Baby_mama, follow my lead and return that book for better books...

Baby mama:

Do you know the definition of a memoir?
I doubt it

If you have a copy,tell me the last word on page 174

definition of a memoir means achebe should lie about what he saw? lololol! you bought the fake version of the book so stop your showboating!

Oya Baby mama dem don respond to you

Baby mama:

Do you know the definition of a memoir?
I doubt it

If you have a copy,tell me the last word on page 174

Are you saying memoir = Lies in ashebe's world?


Igbo logic is insane logic...

Could this be the beginning of the end for nairaland? I 've never in my life seen such a public display of tribalism. Maybe seun intends to start running odualand soon,if not,this ugly trend must be reversed.

dayokanu: Oya Baby mama dem don respond to you

what the reviewers think:

1)
Achebe literary ability is unquestionable but this attempt at portraying hear says and his myopic opinions as factual belittles his achievements among the world literary giants and Nigerian polity. An excellent literary work but not to be taken seriously.
He came across as being xenophobic and try to blame the failure of his Igbo tribe on others. He needs to apologise to the upcoming generation for the failure of his generation. A tribalist to the core. What a shame that he will end being remember for his shallow mindedness, embittered old man. He needs to forgive himself and allow the old wound to heal.
_________________
2)
I grew up in Nigeria and only emigrated like so many others at the age of 14yrs after completing secondary school.

It was only in retrospect many years later that I noted a chasm in the knowledge of my own country by my ignorance of the circumstances of the Nigerian Civil war. This was not a wilful exercise as it had never been formally taught and actually was really never discussed in public discourse (at least while I was there).

My interest became kindled only when I discovered Chimamanda Ngozi Adchie after having read Half of a Yellow Sun - a wonderful story which occurred on a backdrop of the Nigerian Civil war. The description of the war in that book made me realise my woeful lack of knowledge about such an important event in my nation's history. Her account is all the more astonishing considering she was not even alive when this conflict was concluded.

I should probably state for the record that Chinua Achebe is one of my all time favourite authors - and not only for the oft quoted "Things Fall apart" (which has a deserved place as one of Africa's greatest novels) but also for a substantial body of work including Anthills of the Savannah and others. I have repeatedly said that he should be considered to be a recipient of a second Nobel Prize in Literature for Nigeria for the overall quality of his work.

One can imagine how giddy with excitement I became at discovering that a personal memoir of his recounting of the events of that period was about to be published. I pre-ordered my copy from the UK even though it was not yet available in Canada and had it shipped over. I have just completed reading it.

The preamble above is deliberately inserted so that my disappointment with this book can be placed in the appropriate context. My greatest disappointment is that a giant in literature such as Mr Achebe has written a book on such a delicate and sensitive subject to Nigerians without taking greater care to present a more balanced overview of the events he describes (see other reviews for more detailed critique). I can certainly understand he has a point of view having been an active participant in the unfortunate events at that time and having undergone many personal tragedies such as the loss of his friend Christopher Okigbo, but some of his statements border on the inflammatory especially his oft repeated remarks suggesting "superiority" of the Igbo ethnic group above others. In addition, he does not appear to find fault in the what appear to be obvious flaws and errors in the Igbo leadership strategy during the war e.g. invasion of Western territory, rejection of humanitarian aid, dubious application of the rule of low with summary executions etc and does not offer any serious critique of these "mis-steps".

In fact, my greatest critique of this book is that his account of the Biafran war provides less of a stirring emotional response than the fictional account by Chimamanda's version, which I think most who have read her work would agree, was not sensationalised. This is quite damning as he actually lived through those events and you would expect he would have been able to articulate and provide a reader with more of a feel of what it must have been like to live through those harrowing times in comparison with someone who wasn't even born at the conclusion of the conflict.

