By Pat Onukwuli
by any humane standard, the massacre of innocent Ebonyi indigenes on June 30, 2025, in Ogboji, Anambra State, is a heart-shattering national tragedy. These were not nameless statistics; they were real people with dreams, responsibilities, and loved ones who depended on them. Fathers who had children to raise, and held families together, sons who should have been preparing for marriage, and breadwinners who had gone out to attend a routine town meeting.
When gunfire shattered that gathering, it was not just lives that were lost; it was futures, hopes, and whole family foundations. In homes across Ebonyi, grief now lingers like smoke after a fire has burned. Children will wake up calling for fathers who will never answer. Wives will stare longingly at the door, hoping their husbands will somehow walk back in. Elderly parents will sit on wooden stools in front of their compounds, silent, their eyes dry from tears already spent. This was not just an attack on individuals; it was a wound carved deep into the soul of a people.
In moments like this, when the nation should be united in mourning, the words of leaders carry enormous weight. That is why it is deeply troubling that Honourable Iduma Igariwey Enwo, representing Afikpo North and South, while addressing this tragedy in Nigeria’s National Assembly, delivered a motion that suggested, without evidence, that Anambra indigenes targeted Ebonyi citizens.
Even if subtly phrased, the undertone of sectional hostility was unmistakable. In a country like Nigeria, where ethnic lines are sharp and easily inflamed, such rhetoric can be as dangerous as the gunshots that took those lives. A leader’s voice should heal, not divide; it should unite, not implicate.
In philosophy, particularly in moral and political theory, speech is not merely expression; it is action. As J. L. Austin and later Judith Butler argued, words do things. A wedding vow unites; a judge’s sentence condemns. And in volatile societies, rhetoric can rupture.
Nigeria is not a morally neutral state. It is a complex federation built on a foundation of diverse cultures, colonial hangovers, tribal fault lines, and collective trauma. In such a fragile construction, a careless word from a leader is not just an error; it is a betrayal of duty. Leaders are moral architects in society. They build or destroy with speech.
In Igbo cosmology, the word “okwu” is life and power. To speak is to sow. That’s why elders traditionally caution: “Ọkwu nwelu ike ịkponite mmụọ zolu ezo”. “Words can stir up the hidden spirits.” Igariwey’s insinuation may have stirred a spirit the nation is not ready for.
When tragedy strikes, the first casualty is often the truth. In the absence of verified information, conjecture fills the void. A mere insinuation from a respected lawmaker becomes street gossip, which in turn becomes a rallying cry for vengeance. The danger here isn’t abstract; it is real. It spreads through markets, churches, beer parlours, and WhatsApp groups. Before long, people begin to see their neighbours not as fellow citizens but as suspects.
This is how Rwanda burned in 1994, not because machetes were sharp, but because a narrative of ‘us versus them’ was cultivated over time through speeches, radio waves, and propaganda. This is how Yugoslavia collapsed, how Jos turned into a killing field, and how reprisal killings escalated in Southern Kaduna.
We are already seeing early signs. Whispers of reprisal are creeping in, and all this, without conclusive evidence of targeting by the host community. The motion is already generating significant heat, prompting cautionary responses from political figures, such as Governor Charles Soludo, and groups like Ohanaeze Ndigbo. Both have urged communities to avoid hasty reprisals, warning that unverified claims could escalate tensions and fuel unnecessary conflict.
Nobody disputes that justice must be done. These killings were barbaric and cowardly. But justice cannot be based on emotion or assumptions. Reports now reveal that the prime suspect in this horror is from Ebonyi. It appears, chillingly, that this may have been an internal feud among the Ebonyi Community, possibly over community leadership or other long-standing grievances.
If that is true, then casting this as a cross-state attack is not only premature but also harmful. It directs anger at the wrong people and sows discord between two communities with deep historical and cultural ties. We must be better than that.
Therefore, instead of pouring fuel on tribal wounds, our leaders must be the balm. They must resist the temptation to turn tragedy into political capital or ethnic loyalty tests. They must speak not just to their constituencies, but to the conscience of the country.
The philosopher Hannah Arendt warned us that evil often begins not with malice, but with thoughtlessness; a failure to examine the consequences of our actions. Hon. Igariwey’s motion may not have been intended to ignite division, but the inability to avoid suggestive language, especially in the face of incomplete facts, makes it culpable, nonetheless.
What the families of the slain need right now is compassion, support, and clarity. Not tribal rhetoric. They need to bury their loved ones with dignity, not under the burden of politicised mourning. They deserve to know who did this and why. Not to be dragged into a narrative that may later turn out to be false.
Thus, this is the time for calm heads and open hearts. The Nigerian Police and security services must be allowed to complete their investigations without interference from politics. The whole truth must be uncovered, not the version that suits one’s tribe or agenda, but the one that honours the dead by holding the real killers accountable.
Nigeria is bleeding. From Plateau to Zamfara, Benue, Imo to Anambra, blood flows daily, sometimes without even making headlines. Let the Ogboji massacre remind us of the fragility of life and the importance of peace. Let it be a turning point that teaches us to hold our leaders accountable for their words and to demand better from them when emotions run high.
Our leaders should speak not to inflame, but to inform. They should condemn the killings but not colour them prematurely. Nigerians need leadership, not loaded language, as this is not just Ebonyi’s loss. It is all of ours. Let us stand for truth always. Let us mourn with humility. Let us never again allow reckless words to deepen the wounds that bullets have already made. And let us learn that truth must come before clan.
• Dr. Onukwuli, a property law expert and public affairs analyst,
writes from Bolton, UK. Email: [email protected]