By Olowogboyega Olumuyiwa.
Chinua Achebe |
Post-independence
proved thorny for the fledgling nation as the ideals of a new nation contrasted
horribly with political realities. Controversial elections, a disputed census
and, the General strike of 1964 a general atmosphere of misrule were the sad
post-independence realities.
The
long chain of disappointments eventually led to a Coup d’état on January 15,
1966. The coup was said to be led by a group of junior officers, most of them
Igbo. Their ringleader was Major Kaduna ChukwumaNzeogwu. This coup was quickly
crushed by Major-General AguiyiIronsi who became the Head of State; his infamous
Decree No.34 sealed his fate and led to a counter-coup.
The
“Igbo Coup” led to a thirst for revenge among the Northern section of Nigeria.
This resulted in a “counter-coup” in July 1966, led by soldiers of Northern
extraction who installed Lt. Col Yakubu Gowon as Head of state.Sadly, the coup
resulted in mass killing of Igbos in many areas In the North. This prompted
mass migration of many Igbos back to their home-towns.
According
to Achebe, the Igbos were major achievers, the fore runners in the move for
independence and an ethnic group hated by the rest of Nigeria…
"Nigeria’s
pathetic attempt to crush these idiosyncrasies rather than celebrate them is
one of the fundamental reasons the country has not developed as it should and
has emerged as a laughingstock.The
ploy in the Nigerian context was simple and crude: get the achievers out and
replace them with less qualified individuals from the desired ethnic background
so as to gain access to the resources of the state”
Achebe
described a “pogrom” with over thirty thousand men, women and children
slaughtered, hundreds of houses burnt and destroyed-with no questions asked.
The resulting
effect of the aforementioned was a deep dissatisfaction among the Eastern
section of the country spearheaded by the Premier of the Eastern region,
Lt.Col. Odimegwu Ojukwu. The efforts of the Federal Government to address the
Eastern concerns were encapsulated in the “Aburi Accord”.
A growing
frustration with the inactions of the federal government led to a feeling
Achebe coined as “Nigeria did not belong we”. Thus, on May 30, 1967, Eastern
Nigeria was declared an independent state by the name “Republic of Biafra”
named after “The Bight of Biafra”- an expanse of water. Naturally, the
Federal Government of Nigeria repudiated the secessionist move by Biafra and
declared a state of emergency and eventually, war.
Of the war,
Achebe paints a grim picture and understandably so. From the blockade of aid
and relief supplies by the federal government, to the “Asaba massacre”, Achebe
paints a gory picture. The Biafrans found themselves under armed and fatally
unprepared for a war of such magnitude and soon came under heavy assault. The Federal
Government of Nigeria did not help matters by imposing an economic blockade on
the Republic of Biafra.
Achebe’s
deepest emotion is captured when he narrates the death of his close friend, the
poet, Christopher Okigbo. He narrates how he broke the news to his family;
“When I finally got
myself home and told my family, my three year old, Ike, screamed: “Daddy, don’t
let him die!”
The mood of
Achebe’s book is rather pensive. Being an active and useful servant of the
Republic of Biafra, it is difficult to detach his sentiments as a former
Biafran. Thus, we are provided with an arguably bitter account of the attempt
of Eastern Nigeria’s quest for self-determination. His celebration
of Biafran victories on the war front while painting victories by the Nigerian
side as gory and inhuman has a somewhat shallow ring to it.
We can further
ask ourselves, how accurate is Achebe’s account, given the fact that it’s
coming almost more than 40years after the end of the war? Achebe’s
contention of a collective hatred against the Igbos is somewhat spurious and
ill-considered. In his words,
“Nigerians will
probably achieve consensus on no other matter than their common resentment of
the Igbo. The origin of the national resentment of the Igbo is as old as
Nigeria and quite as uncomplicated”.
With some
contentions of superiority reminiscent of Hitler’s “Super race”, Achebe further
contends,
“The Igbo culture,
being receptive to change, individualistic, and highly competitive, gave the
Igbo man an unquestioned advantage over his compatriots”
He further
posits that the lack of inclusion of the Igbo’s in the Nigerian setup is the
root of Nigeria’s failures. In a country like Nigeria fraught with ethnic
awareness and intolerance, I find Achebe’s contentions inflammatory.
Perhaps, he has
a case in the morality of the Federal government’s economic blockade policy
against Biafra. He did not mince words in describing Lt. Col. Gowon’s Chief of
Staff, Obafemi Awolowo,
“It is my impression
that Chief Awolowo was driven by an overriding ambition for power, for himself
in particular and for the advancement of the Yoruba people in general….However,
Awolowo saw the dominant Igbos at the time as the obstacles to that goal, and
when the opportunity arose-the Nigeria-Biafra War-his ambition drove him into a
frenzy to go to every length. In the Biafran case it meant hatching up a
diabolical policy to reduce the numbers of his enemies significantly through
starvation”.
