It is true that many people are who have commented on Chinua Achebe's book, There Was a Country. However, it is important to clarify that many people commenting on Chinua Achebe's opinions are reacting to what he wrote in an Op-ed piece in the UK Guardian on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 ( The genocidal Biafran war still haunts Nigeria).
The below is what he said about Chief Awolowo:
"The wartime cabinet of General Gowon, the military ruler, it should also be remembered, was full of intellectuals like Chief Obafemi Awolowo among others who came up with a boatload of infamous and regrettable policies. A statement credited to Awolowo and echoed by his cohorts is the most callous and unfortunate: all is fair in war, and starvation is one of the weapons of war. I don't see why we should feed our enemies fat in order for them to fight harder.
It is my impression that Awolowo was driven by an overriding ambition for power, for himself and for his Yoruba people. There is, on the surface at least, nothing wrong with those aspirations. 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 to achieve his dreams. In the Biafran case it meant hatching up a diabolical policy to reduce the numbers of his enemies significantly through starvation — eliminating over two million people, mainly members of future generations."
Again here is the article:
- Ikhide
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