"There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra" chronicles Achebe's experiences during Nigeria's 1967-1970 civil war, which saw his native eastern region, dominated by the Igbo ethnic group, secede as the Republic of Biafra.
The split came largely in response to massacres of Igbos in Nigeria's north and saw Achebe, author of the revered novel "Things Fall Apart," speak out forcefully in support of the move.
His memoir was released in Britain on Thursday and will be available in Nigeria shortly after, said publishers Allen Lane, a division of Penguin. Its release in the United States is set for October 11.
The tensions that ignited the Biafran conflict, which left around one million people dead, including many from starvation, are largely settled. Today, sporadic calls for greater Igbo autonomy have limited impact in Nigerian politics.
Experts, however, say a Biafra memoir from the 81-year-old Achebe is urgently needed in a country that remains deeply fractured on other levels, despite the book's focus on events that happened more than four decades ago.
"Achebe is sustaining the debate on integration, on unity and on oneness," said Dapo Thomas, a history professor at Lagos State University.
"Until there is a sovereign agreement from the peasants to the elite that we want to remain as one, we must continue that debate. A nation cannot remain comatose while these issues are unresolved."
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Posted By: Ben Iyoha
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