(1976) A History of the Igbo People History: Reviews of New Books: Vol 4, No 8, pp 169-169

A History of the Igbo People

A review of There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra by Chinua Achebe (London: Penguin Book, 2012. 352 pp., ISBN: 978-0143124030) by Samuel Oyewole (Samueloyewole47@yahoo.co.uk), Instructor, Department of Political Science; University of Ilorin, Ilorin, NigeriaThe Nigerian Civil War remains one of the most important political incidents in the history of the country. The Civil War covers the period of 30 months (1967-1970) of confrontation between the secessionist eastern region, Republic of Biafra and the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The significant of this event for Nigerian political development cannot be overemphasised. Forty-four years after the war, its legacies have endured against the stability of the nation. Among the legacies of the Civil War and notable reasons for the book are: 1) despite the policy of reintegration pursued by the post-civil war governments, the Igbos (members of the ethnic group that dominated the secession) still continued to feel less secure outside their 'state of origin', and most particularly in the northern region; 2) the Igbo people have remained politically marginalised in the national politics; and 3) Biafra and neo-Biafra ideas have continued to serve as popular points of rally and advocacy. The relevance of violent advocacy groups like Movement for Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) is an instance.Appreciable number of books has appeared on the subject of Nigerian Civil War. Some of the existing accounts have engaged the Civil War broadly, while others focused on aspects of the event, including antecedents of the war, battle experiences, the cost, international dimension, the consequences et-central. It is within the context of antecedents of the war and overall cost incurred by the Igbo nation before and during the war that one could find this book worthwhile. The book contribute to knowledge on civil war, ethno-regional politics, insurgency and terrorism, state viability, regime security, leadership crisis, art, education and diplomacy. The book benefited from the reputation of the author in the world of literature, in terms of attention. This account explains the Biafra secessionist struggle within the framework of leadership crisis in Nigeria. This factor is identified to have interplay the phenomenon of ethnicity, democratic reversal and state failure in Nigerian history. The book explains the trend that accounted for the personality clash between General Yakubu Gowon, the military head of state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the military governor of the eastern region and the head of (defunct) Biafran state, Lt-Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. This personality clash plays out well within the framework of ethnic, regional and even religious cleavages. To this understanding, the civil war was identified as ethno-regional struggle within the country, but Ojukwu was successful with propaganda in depicting it as religious war for the Western world.With the account of massacre that preceded the civil war, the author draws readers' attention to the precedence in patterns of modern terrorism in Nigeria. The book captures the dehumanising crusade against the Igbos outside the eastern region before the war. This is identified as a sufficient, logical and moral reason for men to rebel. Therefore, the moral premises of the secessionist war against the Nigerian federation were acknowledged. Despite this, the author went further to identify efforts made by the Igbos to prevent the rapid deterioration of the situation that caused the civil war. In this way, the commitment of the Igbos to the unity of Nigeria was appraised. …

There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra

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Second-class citizen

Poverty in Africa: A geographical approach

Igbo Women and Economic Transformation in Southeastern Nigeria, 1900-1960 (review)

There is a close relationship between the traditional Igbo-African culture and its treatment of women and the traditional Jewish culture and the status of women therein. This article examines the i...

Women Prophets in the Old Testament: Implications for Christian Women in Contemporary Southeastern Nigeria:

To the priest in general and to the African priest in particular has been given the mandate to preach the Word of God. This, of course, is in order to feed the flock entrusted to him. With descriptive and analytic methodology, this paper endeavoured to find out how the priest in Africa today could carry out this responsibility better. It was discovered that based on the realities on ground in Africa today, only an inculturated preaching could suffice. Such an inculturated preaching, the paper still made known, would impel him, the African priest, that is, to listen, first of all, to the Word of God, and then to the people in their symbolic world, culture and sociopolitical conditions. While considering also not only the resources available to the same African priest but also the points he should bear in mind as he prepares for this important part of his ministry, the paper did underscore the significance of prayer to and the way of living of the same African priest. It is hoped that this will be an important addition to the ever-growing call for more attention to be given to the reality of preaching in the house of theology, or better, Christianity, in Africa.

The African Priest and The Imperativeness of An Inculturated Preaching

Inauthentic Devotion to the Eucharist in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus

Over the years, a good number of West African fiction writers in English, influenced, as it were, by several factors, but especially, by their Christian background, have come up, in their works, wi...

Christ-figures in modern Anglophone West African fiction: Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and the Church in West Africa today

There has recently been an upsurge in the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, especially in northern Nigeria by the militant Islamic sect Boko Haram, and in the Middle Belt and other areas of the country by Muslim Fulani herdsmen. One of the characteristics of these persecutions is that while they are targeted mainly at Christians, these Christians are never separated along the lines of their denominations. This article highlights the ecumenical implications that the scenario holds for the various Christian churches in Nigeria, churches that before now have been schooled in elements of extreme denominationalism.

Adolphus Ekedimma Amaefule

Papers

Women Prophets in the Old Testament: Implications for Christian Women in Contemporary Southeastern Nigeria:

The African Priest and The Imperativeness of An Inculturated Preaching

Inauthentic Devotion to the Eucharist in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus

Christ-figures in modern Anglophone West African fiction: Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and the Church in West Africa today

Ecumenism of Blood and Christian Churches in Contemporary Nigeria