Nigeria: Memories of Biafran Nightmares

24 January 2013
opinion

Agu Imo has been a friend and elder brother for almost two decades now, so when he called about two weeks ago to say there is an old man he wanted me to meet, he knew I couldn't say no to his request. When he mentioned the name, Rev. Moses Iloh, I was even more enthusiastic since the man remains one of the most respected Christian leaders in Nigeria today. But what Imo said next shocked me: "I want you to meet Rev Iloh because he is now 83 and he is someone with whom I am close and he has some interesting perspectives to share about our country. He is not getting younger and I don't want him to die without telling his story and, for me, you are the only person who can do justice to his account. You know of course that Rev. Iloh was the head of Red Cross in Biafra..."

At that point, my enthusiasm wavered a bit. Biafra? That is one topic I told myself I would avoid and for good reasons. Ever since Professor Chinua Achebe published his memoir, "There Was a Country", I have watched as several Igbo and Yoruba commentators tore at one another on the Internet. Abuses, curses, threats and all manner of hate mongering were deployed on a daily basis. It all started with Achebe's characterization of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, which was then misinterpreted to be an assault on the Yoruba people regardless of the fact that Achebe's own daughter is married to a Yorubaman.

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