other parts of Nigeria against them. All because Peter Obi decided to run for president - in a peaceful way - which is his right. 

Last week, they were all over the media, creating emotional stories of how "heartless Igbos" eliminated "the wonderful leaders of Nigeria" in 1966, all in a bid to whip up anti-Igbo hate in the North before the 2027 election.

If this level of ethnic incitement and mind conditioning can be created in 2026 when things can easily be verified online, imagine the level they went to in 1966 to create the narrative that caused the pogroms that culminated in the civil war. 

Nigeria is one of the few places I have seen on earth where democracy is practised but it is a crime for some citizens to contest elections based on their ethnicity. It is even a crime for such citizens to vote in an election, as they are threatened not to vote if they want to be alive. 

You regularly believe that the Igbos are terrible people and the cause of the problems of Nigeria. Yet, anytime they say they want to leave Nigeria with their trouble, you fight tooth and nail to keep them back, even killing millions to keep them back. 

Please, Nigeria is too complicated for people like me to understand.

*Onwuka is a commentator on public issues