Surviving in Biafra: The Story of the Nigerian Civil War

Refusing to accept her sovereignty, Nigeria waged a thirty-month war against Biafra, targeting air assaults at civilian locations, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of children, women, and the elderly. Nigeria used land and sea blockade to prevent relief food from reaching hungry masses in Biafra and thousands of children died from a form of malnutrition called kwashiorkor. At the end of it all in 1970, two million people had perished.

The author, Mr. Uzokwe, doesn't speak as an authoritarian or an analyst. He simply tells the story of what he saw, felt and experienced as a child living in a war torn world. This includes some sorrow but also reminds us of the naivete and life as usual wanderings of a child's mind. (Not unlike the film "Life is Beautiful" depicting a child's experience in Nazi Germany)

I have read the F. Forsythe book and other material on the subject of the Nigerian Civil War. I recommend those earlier works primarily on historical merit. However in my opinion, Surviving In Biafra is the most heart-felt story telling perhaps because the innocence depicted heightens the senselessness of the nearly 2 million lives lost. Although the subject matter is heavy, many passages are funny and endearing. As a non-African reader I found some ideas and practices presented odd and intriguing. The book is about family relations, community responses and how coping affects everyone differently. A variety of cultural norms are revealed and an overall picture of life in a small war torn village is painted quite beautifully. Many words, phrases and saying and songs are translated into the (then Biafran) native language of Ibo, and a variety of photos are included which adds nice documentation.

Anyone interested in peace will benefit from the truth presented in Surviving In Biafra. For those interested in the holocaust or other genocide attempts it is a must read. Likewise, for those interested in affirming the joy of life and the enduring human spirit this reading is a memorable journey.


"Surviving in Biafra" is a must read!!   March 11, 2003
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

From when I picked up the book until I finished reading it, I was simply taken into another world. It was as though the Nigerian civil war had been brought to life again by the author. The author has done a splendid job of capturing the events of that period for his readers. The book profiles one of the pivotal periods of the Nigerian nation. I recommend it to all those who want to learn more about Nigeria and Africa.


THE BRUTALITY OF NATIONS: THE NIGERIAN-BIAFRAN CIVIL WAR   February 24, 2003
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

This book captures the tragedy of a war that the world still knows very little about...the cost in human lives that in the end was about resource control...oil. What the Uzokwe family and the Igbos endured represent the triumph of the human spirit. A must read for everyone because there cannot be peace without justice.


Very insightful   May 31, 2005
Kemayou (Cameroon)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This book is a beautiful account of the Biafran war. I grew up with Nigerian refuges and their children in Cameroon and got first hand accounts of the horrors of that war. Overall, this insightful book is credible and like DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST, SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL, it gives the reader the opportunity to understand African conflicts and the pattern of genocides that have taken place or taking place in the continent. I learned a lot from this book.


A moving story of human tragedy in Africa!   February 23, 2003
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

The book is a refreshing departure from the accounts of the Nigerian Civil War as told by commanding officers. For the first time, the story of what happened inside Biafra, during the war, to civilians and children, ranging from deaths from starvation and air-raids, lack of basic life necessities like clothes and soap to outright survival is told in such a fluid detail that I read the entire book in four hours without putting it down!

One could not help but feel the pain and anguish of the author as he described in very moving details, the personal losses in human lives that his family and other families in Biafra suffered as a result of the war.
The book is must read for all