Almost 50 years after the commencement of the hostilities of the Nigerian-Biafran civil war in 1967, Chudi Offodile, a former member of the House of Representatives, launched his book dealing with that significant moment of Nigerian history,
The Politics of Biafra and the Future of Nigeria was formally presented to the public on September 29 at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.
The book, which offers a re-examination of the tragic incidents of that dark historical episode in a manner showing the deficiencies of the popular narratives of the period, was well attended by a cross-section of the Nigerian intellectual, business and political elite.
These included personalities like Alex Ekwueme, a former vice president; Matthew Hassan Kukah, the catholic bishop of Sokoto; Obiageli Ezekwesili, a former minister of education, and Chukwuma Charles Soludo, a professor of economics and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, among other notable personalities in the country. Mr. Soludo was the reviewer of the book at that event.
At the event, Mr. Ekwueme noted that, “Its important for us not to forget our history. We should not pretend that Biafra never happened.”
Mr. Kukah pointed out that, “It is possible to have an office without power. And it is possible to have power without office. This is what I think the extraordinarily endowed Igbos should be contesting…”
A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghaali Naaba, stated at the event that it is “Time for the Igbos to trust themselves and organise themselves.”
The reviewer of the book, Mr. Soludo, declared, “This is a must read book because it does not only challenge mainstream orthodoxies and narratives about Nigeria, but offers very refreshing perspectives on what actually holds Nigeria down and must be done…”
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