BESIEGED BIAFRA, FROM THE EYES OF A TODDLER

About the Book

I still remember vividly how as a child, we went in pursuit of lizards, rats and the smelly shrew to catch and eat. This was because of the intense hunger that pervaded in the besieged Biafra and to avoid our legs being swollen occasioned by kwashiorkor which was called ‘rain boots’ those days. Our flight in the middle of the day in our village, being pursued by Federal troops is remarkable. My mother and two brothers, my only sister having been claimed by the war earlier, survived the war by sheer providence. We lived in the forest like animals. Some of my cousins died right before me for their legs became swollen because of hunger and malnutrition and the pendant kwashiorkor. They became white or sickly discolored like a plant covered from the sun. Death came majestically to lead them to early and unwilling graves. Their mothers looked with tear filled bloodshot eyes as they were lowered unto the bosom of the earth, wrapped in disused wrapper for coffin too was luxury and unaffordable. It was sorrow filled days. This is all this narrative is about. Our ordeal in the fratricidal war.

About the Author

Uche Ugochukwu A. A writer and a poet. He was born in 1961 in Igboukwu in Anambra State. After attending primary school in Nnewi in 1975 and finished Secondary Education in 1981, he earned a degree from UNN (University of Nigeria) in 1984 in linguistics. His survival of the Biafra war which was from 1967-1970 was providential. This is his wonderful testimony shared for all to hear. It has remained indelible in his mind. It is the vivid memory that still stares him in the face. He has written other books including; The Revenge of Ethnicity, Omasirim; The Broken Hedge, and The Enchanted Days. He is married to Vivian Ugochukwu a renowned educationist. They are blessed with 5 children.