It is
surprising that a man of Achebe’s genius would make such ad hominem remarks. In
an earlier part of the book he describes Awolowo as a “radical” and “an
upstart”.
It is conceivable
that the failure of the Republic of Biafra connived to make Achebe paranoid and
instilled in him a belief that Nigeria as a whole is out for the heads of Igbo
people.
Achebe’s
emphatic and extreme views and his failure to consider Nigeria as a whole stands
as the “Achilles heel” in an otherwise brilliant work. For a
self-professed proponent of “One Nigeria”, it is ironic that Achebe writes
first as a Biafran, secondly as a Nigerian and lastly as a writer.
We can excuse
Achebe in the Latin maxim “nemodebetesseiudex in propriacausa”, no man should be a judge in his own case. Could
Achebe ever be objective in an account that features him as a key figure?
This book also beggars the question, for a
country on the brink of collapse with deep seated distrust; does not diplomacy
suggest that Achebe should have toned down his wild allegations? Should Achebe
have developed a “God complex” and presume to know the intents and thoughts of
men such as Obafemi Awolowo?
After waiting for such a long period to
put his thoughts on paper, does wisdom and common sense not compel us to
question the veracity of his claim? An emotional story withheld for later
re-telling takes on romantic and slightly skewed proportions.
Achebe’s work stirs
up questions and it is advisable that before coming to a conclusion, Achebe’s
work should be juxtaposed with other accounts of the civil war.
The writer is on twitter @moscomoet
I think Prof Achebe's aim in writing his memoirs of the war was to bring back to remembrance the tragedy we faced as a fledgling nation, from his own point of view as an active participant from the Biafran side and the need to correct the mistakes of the past in other to move forward.
ReplyDeleteA lot of young Nigerians today are rather unfortunately, totally unaware about our history as a nation. This book is a catalyst to rediscovery. I can tell that for those who have read it, myself included, it has spurred us into delving back into our history books, just as Olumuyiwa suggested, to understand the events that led to the war, the horror of war and the need to avoid a reoccurrence. War is ugly and it brings out the ugliness in humans.
This review is most impressive because it was written by a young Nigerian who possesses a rare detachment from tribalistic inclinations and such objectivity worthy of emulation unlike majority of other reviews of the book by members of the older generation; the likes of Femi Fani-Kayode who perceived the book as an attack against the Yorubas. In fact, this ranks as the second best review behind Chimamanda Adichie's "Awo vs Achebe:We Remember Differently".
There is indeed hope in our generation. Kudos again to Olumuyiwa. Beautiful review.
Nice review...done dispassionately.
ReplyDeleteThe war is behind us...how do we move on if we haven't?
The problems that led to the 1966 coup still beset us & I daresay they are worse than they were.
It is a good book though, Achebe's bias notwithstanding.
Nice article. It really is quite objective in a sense, but also subtly antagonistic. The writer misses a few salient points of the book. I can say this even without reading the book. What we must all realize is that Achebe was well within his rights to give an account of how he felt about the war. After all, its 'his' account of the war. It is his perception. If anyone however feels differently, he should give his own account rather than try to discredit Achebe's account. I understand he even said he people didn't like his story, they should write theirs. To me, it says more of a strong incline to suppress his views...that in itself is bias.
ReplyDeleteAchebe never claimed to be telling his story as a Nigerian...it was thoroughly a Biafran point of view so i don't know why people expected so different from what they got.
Then again, looking at the issue the writer claimed was Achebe's edged view of d Igbos; it a known fact. Somewhat like racism, only not so much outspoken as much as its a private philosophy. People really see Igbos as 'too competitive'. And yes, they are for the most part. Most Nigerians from other tribal roots have at least once used the phrase 'Igbo man, una too like money...' That is proof of the masked paranoia the rest of Nigerians have for the Igbos. So in every sense, Achebe is right in his utterances. So for some dude who maybe has a little background knowledge of the civil war or the terrible experiences of the Igbos and understands little about the Achebe's point of view, especially as an active participant in the civil war, the only thing he has going for him is a good command of English. It is really insulting to Achebe's work that his last paragraphs belittles Achebe's intents. I don;t want stretch the matter any further; its too sensitive. There is just too much room for misrepresentation.
Subtly antagonistic? You surely didnt read the first part of the review to come to that conclusion. Achebe's new book has many good parts, its very thought provoking. But he tries too hard to pass off his personal opinions and mere allegations as statements of fact in many parts of his book.
ReplyDeleteIts an almost impossible feat to discredit Achebe, but with his new book, Achebe pushed his status too far.
A statesman/elder in his position knowing fully well the inflammatory potential of whatever he puts on paper would definitely have limited himself to the cold hard facts.
