[In which I compile my many various thoughts on Professor Chinua Achebe's book, There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra culled from my numerous postings on Twitter, Facebook and listserves. This is intended to serve primarily as a historical archive of my views. So I (we) may not forget.]
I enjoyed reading Chinua Achebe's memoir, There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra. Many devotees of Achebe will recognize several chapters from previous essays; however he does a good job of putting them together to tell a majestic story. It is an important book, one that should adorn every thinker's book shelf or e-reader. What I am going to say here is not a review or critique of the book; I don't think that the world could stand yet another review of that book. Yes, there are some really good reviews of the book and there are many atrocious rants posing as reviews. My favorite review is by Tolu Ogunlesi whose coolly cerebral analysis puts to shame the reams of hot air from several architects of Nigeria's ruin. Reading the book clearly makes the profoundly sad point that many who have "reviewed" the book dispensed with the inconvenience of reading it. Too bad. Achebe's memoir is a great, nostalgic look back at a very complex era, one that should have elicited a more coherent and respectful engagement than what we witnessed when the book was released. To be fair, Nigeria's educational system is at best incoherent, in reality in shambles. Not much of what Achebe had to say can be gleaned from Nigeria's classrooms. And so, many people have reacted with pieces of dog-eared crap because Nigeria has not invested in an instructional and intellectual infrastructure that keeps her history intact. It is Nigeria's loss, not Achebe's.
Read the rest here...
- Ikhide
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