By Anthony Iwuoma
Kindly share:
Long before any American bomb ever fell on Sokoto, Nigeria was already bleeding, openly, repeatedly, and in full public view.
The violence did not begin in secret. It did not happen in the shadows. It unfolded in churches, on highways, in farming communities, and in mass graves that became too many to count.
Week after week, Christian communities, particularly in the Middle Belt, were attacked. Churches were stormed during worship. Congregations were slaughtered. Priests were kidnapped. Entire villages were razed and erased. This was not speculation; it was recurrence.
Just days ago, over 100 worshippers were abducted from churches in Kaduna on a Sunday. Not in the dead of night. Not in some disputed territory. In churches. During worship. This is the reality Nigeria has lived with for years.
Over time, the carnage became impossible to hide. Videos flooded social media. Mass burials were broadcast. Pastors wept on international television. NGOs documented atrocities in real time. Catholic bishops abandoned silence and took their case directly to the United States Congress. Middle Belt leaders: Benue, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, became relentless witnesses, campaigning, testifying, exposing.
Americans did not rely on rumours. They did not rely on WhatsApp forwards. They did not rely on a “screwdriver seller.”
They came. They saw. They documented.
U.S. congressional delegations visited affected communities. They saw displaced families. They heard survivors. They examined evidence that Nigeria’s own authorities could not convincingly deny. Even Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister publicly admitted collaboration with the U.S. and acknowledged intelligence-sharing regarding terrorist targets.
This means one thing: The attacks, the victims, and the terror infrastructure were already an established fact in the public domain.
Nothing needed “exposing” by an Igbo man. Nothing needed “convincing.” Nothing required a civilian intermediary.
So why, then, this sudden, reckless attempt to insert an Igbo name into the narrative?
The answer is as old as Nigeria itself.
When those who benefit from chaos fear accountability, they look for a scapegoat. And historically, the Igbo have been the most convenient scapegoat available.
By pushing the claim that an Igbo individual provided intelligence that led to U.S. strikes, the architects of this lie are not engaging in analysis; they are issuing an invitation to violence. The message being subtly sold to the North is simple and dangerous: “Blame the Igbo.”
This is not ignorance.
This is not confusion.
This is intentional provocation.
It is the same old playbook: manufacture resentment, redirect anger, and prepare the psychological ground for reprisal. That is why the narrative is being amplified by known Igbo haters. That is why logic has been completely suspended. That is why facts no longer matter.
And that is why the silence of certain self-styled “Igbo intellectuals” is not accidental. Silence, in moments like this, is complicity.
Let it be said clearly:
The Igbo neither caused the attacks on Christians nor orchestrated the response to them. To suggest otherwise is wicked, ahistorical, and dangerously irresponsible.
If such a lie can be pushed today, in an age of evidence, recordings, witnesses, and international scrutiny, then Nigerians should reflect deeply on what was done to the Igbo in the 1960s, when lies traveled unchallenged and propaganda killed faster than bullets.
This is not about politics.
It is about preventing another engineered tragedy.
And those spreading this narrative know exactly what they are doing.
The circulation of false narratives targeting a people, particularly when framed to incite hatred or justify violence, is not merely irresponsible; it is profoundly dangerous. For the Igbo, the stakes are even higher because history has already tested their resilience under similar circumstances. During the 1960s, the community suffered a genocide after false accusations and malicious narratives were used to justify mass killings, displacement, and destruction of livelihoods. That tragedy, sparked by deceit and political manipulation, left scars that continue to echo across generations. Today, the resurgence of similarly wicked narratives; this time around fabricated claims of conspiracies, cannot and must not be taken lightly. Such stories, amplified by social media and opportunistic voices, threaten to reignite fear, mistrust, and violence. Beyond the immediate physical danger, these falsehoods undermine social cohesion, create suspicion between ethnic groups, and give exploitative leaders a pretext to manipulate public sentiment for personal or political gain. Every fabricated report, every doctored video, every sensationalist claim chips away at the moral fabric of society, normalising cruelty and injustice. Ignoring these lies is tantamount to inviting history to repeat itself.
The consequences extend beyond the immediate: communities misrepresented or falsely accused are forced into perpetual defensiveness, diverting energies from development and peace-building. Awareness and proactive challenge of these narratives are not optional; they are existential. Every citizen, leader, and media outlet must recognise the threat posed by such lies, confront them rigorously, and refuse to amplify them, for the cost of complacency is not abstract; it is bloodshed and societal fracture, as the Igbo learned painfully in the 1960s.
In light of these deliberate falsehoods, the Igbo community must remain vigilant, discerning, and strategically prepared. Having endured a genocide in the 1960s due to similar narratives wickedly tagged to them, the community knows the high cost of complacency. Awareness alone is insufficient; proactive measures must be taken to safeguard lives, property, and reputation. Families, local leaders, and community organisations should establish communication networks to share verified information and counter panic-inducing rumours.
Beyond personal defence, the Igbo must systematically expose these lies through credible channels, leveraging media, legal avenues, and digital platforms to ensure the truth is broadcast widely and permanently. History teaches that those who fail to document, challenge, and correct false narratives are often painted as complicit or weak, leaving them vulnerable to attacks.
Preparation should include practical defence measures while maintaining moral and legal high ground. Vigilance also requires cultivating discernment, resisting provocation, and avoiding reactive steps that enemies of peace might exploit.
Every Igbo individual has a responsibility to remain alert, report suspicious activity, and educate others on the tactics of misinformation. Strategic documentation, video evidence, testimonies, and written records, must be meticulously preserved to serve as indisputable proof of innocence.
By combining careful defence, active truth-telling, and ethical advocacy, the Igbo can protect themselves from immediate harm while ensuring that history does not repeat itself.
The call is clear: do not underestimate the danger, do not yield to fear, and do not allow falsehoods to define your identity. Prepare wisely, act decisively, and ensure that truth triumphs over lies, safeguarding the community’s dignity and survival for generations to come.
Anthony Iwuoma is a media consultant and newspaper columnist