From the moment i heard about the book, i immediately Assumed ACHEBE'S aim. His aim was to pass a message to the NIGERIAN public that the igbos rather 'HE' hasn't forgotten about the war he regarded as a 'GENOCIDE'. After watching some you tube videos and watching documentaries of how a NIGERIAN leader during the war laughed as he described the war between both sides as a fight between DAVID and GOLIATH, i do not blame the writer for his non objectivity.
ReplyDeleteStating that the Lack of inclusion of igbos in the Nation Set up may be an inflammatory statement, but it isnt without truth. Going by the present day political setting where the 'POLITICAL CABALS' seem to have decided that an igbo man will never be in charge of affairs at the presidential villa. The truth is that the country does itself a lot of arm by crippling the igbos economically on the large scale by the closing down of their major ports. The economy needs help, the igbos are industrious people, i mean, the successfully built an armored tank with limited resources during the war.Restoring the economic power of the igbos will go a long way to assist in 'TOWING' our economy.
On the conclusion of the elder state's man on AWOLOWO'S role in his the WAR rather 'GENOCIDE',i will make no conclusions until we also hear other accounts as suggested by the writer. However, i know that AWOLOWO was a top federal government official as at then, hence, no one can exempt him from the complicity.
i believe Achebe wrote the book less of a writer but more of a BIAFRAN SURVIVOR STORYTELLER AND ALL PERCEIVED BIAS CAN BE FORGIVEN, HE WAS AT THE RECEIVING END AND HIS PEOPLE ARE STILL TREATED POLITICALLY AS BIAFRANS RATHER THAN NIGERIANS
A good critic by muyiwa, and definitely a good write up for a campaigner of poetic objectivity...KUDOS
Thanks to Olumuyiwa for seeing this to conclusion. To start with, this 'review' is OLUMUYIWA's view on Achebe's view and that should be thoroughly understood before jutting remarks upon remarks, lest like Achebe said, you write a review on this review *phew*. My thoughts have been adequately expressed by the writer and other respondents and I urge everyone who comes to this page to share the news with others, let's be politically conscious, the past is what it was, let's stop obsessing about it and work on the now and the future. God bless Nigeria, and the Biafaran state sil vous plait
DeleteMuyiwa, you did good with this work. Tried as you have to be objective with the review, Achebe's unobjectiveness with the story compounds your task. As they say, in all wars, the first casualty is the truth. I haven't read the book and must say I really don't look forward to reading it. All I hear is that it felt more like the shoddy ramblings of an aggreived genius. That the book didn't ask many questions and didn't answer any, although it did give insights as to the Nigerian way.. Chimamanda even put it out that it leaves a certain sour taste in the mouth. I interpret that as an euphemism that Achebe could have been more truthful/dispassionate in his work. It's sad that we could only see it from his point of view which, as I've heard, was fleeting inconsistencies from the first person to the third person narratives throughout the story. The reviews certainly leave me with a sour taste...
ReplyDeleteGood work, Muyiwa. Good work! It's challenging enough to pick on a work which is perhaps the most reviewed book in recent history by the greatest author Nigerian has ever seen.
The book has many high points we can all learn from. It tells a story of a Nigeria that used to work, a Nigeria that once was. A Nigeria where you would graduate and be assured of a job, where merit and intelligence opened doors for you.
ReplyDeleteA Nigeria where corruption was not yet endemic, where our leaders had vision.
The sad realities of the demise of that Nigeria led to the formation of the Republic of Biafra and its failure ensured that Achebe was bitter for two reasons.
First, the death of Nigeria, second, the death of Biafra.
However, every statesman, regardless of his sentiments must consider posterity when committing thoughts to words. Achebe has only succeeded in waking up our consciousness to the sad realities that exist in today's Nigeria.
I will however, refrain from adding more criticisms, lest i also become sentimental.
Muyiwa wasn't objective in his work. I would 've thought that a credible evidence would 've been used to discredit or prove Achebe's claims to the contrary but this was not the case here. Remember that Achebe was already an adult during the Nigeria/Biafra civil war and had first hand and direct information as regards the general mood of the time but Muyiwa's review is made up more of hearsay and an undying sentiment for his ethnic background. Yet the Yoruba nation like other ethnic groupings in Nigeria do 've their own flaws. Whilst I was in the University in Benin I discovered that the average 'Delta Igbo' hastily denied being an Igbo man or woman because of the fear of being hated by the rest of Nigeria. Sadly, that sentiment remains against the Igbos in Nigeria till date. Yet the so-called 'Igbo coup' was designed by by Nzeogu- a man from Okpanam in the present day Delta State of the modern Nigeria. Achebe may 've his flaws but prove him wrong with good evidence to the contrary as it relates to the reality of the events of the present day Nigeria. Afterall Nigerians 've now come to terms with the reality of what the Igbos saw way back in 1967.
ReplyDelete