My disappointment with this book takes nothing away from Mr Achebe as one of the greatest African writers of all time given his body of work to date. I will think more fondly of his body of work if I conveniently edit this "memoir" from that list and remember the genius of his prose from prior to "There was a Country".
____________________________
3)
Chinua Achebe's reflection on the ill-fated Republic of Biafra could have been a good read but fell short in my opinion. As is to be expected, it is an intellectual exercise by the author full of his trade mark use of a mixture of his native language Igbo and a clear demonstration of his perfect use of English language. what I found disappointing is the lack of details of events in the book, for example, he did not give much details of his involvements, his activities and personal experience. the book lacked research evidence and detailed analysis using his personal experience to convey to the reader what really happened in the war and the role he played in it. It was almost as if he was telling a story that he heard from people who were there or took part. He failed to give details about the main characters or protagonist of the conflict notably Major kaduna Nzeogwu where he came from, his family and military background, Ifeajuna, Banjo, Ojukwu etc (he did a little bit that of Ojukwu. On the ingenuity of Biafrans and their inventions notebly the famous "Ogbunigwe" WMD, he started with an apology about his dislike for war and of being a man of peace. There was no reason for that, he is without a doubt a man of peace but one wanted to know more about the war and his reflection of it. He could have spoken about other inventions of the Biafrans such as how they refined petrol and made beer from cassava leaves etc., the role played by other Igbo people, and scientists, non intellectuals; what led to the disagreement between Ojukwu and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe . In short, more details was expected by me from the book especially as I was only six years old when the war started and and an Igbo man myself, I would have loved to hear more and know more from someone who was there in person and a participant. I am a fan of Achebe, his style and simplicity of writing of and his intellect I also think that the book is somewhat one-sided in favour of the Igbos albeit that should be be expected. A good book nonetheless.

Honestly, I really don't understand what the fuss is about NL isn't really that important. Lots of folks don't take NL seriously including myself. Whether he tops the list or not, it will not change the status quo - he remains a great man. That a group of persons have issue with his personal view about the war doesn't mean he should change his stance. If it were a reputable forum, media or platform, then I'll see the fuss but for NL, my advice to proponents, yall should just ignore the thread, it's def not worth it.

It is indeed a tragedy that chinua Achebe has allowed his bigotry and crass pettiness to shoot him down from his otherwise high pedestal.as it stands, the great "iroko" will go into his grave with ignominy.for a very long time, I have deciphered clear traits of his bigotry and unnecessary bitterness both in his actions and writing.to him,the ibos are the master race.This would ordinarily have been interpreted as his love for his beloved iboland,but he crosses the rubicon when he starts denouncing anything extra-ibo while playing up and exaggerating the prowess of his people.
At the peak of Wole Soyinka's conferrement as the first and only African Nobel laureate,he was quick to make the unfortunate statement that the award does not make him the "asiwaju" (leader) of African literature. Ha, even if it were so,why make such a statement at such an inauspicious time?
At the death of Chief Awolowo,Achebe made the ONLY derogatory remark about him, asking why there was so much fuss at the passing of a tribalist. This very uncouth statement is akin to a Wole Soyinka condemning ojukwu as a cowardly warlord upon his death. Also in his books, you would glance a bit of his insensitivity to the affliction of other people.in "no longer at ease" @ page 5, Achebe had this to say concerning a meeting of the umuofia kinsmen in Lagos. " We are strangers in this land,if good comes to it,may we have our share,but if bad comes,let it go to the owners of the land who know what gods should be appeased" this clearly is a muse from a selfish and bigoted mind.
To crown it all, he chose at the twilight of his days to pen a most bigoted,lopsided and unnecessary treatise on a civil war fought over 40 years ago spewing rancour and bitterness all over the place.its a big shame but chinua clearly belongs to the hall of shame.it will be an herculian task for him to redeem himself......

4chi: It is indeed a tragedy that chinua Achebe has allowed his bigotry and crass pettiness to shoot him down from his otherwise high pedestal.as it stands, the great "iroko" will go into his grave with ignominy.for a very long time, I have deciphered clear traits of his bigotry and unnecessary bitterness both in his actions and writing.to him,the ibos are the master race.This would ordinarily have been interpreted as his love for his beloved iboland,but he crosses the rubicon when he starts denouncing anything extra-ibo while playing up and exaggerating the prowess of his people.
At the peak of Wole Soyinka's conferrement as the first and only African Nobel laureate,he was quick to make the unfortunate statement that the award does not make him the "asiwaju" (leader) of African literature. Ha, even if it were so,why make such a statement at such an inauspicious time?
At the death of Chief Awolowo,Achebe made the ONLY derogatory remark about him, asking why there was so much fuss at the passing of a tribalist. This very uncouth statement is akin to a Wole Soyinka condemning ojukwu as a cowardly warlord upon his death. Also in his books, you would glance a bit of his insensitivity to the affliction of other people.in "no longer at ease" @ page 5, Achebe had this to say concerning a meeting of the umuofia kinsmen in Lagos. " We are strangers in this land,if good comes to it,may we have our share,but if bad comes,let it go to the owners of the land who know what gods should be appeased" this clearly is a muse from a selfish and bigoted mind.
To crown it all, he chose at the twilight of his days to pen a most bigoted,lopsided and unnecessary treatise on a civil war fought over 40 years ago spewing rancour and bitterness all over the place.its a big shame but chinua clearly belongs to the hall of shame.it will be an herculian task for him to redeem himself......

