by Ken Wiwa “…I had to be careful about the way I handled someone else’s words or opinions… Even when there was strong disagreement, one had to remember to be discordant with respect.” Early in this long-awaited memoir of the Nigerian Civil War, Chinua Achebe, Nigeria’s most famous and respected writer, recalls a conversation between... Read More

‘There Was a Country’, chinua achebe, civil war, Emeka Ojukwu, Goodluck Jonathan, igbo, Ken Saro-Wiwa, nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo, T.C Okoli, Yakubu Gowon

November 5, 2012

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Tolu Ogunlesi: The beggars, the fence and the country (YNaija Frontpage)

From another perspective it is super-depressing news. President come president go, fuel scarcity remain, corruption remain. Nigeria’s problems seem destined to outlive every Nigerian, and certainly every government. I’m currently reading The Supreme Commander, Olufemi Ogunsanwo’s 2009 biography of former Head of State Yakubu Gowon. I don’t need to tell you it’s a fascinating read.... Read More

Biafra war, corruption, nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo, petrol scarcity, tolu ogunlesi, YNaija Frontpage

November 4, 2012

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Simon Kolawole: Indeed, there was a starved country

Gowon and Awolowo could have done much more to help the dying and diseased civilians. And, clearly, Ojukwu fatally erred by refusing to accept the conditions for the delivery of relief materials. There has been some mayhem over Professor Chinua Achebe’s civil war memoir, There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra. Achebe accused... Read More

Biafran War, blockade, chinua achebe, Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo, simon kolawole, starvation, Yakubu Gowon

November 3, 2012

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Opinion: No escape from the sceptre looming over us

by Kenechi Uzochukwu This generation is largely confused. From the biased accounts, many of the generation believe the war was fought between Awolowo and some hapless Igbo women and children who he allegedly starved to death. A sceptre has been looming over our heads, a sceptre called Biafra. For 42 years it has defied gravity... Read More

Biafran War, chinua achebe, future, generation, nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo

November 1, 2012

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TICKER: Tribune sacks 160 workers

There has been a mass sack of workers at the African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) PLC, publishers of the Tribune titles, based in Ibadan, capital of Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria. At least 160 workers in all the departments were affected in the mass purge which took place last week. The retrenchment exercise which took place... Read More

Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo, Oyo State, sack, tribune

October 31, 2012

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Achebe’s book is propaganda, I did not starve Igbos to death – Gowon keeps talking

by Isi Esene Nigeria’s war-time military president, Yakubu Gowon, has been unequivocal in his reaction to the book titled, ‘There was a country,’ published by renowned author, Chinua Achebe. In the book, which detailed his experience during the Nigerian civil war, Achebe had accused Gowon and Obafemi Awolowo of using hunger as a weapon of... Read More

biafra, chinua achebe, civil war, memoirs, Obafemi Awolowo, Yakubu Gowon

October 5, 2012

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Firestorm: Yoruba leaders blast Achebe for “attacking” Awolowo

by Stanley Azuakola It was bound to happen. You don’t speak ill of one of the greatest Yorubas of all time and not expect a backlash. Not even if you are a legendary world icon like Prof. Chinua Achebe. The literary giant recently released his civil war memoir titled There was a Country last week, in... Read More

‘There Was a Country’, Ayo Opadokun, biafra, chinua achebe, genocide, Obafemi Awolowo, Yakubu Gowon