There was West Cameroon

By Mwalimu George Ngwane*

The title of this article is inspired by that of Albert Chinualumogu Achebe’s most recent memoirs “There was a country”.  The book defines Chinua Achebe’s life and experience during the Biafran war of 1967-1970.  We all know that Achebe took the Biafran side in the war and even served his government as roving Cultural Ambassador.  True to his maxim that ‘all writers should be commited,they should speak for their history, their beliefs and their people’, Chinua Achebe’s new compelling book could be interpreted  as a parallel between his Biafra and the West Cameroon statehood even if the birth and demise of both are not hinged on the same historical trajectory. Achebe’s book comes on the heels of the official state burial of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegbwu Ojukwu, the Ikemba of Africa, who stood up in arms against the Nigerian government in quest of a Biafra nation and yet was buried a few months ago in the most glamorous pattern reserved only for time-tested heroes.