21 Female Participation in War and the Implication of Nationalism: The Postcolonial Disconnection in Buchi Emecheta's Destination Biafra -- Select Bibliography -- Index

(Re)Writing War in Contemporary Literature and Culture: Beyond Post-Memory is an exploration of war narratives through the lens of postmemory, offering a critical re-evaluation of how contemporary literature and cultural products reshape our understanding of past conflicts. This volume presents a rich tapestry of perspectives, drawing from an array of conflicts and incorporating insights from international experts across various disciplines, including contemporary literature, film studies, visual arts, and cultural studies. It critically builds upon and extends Marianne Hirsch's concept of postmemory, engaging with complex themes like the ethical dimensions of war writing, the authenticity of representations, and the creative power of art in reimagining traumatic events. This study not only challenges traditional boundaries in war literature and memory studies but also resonates with contemporary concerns about societal engagement with violent pasts, making it a significant addition to scholarly discourse and essential reading for those interested in the intersection of history, memory, and literature.

This first comprehensive study of the Nigeria-Biafra War (1967-1970) through the lens of gender explores the valiant and gallant ways women carried out old and new responsibilities in wartime and immediate postwar Nigeria. The book presents women as embodiments of vulnerability and agency, who demonstrated remarkable resilience and initiative, waging war on all fronts in the face of precarious conditions and scarcities, and maximizing opportunities occasioned by the hostilities. Women’s experiences are highlighted through critical analyses of oral interviews, memoirs, life histories, fashion and material culture, international legal conventions, music, as well as governmental and non-governmental sources. The book fills the gap in the war scholarship that has minimized women’s complex experiences fifty years after the hostilities ended. It highlights the cost of the conflict on Nigerian women, their participation in the hostilities, and their contributions to the survival of families, communities and the country. The chapters present counter-narratives to fictional and nonfictional accounts of the war, especially those written by men, which often peripheralize or stereotypically represent women as passive spectators or helpless victims of the conflict; and also highlight and exaggerate women’s moral laxity and sensationalize their marital infidelities.

New Perspectives on the Nigeria-Biafra War: No Victor, No Vanquished analyzes the continued impact of the Nigeria-Biafra war on the Igbo, the failure of the reconstruction and reconciliation effort in the post-war period, and the politics of exclusion of the memory of the war in public discourse in Nigeria. Furthermore, New Perspectives on the Nigeria-Biafra War explores the resilience of the Igbo people and the different strategies they have employed to preserve the history and memory of Biafra. The contributors argue that the war had important consequences for the socio-political developments in the post-war period, ushering in two differing ideologies: a paternalistic ideology of “co-option” of the Igbo by the Nigerian state, under the false premise of ‘No Victor, No Vanquished,” and the Igbo commitment to self-preservation on the other.

The Life and Times of Chinua Achebe introduces readers to the life, literary works, and times of arguably the most widely-read African novelist of recent times, an icon, both in continental Africa and abroad. The book weaves together the story of Chinua Achebe, a young Igboman whose novel Things Fall Apart opened the eyes of the world to a more realistic image of Africa that was warped by generations of European travelers, colonists, and writers. Whilst continuing to write further influential novels and essays, Achebe also taught other African writers to use their skills to help their national leaders to fight for their freedoms in the post-colonial era, as internal warfare compounded the damage caused by European powers during the colonial era. In this book Kalu Ogbaa, an esteemed expert on Achebe and his works, draws on extensive research and personal interviews with the great man and his colleagues and friends, to tell the story of Achebe and his work. This intimate and powerful new biography will be essential reading for students and scholars of Chinua Achebe, and to anyone with an interest in the literature and post-colonial politics of Africa.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ASAUK FAGE & OLIVER PRIZE 2020 'Honorable Mention' for the ALA FIRST BOOK AWARD - SCHOLARSHIP 2021 A path-breaking contribution to the critical literature on African travel writing.

Offers a radical political interpretation of history that generates fresh insights into the emancipatory potential of ordinary Nigerians and their precolonial cultural institutions

A historical methodology of analysis that is thematic, chronological and descriptive was adopted in this study of the Nigeria - Biafra war of 1967 -1970 particular regarding the Organization of African Unity(OAU) and the Politics of Recognition given to Biafra during the Civil War. The focus of this book is to unearth the factors that propelled the four African states to declare support and accord de facto recognition to the Biafran regime against the OAU's position. The nature, dimension, significance and the implications of such recognition were also analyzed. The tittle of the work is not only interesting but inviting. It spans across the diverse disciplines of History, International Relations, Political Science and International Law. The results indicate as follows: (i) Diplomatic recognition of Biafra by four African state became an elixir to the prolongation of the Nigeria-Biafra war. (ii) The credibility of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) appeared severely tarnished given the contradictions inherent in its charter vis-a-vis the national interests and dispositions of some of its member nations. (iii) Nigeria’s insistence that the conflict was its internal affairs also presented another contradiction, as by so doing, Nigeria purported to be a judge in its own cause by way of adjudication and negotiations. (iv) The blockade and quarantine of Biafran territory meant to emasculate the economy and society of the secessionist enclave, inadvertently succeeded in galvanizing international sympathy for the Biafran cause; besides giving a lie to the aforementioned mantra of Nigeria’s internal affairs, as mentioned earlier. (v) Despite the enormous humanitarian question raised and sustained by the war, power politics and international realist perspective prevailed at the end.

At the start of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic on 29 May 1999, there was great optimism as to the emergence of a new democratic future representing a significant break from the political undulations of the past. Two decades and four presidential epochs later, there is a prevalent question as to how well Nigeria has fared in governance and human rights post-1999. This book revisits the democratic ‘new dawn’ of the Fourth Republic discussing pertinent matters integral to Nigeria’s democratic future post-2019.