“The Igbo are a very democratic people. The Igbo people expressed a strong antimonarchy sentiment—Ezebuilo—which literally means, a king is an enemy.”
As a disenfranchised tribe in the history of Nigeria, Achebe highlights the interests of the Igbo people during the civil war. In the novel, Achebe attaches the notions of the Igbo that prompt them to seek after political independence. In the Biafran territory, the Igbo people are the political majority in contrast to the rest of the territories in Nigerian. Marginalized during the colonization period by the European and further by their own countrymen, the Igbo fostered the attitude of autonomy. Thus, as the quotation expresses they sought to detach from Nigeria as a separate independent state.
“Writing has always been a serious business for me. I felt it was a moral obligation. A major concern of the time was the absence of the African voice.”
To Chinua Achebe artistry through writing had always been a significant element for any civilization. He felt it was a moral obligation to capture the realities of the African people from the perspective of an African. The statement highlights this sentiment of bringing a deeper understanding on the dynamic of African politics. Considered as one of the most important literary voices from Africa, Achebe brought the African story to the literary world allowing for a better understanding.
“People from different parts of the world can respond to the same story if it says something to them about their own history and their own experience.”
Through his stories, Achebe brought to life the realities of Africans particularly people from his tribe, the Igbo. While his narratives focused on the African story his thematic focus has always been universal thus their relevance worldwide. The novel centers on warfare and its impact, a theme that has been felt universally to some extent. Thus the statement expresses this notion in that everyone’s history shares certain elements despite geography or race.
