Dear Gentle,
I don’t want to go into formalities because this is a dangerous time. I am writing this letter because there is practically no journalist of Igbo extraction that can write directly to you and your men. They fear being attacked, but frankly, I don’t see a reason for attack when duty calls.
I am not a member of IPOB or under any oath, but my support for Biafra between 2015 and 2017 was central to the impeccable image Biafra had then. When right, I praise; when wrong, I come down heavily on the actors. I am a warrior defending Ala-Igbo with my pen, and when the land is threatened, it’s my duty to act.
I want to leak this secret to you: when you lose an information war and/or media war, there is no way you can win on the ground. I see Biafrans losing the information/media war, and they lose because you don’t help them.
Therefore, for Biafrans to regain ground in the media/information war, you need to take this letter seriously and quickly restrategize. I have summoned the courage to write, not because I know how to write, but because in 1970, 3.5 million souls were lost for this course, and it needs to be revered and protected.
Others that have the capacity to write directly to you are either afraid or in opposition. Some are with the DOS faction, while some are working for agencies, and they can’t displease their masters.
I am an independent journalist, and my independence has given me the freedom to rationally reason. I embrace issues with an open heart. I tried all I could to build journalists as the last line of defense of Ndigbo, because I knew a time like this would come, and those journalists would be in a strong position to correct or direct, but due to hunger, they all pledged destructive loyalty to the leaders of different Biafran agitation groups.
I know most people don’t understand what it takes to lay down lives for Biafra. Most people don’t understand what living in the bush looks like. They don’t understand the psychological consequences. They don’t understand the battle or the mindset of you and your men. It can be draining, and it has mental risk.
They don’t understand that the moment somebody leaves his comfortable home to live in a bush, that person has nothing to lose anymore. You and your men are fighting randomly; it’s not easy, just the few of you. That kind of war can’t be won with the way you are going about it.
Brother, I have been an independent journalist covering the Biafra issue since 2015, and I have seen a lot. I have written a lot, and I have fought media battles. I am in a better position to write to you. Your actions are doing more harm than good to the struggle. Take it from me with a pinch of salt.
I disagree with a lot of things happening in Ala-Igbo. But Biafra is justified. What the Nigerian government is doing to Ndigbo justifies Biafra agitation. No Igbo man has been a president. Igbo people are hated and treated like prisoners of war. They don’t want to include and/or accommodate Igbo. They only want what is in Igbo land, and until they change, Biafra agitation is justified.
Brother, we all love Biafra, and we wish to have a country of our own. We want to break free from the shackles of injustice, but you are further tightening our shackles.
You are today desecrating the Biafra. 3.5 million souls were sacrificed by shedding the blood of Biafrans irrespective of their crime. Ranging from the three executed youths to the family of the so-called Okigwe vigilante leader.
Brother, I believe that you joined the Biafra struggle with a good heart and intention. I also believe that you will listen to a commonsense plea. I am convinced that by the time you get this letter and finish reading it, you will reason with me.
Brother, we are swiftly losing Ala-Igbo, and the image of Biafra is swiftly being blurred. There is propaganda against Biafra that is being aided by your actions. There is a distancing from Biafra, and Biafra is losing its sympathy. Biafra is now losing momentum and every argument.
There is an indoctrination today that Biafra is about killing civilians. Our children are reading, watching, and hearing commentaries. The children are distancing themselves from Biafra. Adults are now hiding their support for Biafra. The love that once existed for Biafra has swiftly disappeared.
Brother, in 2016, on behalf of Ndigbo, I met international delegates. I spoke with international media correspondents. I even held discussions with leaders like the late Col. Joe Achuzia and the late Dozie Ikedife. I deliberated with them all in defense of Biafra. I am better placed to tell you the truth.
The Nigerian armed forces can now freely burn down houses and kill as many as they want without any effective pressure against them. They can storm Ala-Igbo and operate with reckless abandon and still be praised. Do you know why?
