There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra (37 page)

Hughes, Langston, 67, 164

Humanitarian effort

aid blocked, 101, 230

for Biafra, 154–55, 164–66, 169–71

Hunt, Sir David, 120

Hüssler, Father Georg, 166

Huxley, Julian, 26

Ibeno people, 150

Ibiam, Sir Francis, 91

Ibibio people, 47, 137, 150, 192

Ifeajuna, Emmanuel, 135, 178–79

Ifejike, Samuel, 185

Ife kingdom, 1–2

Ifekwunigwe, Dr. Aaron, 195

Ifemesia, Chieka, 145, 147

Igbo people

Asabe Massacre, 133–35

attacks upon after coup of 1966, 66–67, 69, 76–78, 80–82

in Biafra population, 150

Calabar Massacre, 137–40

educational attainment of, 75–76, 77

extermination attempts against.
See
Genocide

flaws of, 76

Georgia (U.S.) landing of, 167

Gowon interview on, 236–39

Igbo Town Union, 75

leadership positions in Nigeria, 66–67, 71, 74–78, 88

Nigerian jihad against, 229–30

personality traits of, 74, 75

pogroms, 67, 82–83, 92, 95, 123

post-war economic restrictions on, 234–39

Igbo traditions

art and creation, approach to, 59

and Chinua as writer, 39, 55

Chinua’s early exposure to, 8–10, 12–13, 18–19

democratic ideals, 246

mbari
(art as celebration), 18–19, 56

Nnokwa (village) in, 192

Ihetu, Richard (Dick Tiger), 158–59

Ijaw people, 47, 150

Ike, Vincent Chukwuemeka, 25, 28, 156

Ikejiani, Dr. Okechukwu, 67, 69, 99, 119, 216

Ikoku, Dr. Alvan, 91

Ikom people, 150

Ikwerre people, 150

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 247

Indigenization Decree (1974), 234, 236–37

Innes, Catherine Lynnette, 38

Intellectual community

of African writers.
See
African literature

Nigeria-Biafra war, response to, 105–14, 157–58, 176–77

and Republic of Biafra founding, 105–14

as warriors of peace, 109

Interethnic tensions (Nigeria), 74–78.
See also
Nigeria-Biafra war

ekwolo
(rivalries), 123

pre-independence era, 46–47

International Red Cross, humanitarian aid blocked, 101, 230

Interpreters, The
(Soyinka), 109

Inyang, Ekpo Etien, 24, 26

Irele, Abiola, 28

Iroaganachi, John, 177

Isang people, 47

Islam

Hausa/Fulani people, 122

jihad against Igbo, 229–30

terrorism, in Nigeria, 250–51

Itsekiri people, 47

Iyalla people, 150

Jacobs, Dan, 230

Jagua Nana
(Ekwensi), 109

Jalo, Gibson Sanda, 217

James, C. L. R., 163

Jega, Attahiru Muhammadu, 247

Jews, genocide, compared to Igbo, 97, 137, 171

Jihad, against Igbo, 229–30

Johnson, Lyndon, 103

Justice Opunta Panel, 135

Kana people, 150

Kano, Aminu, 46, 167, 244

Kanuri people, 47

Katsina, Hassan, 81, 227

Kaunda, Kenneth, 98

Kenem-Bornu kingdom, 1

Kennedy, Edward M., 221

Kenyatta, Jomo, 163

Killam, Douglas, 106

Killam, G. D., 38

King, Martin Luther, Jr., 103, 139

King’s College (Lagos), 20, 21

Kissinger, Henry, 140

Kola nut incident, 10

Kwale incident, 218–20

Kwashiorkor, 195, 210, 226

Labyrinths
(Okigbo), 115

Lagos, 63

and coup of 1966, 67–68, 70–71

Lambo, Dr. T. A., 111

“Lament of the Deer,” 177

Larson, Charles, 38

Lasekan, Akinola, 43

Laurence, Jean Margaret, 38

Laye, Camara, 53

Leapman, Michael, 99

Legum, Colin, 82

Lennon, John, 139

Leventhal, Robert S., 229

Lincoln University (United States), 42

Lindfors, Bernth, 38

Lindt, Dr. August, 101

Lion and the Jewel, The
(Soyinka), 109

Luce, Henry, 121

Lumumba, Patrice, 146, 163

Macauley, Herbert, 44

MacDonald, David, 231–32

McRae, Donald, 38

Madiebo, Alexander, 120–21

Mailer, Norman, 110

Malinke people, 53

Mandela, Nelson, 113, 163, 258

“Mango Seedling,” 186–87

Man of the People, A
, 52, 63, 67, 161

Marasmus, 210

“Marriage Is a Private Affair,” 33

Mauriac, François, 139

Mauricheau-Beaupré, Jean, 155

Mayer, Jean, 213

Mayrock, Bruce, 140

Mazrui, Ali, 56

Mbadiwe, K. O., 91

Mbakwe, Samuel, 91

Mbanefo, Sir Louis, 91, 167, 210, 225–26

Mbari
(art as celebration), 18–19, 56

Mbari Club, 115

Mbembe people, 150

Mbu, M. T., 227

Media, during Nigeria-Biafra war, 199–200, 210–11, 221

Mental illness, war-related, 195

Mercenaries, 222

Merchants of Light (Oba), 29–30

Mid-Western Region, invasion of, 128–32, 259–65

Ministry of Information (Biafra), 143–44

Mmuo, Mgboye Matilda, 31

Mofolo, Samuel, 53

Momah, Chike, 16, 21–22, 24, 25, 27, 115

Mqhayi, Samuel, 53

Mugabe, Robert, 258

Muhammed, Murtala, 122, 133, 135, 172–73

My Father’s Daughter
(Segun), 114

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
(Tutuola), 113

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 103–4

National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), 45

National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), 45–46

National Guidance Committee (Biafra), Ahiara Declaration, 144–49

National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), 88

Ndem, Eyo Bassey, 145

Ndu, Pol, 116

Négritude, 163–64

Neogy, Rajat, 105

Nigeria

Aburi Accord (1967), 85–87

Anambra state destabilization, 248–49

area boys/rent-a-crowd, 69, 248

Biafra secession from.
See
Biafra secession; Republic of Biafra

-Biafra War.
See
Nigeria-Biafra war

British governor general (James Robertson), 49–51

British interests after independence, 49–52, 124

competition with Ghana, 41

corruption

election-related, 245–46

first election, rigging by British, 50, 51–52

godfatherism, 245

national funds, theft of, 249–50

perpetuation, reasons for, 249–52

post-independence period, 51–52

countercoup of 1966, 80–82

coup of 1966, 63–72, 78–80

Decree 8 (1967), 86–87

Decree No. 34 (1966), 80–81

democracy negated in, 245–48

Eastern group, 51, 66, 70, 82.
See also
Igbo people

Eastern region succession.
See
Biafra secession

ethnic groups, number of, 25

exports/revenues from, 47

on Failed States Index, 250

Fourth Republic (2004), 248–49

independence, transition to, 48–51

independence fiasco, artists’ reaction to, 52–53

Indigenization Decree (1974), 234, 236–37

interethnic tensions, 46–47, 74–78, 123

Islamist terrorism in, 250–51

majority groups of, 47.
See also
Igbo people; Yoruba people

military

and coup of 1966, 78–82

versus political class, 71–72

minorities, regions of, 47

nationalists, 44–48

National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), 88

Northern dominance, 46–47, 50–52, 65, 69

Northern group, 51.
See also
Hausa/Fulani people

oil industry.
See
Oil production

People’s Redemption Party, 244

post-independence crises, 64

post-war status of, 243–53

prime minister, first, 50, 51–52

questions for better future, 252–53

sedition, British penalties for, 47

Southern group, 46–47

Sovereign National Conference, 252–53

university educated, position of, 25–26, 48–49

Western group, 44–45, 47, 52, 72

Nigeria-Biafra war

Abagana ambush, 173–74

Asabe Massacre, 133–35

Azikiwe withdraws support for Biafra, 215–17

Banjo broadcast to Mid-West (1967), 259–65

Biafran military and armaments, 153–60

Biafran towns, attacks on, 132–33

Biafra surrender, 226–27

Calabar Massacre, 137–40

casualties of, 227

children, impact on, 195, 199, 210, 213, 226

and Chinua

Biafran Organization of Freedom Fighters (BOFF), 159–60

Citadel Press, 176–79, 185

as envoy to Biafran people, 160–62, 164–67, 180

home in Enugu bombed, 181–83

as refugee, 188–94

residences during war, 170–73, 179–80, 188–94, 200–201

diseases during, 195, 210, 226

economic blockade of Biafra, 104, 154, 156, 199–200, 209–11, 229

Geneva Convention, disregard for, 212, 235

genocide issue, 228–39

and Gowon, 128, 132–33, 134–35, 209–11, 212, 223–24

hospitals, makeshift, 194–95

humanitarian emergency, 169–71, 189, 194–95, 199–200, 209–11

information blockade of present, 228

intellectuals/writers’ response to, 105–14, 157–58, 176–77