@ the bolded - he's probably the first, however, he isn't the only African Nobel laureate... There are three other Africans who have won the award - an Egyptian and two white South Africans...

He's the only black African Nobel laureate...

manny4life: Honestly, I really don't understand what the fuss is about NL isn't really that important. Lots of folks don't take NL seriously including myself. Whether he tops the list or not, it will not change the status quo - he remains a great man. That a group of persons have issue with his personal view about the war doesn't mean he should change his stance. If it were a reputable forum, media or platform, then I'll see the fuss but for NL, my advice to proponents, yall should just ignore the thread, it's def not worth it.

You are on point,other igbos should do the same.

manny4life: Honestly, I really don't understand what the fuss is about NL isn't really that important. Lots of folks don't take NL seriously including myself. Whether he tops the list or not, it will not change the status quo - he remains a great man. That a group of persons have issue with his personal view about the war doesn't mean he should change his stance. If it were a reputable forum, media or platform, then I'll see the fuss but for NL, my advice to proponents, yall should just ignore the thread, it's def not worth it.

Yawnz..... Toilet crybaby rubbish.

Sincere 9gerian: I'v read thru some comments and seen the argument go back and forth. These arguements can continue forever with no side willing to admit anything. However, two factors VINDICATE the Igbos and Achebe.
1)One is the ROT that Nigeria is today. The loose federal structure(the Aburi Accord) proposed by Ojukwu would have made Nig see much more progress.

You couldn't help it than to lie, right? Was it not Ironsi(Igbo man) that introduced this useless system of government after the igbos killed other regional leaders like Sardauna, S.L Akintola? We had our regional system in place which was working perfectly, before your power drunk brothers came in and threw it under the bus after promulgating decree 9 which saw the then regional system giving way to this useless central governmet. so, have yourself to blame. oh, I remember, it's right for igbos to blame every other person for their on own misfortune.

2) the fact that Nig will sooner or later disintegrate to pieces
If only Awo had not been blinded by desperation to rule united Nig, he would have for seen that the far north has NOTHING IN COMMON with the south

You are indeed confused here. Nnamdi Azikwe is the father of modern day Nigeria. His greed led him to coerced western and northern "country" into this forced union. Awolowo and Sardauna made it clear to him that we don't have anything in common and can never be one, but his thirst for power took control of his shallow mind. We had chance to have 3 different countries prior to our independence when Awolowo said," Nigeria is a mere geographical expression" and Sardauna said," north and south can't be one"!. Was Zik not the one that pleaded and begged the north into joining this union for sake of his igbo agenda of domination and lording over others?

Keep blaming others.

^^^^^ God bless you

I openned this thread for one reason- to further CONFIRM that yorubas/ACN own and dictates what happens on NL. This FACT has been CONFIRMED over and over again. Can it ever get worse than the name of Achebe appearing on ACN/yoruba hall of shame? Whatever we read or whatever polls conducted on NL should be seen in the light of the ownership structure and BIAS of NL

^^^^^ I am PDP anf mixed yoruba with ..... and can never support ever support Achebe's tribalistic utterance. You, Achebe's supporters and Achebe himself need to GROW UP.

Maturity and wisdom is not by grey hairs or age but comes from God. As an elder you cannot be caught saying quotes such as " we were better than yoruba and hausa" " his yoruba people" " hausa this "

When will you people grow up and mature from this cave forest man mentality. An average illietrate in this so called North and West knows his/her rights from wrong.

There is time for everything in life, time to speak and time to make peace. Achebe and indeed his followers have shown no sense of wisdom or direction. I mean look at your post

Sincere 9gerian: I openned this thread for one reason- to further CONFIRM that yorubas/ACN own and dictates what happens on NL. This FACT has been CONFIRMED over and over again. Can it ever get worse than the name of Achebe[b] appearing on ACN/yoruba hall of shame?[/b] Whatever we read or whatever polls conducted on NL should be seen in the light of the ownership structure and BIAS of NL

What does that say about you ? Surely you are a Bigot. Have you seen other countries shouting fons this ashate that ? No because they are maturing. It is time you people mostly from the easterners do the same.

