Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
2007 (first published 2006)
Harper Perennial
pp. 433
Adichie writes about the forgotten civil war in Biafra and the making of ‘united’ Nigeria. The story revolves around the lives of twin sisters of upper middle class Igbo family. A life spent in realising and living the contrast between the haves of middle class and the have nots of war torn Biafra. The entire book is situated in the three odd years of civil war before Biafra finally gave up the war for an independent state. Many of the ideas in the book are very relatable: the rise of an independent nation, the roots of colonial legacy in middle class, educated, Nigerians, the divide between the educated civil society and the historical culture, the struggle to get the best of both worlds in a young nation, the oppression, resistance and struggle of minorities. The stories of the two main characters, Olanna and Kainene, are intriguing: twins that couldn’t be more different. Their attempts to live their lives on their own terms is marked by a sense of struggle within themselves. The strength of Kainene is particularly admirable. Even when she forgives her ‘white’ husband, Richard, of infidelity, she does it with poise and grace that is more torturous for him than the emotional outbursts of Olanna in a similar situation. Nevertheless, it is in their survival, in their own ways, that makes the story appeal even more.
I do wish the book had different elements: if Kainene had returned and not remained lost, if Ugwu had not given in when egged on by soldiers, if there was an epilogue describing peace, if the intelligensia had not been targeted. But it is these precise events that make the book more real, more human.
Reading is an experience. It always changes a bit inside you. Reading Adichie was more moving than reading a lot of other books. It has made me realise how easily we forget the struggles of others and remember our own. It has made me realise that in times of civil war, the nature of violence meted out on to others has striking similarities. The fear that I felt when reading about the civil war in Biafra was the same fear that I felt when reading about the conflict and struggle in Gujarat, Ayodhya, Bastar, in Kashmir and in the North East. The reasons are different, the fight for a cause that we believe in is the commonality. The relations between people on different levels of the power hierarchy are as marked by oppression, by physical and psychological violence. The struggle against hunger, malnutrition, for water, education, healthcare, for a chance for survival is poignant. It is a story that is so strong but is rarely ever talked about in schools. When we study History in school, we are taught history of our nation, or of Europe. Africa is given little space. The details and the depth are missing. We know that nations were colonised but that the countries there are as heterogeneous as ours, that they are struggling in the same way that we are, is brushed over. And it is exactly why we should read beyond the school textbooks.