Ndigbo, please come closer let’s have an honest conversation about our homeland. Let’s talk about that which we all know but which no one really wants to talk about. For the past five years, some parts of AlaIgbo, specifically Imo and Anambra States have been effectively in the hands of homegrown terrorists hiding behind Biafra Agitation to carry out unspeakable atrocities against UmuIgbo and AlaIgbo.
And these terrorists are all Igbos and in some cases, indigenes of the same town they are terrorizing with many of their foot soldiers from other Igbo states. They kill, maim, kidnap for ransom, loot, burn properties, behead innocent people, and in some cases captured on videos they recorded and released themselves, roast the body of their victims with Impunity. Mbano, Orlu, Orsu, and almost the entire Okigwe axis like Aku, Ihube Agbobu, Umulolo, Abo umulolo, Ezinnachi, Umuawaibu, Amosu, Arondizuogu, Amuro etc – all in Imo State – are almost 100 percent under their control with their camps scattered all over the places.
In Anambra State; the entire Ebonisie comprising of Lilu, Orsumoghu, Azia, Mbosi, and Uburu isi-uzo all in Ihila local govt area of Anambra State are under the control of the terrorists. They have camps in most of the aforementioned areas with land mines. No Nigerian Security agent operate in any of the aforementioned communities except the occasional military patrol that come for the so-called Show-Of-Force which achieves nothing.
All the terrorists terrorising the aforementioned places in Imo and Anambra are indigenous Igbos. For context, the man in charge of all the atrocities in Imo is a young Igbo man popularly known as Gentle the Yahoo who usually appear on Facebook video dressed in military camouflage. He is from AKU, one of the communities he’s terrorizing. His boys call him Mpa (father).
Tragically, his video broadcasts still enjoy wide acceptability from a reasonable percent of Igbo youths on Facebook who still believe he’s fighting for Biafra. The leader of the terror gang in Orsumoghu is a man named Ochiagha who hails from the same Orsumoghu. No President General of any of these communities can organize meetings or fix burial ceremonies or any form of occasions without their permission.
Even the traditional rulers of these communities answer to them out of fear. Those who tried to defy them in the past have been butchered along with their families and I have names. Even the chairperson of Okigwe L.G.A operates from Owerri the capital of Imo, out of fear. The member representing Ihiala federal constituency in Abuja, Honorable Pascal Agbodike is from Mbosi, one of the town under the control of the terrorists but he cannot dare go to his village for fear of his life.
His house was burnt in 2023 by the terrorists. Even our own Allen Onyema the owner of Air Peace cannot visit Mbosi – his home town – for fear of his safety. The common tactic these indigenous bandits use to brainwash impressionable people and secure their support was the bogus promise of protecting them from fulani terrorist herders and even at this point, they still use the same tactic to retain support of some of the local by blaming fulani terrorists for their own atrocities.
There is a trending voice note released by one of the “repentant terrorists” where their leader, Gentle The Yahoo was tutoring them on how to speak some Hausa words in Hausa accent to the hearing of the locals after each operation so the locals could blame the fulani terrorists I have a very long list of some of the people they have butchered in some of those communities and properties burnt.
The government of Hope Uzodimma and that of Charles Chukwuma Soludo of Imo and Anambra plus all the security Chiefs in the two states are fully aware of the situations but haven’t done much to end it. The security agents blame the communities for cooperating with the terrorists while on their parts, the communities blame the security forces for failing to protect those who had given them information in the past only to be wiped out along with their families by the terrorists. Allegations of collusion between the terrorists and some members of the security agencies are rife.
Also Read: Is Japa to the UK on a student visa greener pasture or self-imposed hardship?
The situation is so bad that there is hardly any infrastructure standing there. Virtually all the electric installations like transformers and even health centres have been looted and burnt down. The last time any election of any kind held in those places was over 4 years ago. But even more tragic is the absolute conspiracy of silence by the media, Igbo social media big voices and many Igbo organizations over this existential threat.
And no, the silence is not necessarily borne out of fear, it is partly a manifestation of a growing but very disturbing culture amongst some Igbos for whom Igbo lives matter only when it is taken by outsiders but if the killers are Igbos, they are shielded while blaming Lord Lugard, Britain, Fulani and every other external forces. Every other person but the real culprits.
The promoters of this worrisome trend are sadly in most Igbo WhatsApp fora parading as the only genuine Igbo lovers and labeling others sabo. At some point and that point is now, we must find our voices and use same to call on the govt of Imo and Anambra including the Bola Ahmed Tinubu led federal govt to live up to their responsibilities. A responsible govt protects people even from killing themselves.
HOW CAN A GOVT FIND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DEAL WITH TERRORISTS WHO HAVE NAMES, FACES, SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE AND OPERATE FROM KNOWN LOCATIONS??? A betting man would bet that the govts have allowed the situation to persist for some political reason known only to them. And as it happens, I am a betting man. On our part as Ndigbo, we must put arrogance aside and in humility, look ourselves in the mirror, engage in introspection and acknowledge that indeed, this demon we have summoned, we cannot now dismiss.
Truth be told, no terrorist or criminal group can establish a criminal shop anywhere in the world without the cooperation of the locals in that particular location. The terrorists ravaging parts of Imo and Anambra enjoyed a reasonable level of cooperation from the locals some of whom believed the terrorists had come to protect them from fulani terrorists and establish Biafra for them.
As a people, we are co-authors of this misfortune but we must now go beyond the blame game and collectively join hands to rescue our people from these demons operating under the cloaks of Biafra Freedom fighters of the Autopilot branch AlaIgbo is sick.
The sickness comes from within.
And so will the healing. N’ezie, “Ịfe ólú melu Igbo dị ofu mana ife Igbo melu ọnwe fa di asaa”.
X @RealCharlesOgbu.