[color=#000099][/color][b][/b]I see nothing with it, he deserves it. Let's not be tribalistic here. Abeg free d man

@coogar and @4chi posts should be enough to make these igbos understand why Achebe deserves to be on that list.

@uselessNigerian your job on NL is to promote the drunken fisherman and his useless policies, please face what u're paid to do and stop commenting on threads you obviously know nothing about.

babapupa:



Yawnz..... Toilet crybaby rubbish.

Eating popcorn with candy and dancing azonto...

Why are my people here making a fuss over this irrelevant and useless award conferred by nameless touts and nobodies.

Chinua Achebe is a world giant with honour and awo died a wretch to be replaced by a con man, armed robber and ex convict called tinubu.


Ask the world who they recognise more, the great Achebe or awo, and you got it from there.

Quit making touts, agberos and their pathetic little site feel important by b*tching. Smh.

coogar:

definition of a memoir means achebe should lie about what he saw? lololol! you bought the fake version of the book so stop your showboating!

mr man stop this horrible post of yours. You are realy not smart go and read the book again,

pazienza: Could this be the beginning of the end for nairaland? I 've never in my life seen such a public display of tribalism. Maybe seun intends to start running odualand soon,if not,this ugly trend must be reversed.

na today? Mismanagement is inherent in their progeny, mr seun is loosing it, achebe is my role model so for anyone who s writing poo to discredit hm s on a long tin,

Area Code:




You are indeed confused here. Nnamdi Azikwe is the father of modern day Nigeria. His greed led him to coerced western and northern "country" into this forced union. Awolowo and Sardauna made it clear to him that we don't have anything in common and can never be one, but his thirst for power took control of his shallow mind. We had chance to have 3 different countries prior to our independence when Awolowo said," Nigeria is a mere geographical expression" and Sardauna said," north and south can't be one"!. Was Zik not the one that pleaded and begged the north into joining this union for sake of his igbo agenda of domination and lording over others?

Keep blaming others.

During the 1940s and 1950s the Igbo and Yoruba parties were in the forefront of the fight for independence from Britain. They also wanted an independent Nigeria to be organised into several small states so that the conservative North could not dominate the country. Northern leaders, however, fearful that independence would mean political and economic domination by the more Westernized elites in the South, preferred the perpetuation of British rule. As a condition for accepting independence, they demanded that the country continue to be divided into three regions with the North having a clear majority. Igbo and Yoruba leaders, anxious to obtain an independent country at all costs, accepted the Northern demands.[url][/url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Civil_War Next time do your research before spewing rubbish!!!

Pls I need someone to help me reconcile these two statements made by Awo in an interview he granted.

1) That ojukwu rejected nigeria's offer and refused to open a corridor for food and other medical supplies into biafra

2) That starvation is a legitimate weapon of war and he cannot feed his enemy fat to fight him harder

To me, I see this as contradictory because you can't claim to have tried to help your enermy with food while still caliming that the best way to defeat them is by starving them.

The gay babykiller anyway is not to be taken serious because he is not different from the likes of slave tinubu,Obj,theif dimeji and bode george,remi eteh and the rest who are typical nigeirian politicians who will lie their way to power,know to well that he granted that interview during the electioneering period,I surpose he was looking for igbo vote,but God pass am.

And as for those achebe's critics, are you guys aware that your next demi god babatunde fashola was in the united states to honour him(achebe)?

Finally, please how true is it that Awo was a gay and to make people believe otherwise he had to raped his daughter and his son's wife at different times before he swallowed rat poison to commit suicide.maybe that was part of the free education too, as evident in gay Obj and Yoruba traditional rules who find fun in raping female strangers who live in their communities.

We can as well call him a suicide bomber. BTw merry xmas to the sensible and sophisticated slaves among you.

berem: That's a big LIE! It was you people that started it! The yorubas started the bigotry on Nairaland.Go and check some past and recent threads on this forum and see how the Yorubas have continued to post negative comments about Ndi igbos.It has escalated beyond redemption because some bigoted mods and Seun himself have not done anything to arrest the situation.The Yoruba Bigots on this forum are the ones denting the image of Nairaland.You and your fellow bigots should call yourselves to order and stop making Nairaland look like a e-war zone.