international demonstrations against, 139–40

international response to, 99–105, 154–55, 210–11, 219–22

Kwale incident, 218–20

media presence in, 199–200, 210–11, 221

mental illness caused by, 195

mercenaries in, 222

Mid-Western Region, invasion of, 128–32, 259–65

military executions during, 135, 178

Nigerians, foreign arms to, 154

Nzeogwu, death of, 184

Ogbunigwe bomb, 156–57

oil, foreign interest in, 99–100, 102

and Ojukwu (Emeka), 122–25, 128–32, 135, 210–11, 213, 223–24

Ojukwu (Emeka) departure, events after, 223–28

Okigbo, Christopher, death of, 184–85

Organization of African Unity (OAU) position on, 96–99, 136–37

Owerri, recapture of, 217–18, 223

and Paul VI, 219–21, 230–31

radio broadcasts during, 183, 259–65

Red Cross aid blocked, 101, 230

refugees, 103, 169, 171, 174, 188

relief efforts, 154–55, 164–66, 169–71, 194

starvation, 195, 199, 209–10, 226, 231

and United Nations neglect, 211–13

Nigerian Broadcasting Company (NBC), 33, 35–37, 65, 70

Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS), Chinua’s job at, 30–31

Nigerian Coal Corporation, 67

Nigerian Foreign Service, 77

Nigerian military

and coup of 1966, 78–82

versus political class, 71–72

Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC), 79

Nigerian National Archives, 111

Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), 44

Nigerian Ports Authority, 77

Nigerian Produce Traders’ Association, 45

Nigerian Railway Corporation, 77

Nigerian Situation: Facts and Background
, 77

Nigerian Youth Movement, 45

“1966,” 62

Nixon, Richard, 103, 221, 231

Njoku, Eni, 77, 96–97

Nkrumah, Kwame, 42, 136, 146, 163

Nnokwa (village), 192

Nok kingdom, 1

Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), 46

Northern People’s Congress (NPC), 46–47, 51

Nri kingdom, 2

Nsibidi writing system, 192

Nwamife Books, 185

Nwana, Pita, 53

Nwankwo, Arthur, 185

Nwapa, Flora, 27, 112, 113

Nwosa, Benjamin Chukwuka, 156

Nyerere, Julius, 97–98, 145–46, 163

Nzekwu, Onuora, 63

Nzeogwu, Major Chukwuma, 179

coup of 1966, 65, 79

death of, 184

Nzimiro, Ikenna, 145, 147–48, 192–93

Obasanjo, Olusegun, 109, 132, 217, 223

Obi, Chike, 29

Obiechina, Emmanuel, 27, 114, 145, 147

Obote, Milton, 167

O’Brien, Conor Cruise, 106, 107–8

Obumselu, Ben, 27, 145

Ogan, Dr. Okoronkwo, 65

Ogbanje
(one who is reborn), 116

Ogbunigwe bomb, 156–57

Ogede, Ode, 55

Ogunde, Hubert, 52

Ogunewe, David, 227

Ohamiri (goddess), 192

Oilmen, capture of, 218–20

Oil production

and division of Eastern states, 91–92

foreign interests and Biafrian conflict, 99–100, 102

Nigerian half ownership, 235

Ojukwu, General Chukwuemeka (Emeka) Odumegwu, 80–81, 118–20

and Ahiara Declaration, 143–45, 148–49

background of, 118–20, 159

and Biafran Organization of Freedom Fighters (BOFF), 159–60

British aid, refusal of, 126

critics of, 125–26, 222

flight to Ivory Coast, 98, 223–24

food relief, caution about, 211

Gowon, relationship with, 122–24, 224–25

and Nigeria-Biafra war, 124–26, 128–32, 135, 210–11, 213, 219–20

Organization of African Unity (OAU) meeting with, 96–98

and secession of Biafra, 91–92, 128

Ojukwu, Sir Louis Odumegwu, 43, 80, 118

Okam, Hilary, 167

Okara, Gabriel, 25, 109, 114, 167

Okeke, Simon, 150

Okezie, J. O. J., 26

Okigbo, Bede, 23, 26

Okigbo, Christopher, 23, 25, 28, 56, 79, 107, 112, 248

background of, 114–15

in Biafran military, 117

Chinua’s friendship with, 114, 116, 180–81

Chinua’s last encounter with, 182–83

and Citadel Press, 176–79

death of, 184–85

personality traits of, 115–16, 116

support of Biafra, 116–17

work of, 115

Okigbo, Pius, 23, 114, 117, 248

Okoli, Christie.
See
Achebe, Christie Okoli (wife)

Okoli, Elizabeth, 188

Okoli, Samuel, 69

Okoli, Timothy Chukwukadibia, 31–33

Okongwu, Chu, 26

Okongwu, Jonathan Obimdike, 15–18