By David Nwanekpe
11/22/2025
I fear for the future of the Igbo race not because we are weak, but because Nigeria has refused to heal a wound that has been bleeding for over five decades. The events of 1966 were not an “Igbo mistake.” The coup was carried out by young military officers from different ethnic groups Igbo, Yoruba, and even some Northerners. But when the retaliation came, it was the innocent Igbo population that paid the ultimate price.
By the time the pogroms swept through the North, tens of thousands of Igbos were massacred. Our grandparents died in cold blood. Some were thrown into wells, others butchered in front of their families. Many of us alive today were not even born then. We did not commit any crime. Yet we continue to carry the consequences of actions we never took.
Every Igbo heart still carries that pain. Imagine growing up and hearing that your grandfather was dragged out and shot during the war. Or that your father survived only by hiding in the bush for weeks. These memories were never addressed, never given justice, never healed.
At the end of the war, Nigeria declared “No victor, no vanquish.” It was a powerful, beautiful policy but it remained only on paper. There was no national apology, no psychological reconciliation, no rebuilding of Igboland. From 1970 until today, no Igbo man has been allowed to come near the Nigerian presidency. Infrastructure has remained abandoned. Federal presence is minimal. And the Igbo people continue to feel like a conquered nation within their own country.
This is why the Biafra agitation persists. It is not about Nnamdi Kanu. It is not about IPOB. It is about the blood of every Igbo person silently crying for acknowledgment. Personally, I have never supported IPOB. I have never been a member and will never be a member. But the truth remains: until Nigeria calls the Igbo people to a roundtable and simply says “We are sorry… let us heal together,” the agitation will continue from generation to generation.
Three million souls died during the war. The Asaba massacre alone saw hundreds of men lined up and shot in broad daylight. Till today not a single official apology has been given.
If this generation of leaders refuses to confront the past, the next generation will inherit the anger. And that is dangerous for Nigeria, for stability, for unity, and for national peace. Look at the insecurity today. Look at the fear, the distrust, the ethnic tension. Healing the Igbo wound is not just for the Igbo people. It is for the survival of Nigeria itself.
We who live in the diaspora continuously feel scared, afraid to even go home. Think about it: an Igbo man is not free in the North because of this same hatred. Come to think of it, in the West today, we have heard several rhetorics suggesting that an Igbo man should leave the West. And back home, we have also seen a high level of insecurity where an Igbo man is not even free to visit home again.
And I ask my fellow Nigerians: if you were in the shoes of an Igbo man living abroad, how would you feel?
Our hearts are heavy. We need peace. We need to love each other again. Nigeria needs to understand that an Igbo man is your brother. Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo we are one people. It is our collective pride.
I believe that Nigeria will stand tall, strong, and united. Just like Rwanda, after the genocide, went through reconciliation. They came together. They abolished tribal divisions. Everyone in Rwanda today is simply a Rwandan, not defined by tribe.
Can we not see each other as brothers? And can we put ourselves in the shoes of the Igbo people and feel what they feel?
The politicians of the First Republic Azikiwe, Tafawa Balewa, Ahmadu Bello all played roles that contributed to the crisis. That historical failure must not be transferred to our generation.
Nigeria must heal.
Nigeria must apologize.
Nigeria must rebuild trust.
Only then can we truly move forward as one nation.
