There is a war in Nigeria that does not always involve bullets. It is a war of narratives, fought with propaganda, strategic labelling, and ...
There is a war in Nigeria that does not always involve bullets. It is a war of narratives, fought with propaganda, strategic labelling, and what many believe to be calculated deception. For years, the British and Nigerian states have attempted to paint the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as violent, fractured, and criminal.
But the persistence of that narrative raises an unavoidable question: if the movement is as weak and divided as officials claim, why does it command such sustained governmental attention? From media briefings to security communiqués, IPOB has been persistently framed as the architect of unrest in the South-East. Yet supporters of the movement argue that much of what is attributed to IPOB bears the fingerprints of orchestration rather than organic insurgency.
When former Information Minister Lai Mohammed referred to IPOB’s online base as “media warriors,” he may have intended criticism.
But, contrary to his expectation, he acknowledged a truth the government struggles with: the state no longer monopolizes information.
Every claim is scrutinized.
Every allegation is dissected.
Every inconsistency is amplified.
And inconsistencies abound.
Consider the recurring pattern: criminal incidents occur, and before investigations mature, statements emerge swiftly attributing responsibility to IPOB. The speed often appears less like diligent intelligence work and more like a predetermined conclusion. Even more troubling are the allegations surrounding so-called splinter groups, N-IPOB, Re-IPOB, Y-IPOB, and T-IPOB — formations deliberately designed to simulate internal fracture.
This trick is simple yet more than meets the eye. It is targeted to create factions, allow them to commit destabilizing acts, then present the chaos as proof of IPOB’s violent fragmentation. This infantile shenanigan is not counterinsurgency. It is narrative engineering.
The recent assertion by Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, that IPOB has been successfully divided into factions only intensifies skepticism. We Biafrans see these statements not as triumph but as delusional anticipatory projection, an attempt to validate structures allegedly manufactured to produce the illusion of division.
The fact that we are unrelenting and vehement in our #Biafra_Advocacy is unequivocal. A movement that has survived proscription, arrests, international scrutiny, and relentless demonization cannot be casually fractured by press conferences. Furthermore, attempts to portray IPOB’s leadership as financially self-serving follow a familiar playbook. Delegitimize the message by attacking the messengers.
Shift the debate from political grievances to personal motives. Replace substantive dialogue with character assassination. But there is a deeper issue at stake. Nigeria today faces mounting international scrutiny. Questions linger over foreign lobbying expenditures. Judicial processes are being closely observed. Security operations in the South-East attract growing global attention. These are not symptoms of a confident state. They are indicators of strain.
Our non-violent self-determination advocacy remains focused. IPOB has proven that labelling dissent as terrorism while failing to address root grievances only fuels further alienation. Criminalizing agitation does not erase it. Manufacturing factions do not dissolve conviction. Controlling headlines does not control history. The fundamental struggle here is not merely territorial or political.
It is existential.
It is about who defines legitimacy.
Who assigns guilt?
Who writes the record?
If the Nigerian state is certain of its claims, let independent investigations speak for themselves. Let transparent inquiries unfold. Let evidence, not expedience, determine accountability. Until then, declarations of “division” will ring hollow. And every attempt to weaponize narrative will only reinforce suspicion. In the end, the battle for Biafra, whether one supports it or opposes it, has evolved into a battle for truth itself. And truth does not fracture as easily as propaganda hopes.
We Biafrans remain undaunted and unfazed in our DEMAND, and our demand remains a # UN-supervised #REFERENDUM.
Written by
Mmadụ Awụchukwu
Edited by
Onyekachi Mboma
For
Lagos State Media Team
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