When did this ibhoe rat meant to be crushed join NL to tell us about NL history? Ibhoez complain about everything cos they are losers. Ashebe is a piggly shameful coward that deserves the shameful loser signboard hung permanently on his pathetic ibhoe neck.

The funny thing is that this thread has brought Achebe's nomination to the fore and may eventually crown him the shameless Nigerian of the year 2012. The Biafrans have once again shot themselves in the foot.

Bandit C.:
Why are my people here making a fuss over this irrelevant and useless award conferred by nameless touts and nobodies.

Chinua Achebe is a world giant with honour and awo died a wretch to be replaced by a con man, armed robber and ex convict called tinubu.


Ask the world who they recognise more, the great Achebe or awo, and you got it from there.

Quit making touts, agberos and their pathetic little site feel important by b*tching. Smh.

You are on point. Maybe it's time we igbos let seun and his people have their odualand. Onlytruth had long left nairaland,i guess he noticed this trend before all of us,pointB had been complaining but i never took him serious, but if there was any doubt about the tribal agenda of this site and it's management,the events of these past days cleared that. Pride they say,comes before fall.

demmy:

No I don't agree with tribal markings now. Their time have passed. But you've got to agree the Yoruba markings are better done than that ibo ichi marks.

ugly ibo ichi mark

Mind you,"Ichi" is a sacred scarification. It serves different purpose compare to what you have in sw. The "Ichi" scars are very rare and most people that has it own THE IKENGA.

gidiMonsta: The funny thing is that this thread has brought Achebe's nomination to the fore and may eventually crown him the shameless Nigerian of the year 2012. The Biafrans have once again shot themselves in the foot.

Go sit down somewhere and hide your face....You reason like a toddler! Everybody just wanna jump in and leave a comment be it whatever! Its not must to comment.

manny4life: Honestly, I really don't understand what the fuss is about NL isn't really that important. Lots of folks don't take NL seriously including myself. Whether he tops the list or not, it will not change the status quo - he remains a great man. That a group of persons have issue with his personal view about the war doesn't mean he should change his stance. If it were a reputable forum, media or platform, then I'll see the fuss but for NL, my advice to proponents, yall should just ignore the thread, it's def not worth it.

it is unwise to make such declarations; it translates to "my daily attendance in nl is not important". If you come dialy to an unimportant and irrelevant gathering, then your time and your devotion is unimportant and irrelevant. Use your time and devotion wisely, find elsewhere to go for gathering.

NRI PRIEST:

Go sit down somewhere and hide your face....You reason like a toddler! Everybody just wanna jump in and leave a comment be it whatever! Its not must to comment.

E don pain this guy sha But na true I talk. Go and check the voting thread and see how Achebe's votes have skyrocketed ever since this yeye thread was opened.

gidiMonsta:

E don pain this guy sha But na true I talk. Go and check the voting thread and see how Achebe's votes have skyrocketed ever since this yeye thread was opened.

you no lie, gidi. i hadnt given any attention to the hall of shame thing until i saw this thread. i marched quick quick and voted before the voting will close.....i want to be counted. gaddem achebe! he cant step foot in hausaland, they will cut him up. if he fvk around and step foot in igboland he will dissapear. the only place in nigeria that will accept his as*s is yorubaland. now he don fvk up.

Biafra(home) vs Nigeria(away)
ABBA-THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL
I don't wanna talk
About the things we've gone
through
Though it's hurting me
Now it's history
I've played all my cards
And that's what you've done too
Nothing more to say
No more ace to play
The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That's her destiny
I was in your arms
Thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense
Building me a fence
Building me a home
Thinking I'd be strong there
But I was a fool
Playing by the rules
The gods may throw the dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear
The winner takes it all
The loser has to fall
It's simple and it's plain
Why should I complain
But tell me does she kiss
Like I used to kiss you?
Does it feel the same
When she calls your name?
Somewhere deep inside
You must know I miss you
But what can I say
Rules must be obeyed
The judges will decide
The likes of me abide
Spectators of the show
Always staying low
The game is on again
A lover or a friend
A big thing or a small
The winner takes it all
I don't wanna talk
If it makes you feel sad
And I understand
You come to shake my hand
I apologize
If it makes you feel bad
Seeing me so tense
No self-confidence
But you see
The winner takes it all
The winner takes it all...