The Asaba Massacre: Trauma, Memory, and the Nigerian Civil WarIn October 1967, early in the Nigerian Civil War, government troops entered Asaba in pursuit of the retreating Biafran army, slaughtering thousands of civilians and leaving the town in ruins. News of the atrocity was suppressed by the Nigerian government, with the complicity of Britain, and its significance in the subsequent progress of that conflict was misunderstood. Drawing on archival sources on both sides of the Atlantic and interviews with survivors of the killing, pillaging and rape, as well as with high-ranking Nigerian military and political leaders, S. Elizabeth Bird and Fraser M. Ottanelli offer an interdisciplinary reconstruction of the history of the Asaba Massacre, redefining it as a pivotal point in the history of the war. Through this, they also explore the long afterlife of trauma, the reconstruction of memory and how it intersects with justice, and the task of reconciliation in a nation where a legacy of ethnic suspicion continues to reverberate. |
Contents
What Happened at Asaba? | 21 |
Causes and Consequences | 62 |
Surviving the Occupation | 114 |
Reclaiming Memory in an Age of New Media | 148 |
Trauma Identity Memorialization and Justice | 179 |
Sources Consulted | 218 |
Other editions - View all
The Asaba Massacre: Trauma, Memory, and the Nigerian Civil War S. Elizabeth Bird,Fraser M. Ottanelli No preview available - 2017 |
Common terms and phrases
Africa Akunwata Anioma argued Asaba Massacre Asiodu atrocities Benin City Biafran troops Biafran War Bill Nelson Bill Norris born Britain brother Cable Point Celestina civilians described Egodi Uchendu Elizabeth Bird Emeka Emmanuel Enugu ethnic father federal troops focus group participant Genocide Gowon happened Hausa Ibadan Ibid Idahosa Ify Uraih Igbo Interview with retired Isichei Izegbu Jorre June 28 killed Lagos leaders letter London Luke Enenmoh male March 14 Margery Perham Medua memo memory Midwest Midwesterners military Muhammed’s Murtala Muhammed narrative Niger Bridge Niger River Nigeria Nigerian Civil Nigerian Civil War Nnebisi Northern noted numbers Nwanze October officers Ogbe-Osowa Ogbebor Ojukwu Okafor Okocha Onitsha Oputa Panel Ottanelli Patrick Patrick’s College Perham Photo Press rape Region reported retired Gen Second Division shot soldiers story survivors town transitional justice UK National Archive violence Women and Conflict Yakubu Gowon