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I had a talk with my mother about the impact of the Biafran-Nigerian Civil war on Southern communities.
To those who don't understand what the Nigerian civil war was about, the abridged version goes like this:
Nigeria, in the 1960s, was a country solely consisting of the North, West and East. The North, supposedly, ruled the West, while the East, supposedly, ruled the South.
The North had taken over the country, and the East were not so pleased, so, they decided to break out, form their own country, called the Republic of Biafra. Nigeria wasn't having it, so, there was a war. The West fought with the North, while the South was dragged into fighting with the East.
That's the abridged version.
I told my mother about the short story I was inspired to write here and she seemed really pleased that I had an interest in 'our people's history'.
She told me a story of her own, and how something related to what I wrote about actually happened to her cousin.
The Peremabiri community actually does exist, and they are my mother's people. There was, actually, a clash between the Nigerian and Biafran soldiers at Peremabiri because that was one of the wealthiest communities in the Southern part of the Niger. They had a thriving rice farm and produced oil. That was enough to make them very wealthy.
So, they were a goldmine worth capturing. Hence, why Nigeria and Biafra wanted so badly to own them.
My mom stated that the Biafrans then were sent to 'protect' the people of Peremabiri, however, their presence was simply seen as a threat to the people.
She told me about a time when she and her cousins were trying to escape the community, Just like Ebiowei and Tariere, and they got shot at by the Biafran soldiers and sent back home.
She told me that my story, in fact, was not far from the possibilities and the happenings at the time. She also tried to encourage me to write more about these happenings, as most writers fail to get the story from the Southern point of view.
It felt good being encouraged by my mom, as she doesn't usually take the time to give a damn about most of the things I write. I'm glad I had a conversation with her.
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