The 2nd Civil War Funded By Southeasterners And Executed By Southerners

Yesterday, when I posted that the Southeast had been on another civil war since 2020 funded by southeasterners and executed by southerners. This thought reverberated with majority of the people who agreed that my thesis was spot-on.

Another dimension to this is the asymmetrical nature of the war. Here, propaganda was deployed in ways never before seen, not even the first civil war of 1967-1970 had this massive domino effect on the collective psychology of Ndi Igbo.

Professors fell to the propaganda. Priests across denominations made it a part of their homilies. Traders gave it support. Students internalized it. Families embraced it. Artisans, Farmers and even the unskilled animated this narrative in ways that no one ever imagined possible!

When Soludo came on board in 2022, he sought to deploy data and evidence based approach to solving a problem created out of our shared, yet bold ignorance! This gave birth to the “Truth, Justice and Peace Committee” in 2022, Chaired by Prof. Chidi Odinkalu alongside other 15 eminent Ndi Igbo who went to work with the following terms of reference;

➢ To identify the remote and immediate causes of the agitations, restiveness, violence and armed struggle in the South East since 1999;

➢ Document victims/circumstances of death, brutality and incarceration;

➢ Identify stakeholders and groups who have played critical roles in the agitations and conflicts, their roles, capabilities and demands;

➢ Address any other issue(s) that may be germane to unraveling the extent of the crisis and charting the roadmap for the future and;

➢ Make recommendations for sustainable peace and security in Anambra State/South East.

On the 6th of March, 2024 (two years after), the committee came up with findings, documented in a report, chief of which suggests that internecine issues, not agitation or liberation was at the heart of the prolonged self-destruction and war experienced in the Southeast!

After listening to Prof. Odinkalu’s executive summary of the report, there was pin-drop silence in the room, one that suggests a realization that all the while, Ndi Igbo were scammed by their own brothers and sisters who are also Ndi Igbo!

— Mazi Ejimofor Opara