If you watch closely what is happening now, you will see that if Nigerian soldiers kill youths in Ala-Igbo, they don’t face condemnation like before because the unprofessional activities of Biafra groups with guns have shifted sympathy away from Biafra. Due to the documented killings, even the international community wants the Nigerian army to operate in Biafra land.
Brother, there are rules of engagement in every war, and one is—never you kill a civilian no matter what. Once you murder civilians, especially uninvolved civilians, you shoot yourself in the leg.
Recently, videos of the murder of uninvolved civilians circulating are too much. Videos of civilians’ executions are circulating. Videos of threats of genocide against communities are trending. And you know what? Enemies of Ndigbo compile these videos and present them to even the countries that wanted to help Biafra. They compile the videos and show them to our children and youths, telling everybody that Biafra is about killings.
Let me tell you something about these videos and reports of killings. When people report killings, executions, and massacres, you dent the image of Biafra. You make Biafra a gross impossibility. You distance the international community from Biafra. You make the struggle harder for this generation and next generations.
Brother, no country, no matter how bad it is, can associate with a group killing civilians, no matter the reason. No country would support a group threatening everyone. You are going haywire, and you need to sleep and consult your spirit. This has become a psychopathic and apocalyptic game.
Brother, what were you thinking when you went to the home of the Okigwe Vigilante leader and massacred uninvolved civilians? That is the raw definition of terrorism. How do you expect those fighting for Biafra on the diplomatic front and media front to handle that dent? Who is that person, country, or group that would want to associate with the Biafra that involves murdering women, mothers, and fathers who know nothing about the problem that brewed?
Brother, why didn’t you wait and directly attack or kill the very armed guy challenging you? What have those women and men to do with the problem you have with the young man? You have the moral backing to confront who is armed like you, but summarily executing his uninvolved family or kindred is spreading fear through terrorism.
Bro, let’s protect Biafra’s image and jealously preserve the very justification of the struggle.
Now, to correct this mistake, this is what you must do. Call your men to order. Lie low and be quiet; if possible, disappear because you desperately need a break. There is the need to restore quiet in Ala-Igbo. Leave social media and allow Biafran journalists to do the job of image repackaging (if they can, because the destruction is enormous). Don’t shoot, don’t attack, just lie low and start from scratch. You need a break because you are about to implode. It’s draining, and it’s important to pause and have quiet introspection.
The kidnappings that are happening in Ala-Igbo. All the killings and the many pieces of heart-wrenching news coming out of Biafra land might not all be done by you and your men, but because the enemies have seen the ones you did, they have every reason to rightly point fingers at you, and the people rightly have every reason to agree with them.
Brother, if you listen to me and keep quiet and stop all your activities, we can then fish out those destroying Biafra land. As for now, you and your men are the ones destroying Biafra land, and it’s a truth you must accept with a pinch of salt.
The enemies of Ndigbo are contented and happy with the way we are destroying Igboland by ourselves. No Nigerian soldier will even bother to fight you now; they would want you to finish the internal war or destruction of our land before they come in for you. You are making the job of enemies of Ndigbo easier.
There are government spies sending money for the destruction of Ala-Igbo. There are enemies of Ndigbo sending money for this to continue, but believe you me, we are in a hot soup with every action from you.
Finally, brother, each massacre is a barbaric act. Like the female soldier, her private part was severed; it can only be done by barbarians. The summary execution is a barbaric act. Now, no civilized person would want to associate with barbarians. The very international community you call on every day forbids barbarians, and I wonder if these things you do are what will restore Biafra.
Brother, I will end this letter with this frank question. From the bottom of your heart, do you think what you are doing will restore or help Biafra? Or do you think this war you are fighting in one bush out of millions of bushes in Ala-Igbo will restore Biafra?
Retreat and reform! It’s time to stop. We have bled enough. We need a new plan!. Even a political plan is more realistic than this killing of Biafrans by Biafrans.
Yours,
Ifeanyi Chijioke.