Memories of a Biafran Child

April 19, 2017

Memories of a Biafran Child

I am one of fortunate Igbo children who survived the Biafran war of 1967-1970. But my mother of blessed memory who was a grass widow during the bloodiest civil war in Africa lost three of her six children. But I don't know if they died of the epidemic of Kwashiorkor that killed hundreds of thousands of Biafran children.

My mother said I did what no other child could dare to do. For a 5 year old boy to leave the IDPs camp and return to our village of Umuekwuele Aforugiri in the Uhuhu, Umuahia North Local Government (now in Abia state) when it was already captured by the Nigerian Armed Forces after one of the bloodiest battles with some of the. goriest scenes of human slaughter. I saw the charred remains of many corpses, and the most unforgettable was the burning corpse of one of my loving uncles. Then I saw a tall Nigerian soldier urinating in our garden.

My nightmares of the Biafran war will never stop. I have chronicled the memories in the revised edition of my original stories, "Bye, Bye Zimbabwe" which my Nigerian Editor, Ify Anyawu finished editing last year. I want to change the title of the book to "BIAFRAN CHILD" and dedicate it to the evergreen memory of my beloved mother, Mrs. Gladys Eke.

The only thing I did not like about Biafra was the fact that my mother said the corrupt senior military officers and government officials misappropriated revenues and relief supplies and starved the poor masses. Even if the Republic of Biafra survived, there would have been a coup d'etat or civil war in Biafra to topple Major General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, whom I prefer to call the "Lion of Biafra".

I don't like the leopards in the coat of arms of Biafra and the meaning is not heroic enough for me.

http://www.thebiafraherald.co/2016/10/biafra-significance-of-features-of.html?m=1.

The leopard cannot even fight the tiger or lion, the king of the jungle.

Moreover, it was stupid to call the Biafran currency "Biafran Pound" with the same sign of the British Pound £.
Why should you use the name and sign of the British Pound after you have declared that you are an independent republic? And honouring the British Empire that was supporting your enemy, Nigeria. Honouring your former colonial master on your currency was stupid and showed that the government of Biafra was confused.

Yes. I did what no other child ever did in the history of wars in the world. No child would dare to crawl and walk out of a refugee camp and return to his or her ravaged village without fear.

~ By Michael Chima Ekenyerengozi
https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima.