Book Review
Of Jingles and Jingoism
ENYI BIAFRA: Regimental Drill, Duty Songs, and Cadences from Biafra
By Johnson Akuma Kalu Njoku
Goldline and Jacobs Publishers, Glassboro, NJ
M. O. ENE
Friday, May 1, 2009
To date, mostly notable officers on the Nigerian and Biafran side of the dark days of the 60s have flooded the market with their versions of history. Of course, those who never fired a shot nor heard a shot fired in actual battle and those who fired only at military firing ranges have also written. It is all good; better more than less. Just as Mrs. Regina Maduabum (A Soldier’s Spouse) cleared the path for all spouses of major actors in the Nigeria civil crises, Professor JAK Njoku has just cut a path for “other ranks” with a book that is unique in its presentation, packaging, and posture.
“Enyi Biafra” is a treasure that will see many editions… I will tell you why in a moment. For those of us who lived through that era, the book presented a Nollywood-ish flashback of immense depth. If you tear easily, you will shed a few drops; if you do not, you will shake off your sadness slowly. Then you smile, and you even laugh. Oh yes, that book is a slim pack of emotions between two hard covers and in living audio.
Beyond being “an unusual songbook,” complete with musical notations and a CD, the presentation is both autobiographical and historical. Njoku managed to bring different perspectives in this power-packed book. You can finish the book while waiting for your flight. Of course, you can listen to the CD on your way to the airport. Yes, it is that short, sweet, and simple. However, the book is for keeps and the effect lingers long after you have read it.
“Enyi Biafra” is an important contribution to the documentation of Biafran experiences. It is unique in that it captures aspects of that era that no other book has bothered to broach… well, except in my short story—“I Dreamt of Biafra,” a fictionalized Biafran Boys Company experience. I have been toying with telling about Biafran Boys Company and “other ranks” for 20 years. Just recently I settled on a title but, to write the book, I have to revisit the entire Biafran landscape to be covered in the proposed book.
Njoku did not have to go too far to compile his book: First, he was a member of the Biafran Army… one member I know who remembers and retains his number. I don’t recall mine, and I doubt the documents still exist. Trust Nigeria to bury and destroy the relics of its history. Secondly, Njoku is an anthropologist and an ethnomusicologist. Thirdly, he participated directly in shaping some of the songs that sustained the spirit and solidarity of soldiers during the war. Fourthly, he is in academia, where time and resources can be channeled to produce great literary works. The result is a book that will one day help to tell the full story of Biafra.
Ike Anyanike, Esq. has provided a great review of the book. Writing more will be over-flogging the issue. The taste of the pudding is in the eating. I highly recommended the book; it is a flask of history.
As stated above, I expect future editions to be revisited with better editorial embellishments and supplementary songs. Mainstream Igbo speakers will think the book’s title connotes “Friend of Biafra”; I did! It does not in Njoku’s book. Rather, it means “Elephant (nation) Biafra.” In other words, the book’s title translates as “Great Biafra.” This calls for a tonal revisit in future editions. Although tones are not always important in written Igbo, toning should be considered here: Ényí Biafra.
This may be considered trifle, but I actually thought it was Ényì Biafra (Friend of Biafra) and used as such in remembering such Biafran heroes who passed on early in the war as: Chukwuma Nzeogwu, Chudi Sokei, Chris Okigbo, etc. Njoku provides another angle as “Ényí Biafra” and goes on to prove his point. I assume the term evolved between the two terms. Which came first is immaterial; the important thing here is that a simple tone switch in Igbo linguistics can mean a world of difference.
I am more inclined to Ényì Biafra (Friend of Biafra). In “Song 2: Onwu-o Onwu-o,” following right after “Song 1: Enyi Biafra a Laala” (sic), Njoku makes my point somewhat. The song “Enyi Biafra” did not stand on its own; it usually came with the lyrics of Song 2. In this variant, the lyrics revealed a historical faux pas: Akanu Ibiam, M. I. Okpara, Philip Effiong, Okon Okon Ndem, etc. were all alive until the end of the war and beyond. We could not have been singing about them as the departed heroes (elephants) of Biafra. Even Tim Onwuatuegwu was still alive in January, 1970. In an entire chapter, Mrs. Maduabum recounted the last days of Colonel Onwuatuegwu in “A Soldier’s Spouse.”
The publisher’s editors did not do the work much favors with sloppy editing and by letting some easy-to-catch typos slip through. The name of General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi emerged as “Agu-Iyi Ironsi.” Well, “aguiyi” is Igbo for crocodile and forms a part of his last name, just as “odumegwu” (magnificent lion) forms a part of the last name of Biafra’s leader. As a member of Uwandiigblo (sic) Njoku could have ran the songs by Uwandiigbo forum [uwandiigbo@yahoogroups.com]. He would have received a better handle on grammatical renditions of the lyrics, especially on consistent and correct uses of “na.”
I was pleasantly surprised by the use of “o’u gini?” on page 26: Song 13: Agawala m Igba Mgbo.” This is a term that came out of Uwandiigbo, and I give JAK kudos for using it and most appropriately too. However, the kudos quickly damped with the realization that not one of the four sub-dotted Igbo vowels was dotted! In 2009? This must be corrected to improve readability and comprehension, regardless of the available English equivalents.
I am very conversant with the songs in the book, and I know there are variants. However, I doubt, if not fault, some recollections. In Song 17: Holy Holy, we read:
Holy, Holy, holy, holy
Odumegwu Ojukwu
Another soldier.
I remember it differently:
Holy, Holy, holy, holy….
Odumegwu-Ojukwu is another savior.
Let’s face, General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was not just “another soldier”; to Biafrans, the man was a whole lot more. To some, he was a modern messiah, a god; to others, like him or loathe him, he was just too awesome. Those who thought differently kept their opinions to themselves! Whatever we now think of the man, he was up there in a cosmos entirely his own. It was unspoken in Biafra but, after Jesus Christ, Odumegwu-Ojukwu weighed in. It is therefore understandable that he was another savior, not just “another soldier.” No, the man was no that humble.
If you doubt it, take “Song 16: Okorobia di mma.” The song is still sung in Nigeria’s Christian communities as follows:
Okorobia di mma…
Eze Jesus bu okorobia di mma
Anyi sokwe gi n’azu.
Notice that what changed in Njoku’s version is just “Eze Jesus” (Jesus the King); in Biafra, it was indeed “Odumegwu-Ojukwu”—the other savior.
“Song about Ifeajuna’s Sabotage” (page 34, under Song 21) deserves a number of its own. This is a song that moved and still moves. It comes with a story of its own too. The original version goes like this:
E woo, mụ na nwanne m jere agha
Akpịrị ego-o, Ifeajuana rere anyị
E woo, mụ na nwanne m jere agha
Njọkụ apụta n’ụzọ ree nwanne ya.
The story here is that Brigadier Hillary Njoku (no relation of the author) was also a saboteur; he was not. He and General Odumegwu-Ojukwu had their personal problems, which spilled into the rooms of rumor-mongering and emerged with Brigadier Njoku being labeled a saboteur throughout the war. We were told, or we heard, that Brigadier Njoku was spared the firing squad because he told Ojukwu to his face that Biafra would fail. Ojukwu was so angry, the story goes, that he decided to keep him alive so he would see Biafra succeed and die thereafter! Hillary Njoku was not a sabo (saboteur); he was relieved of his command and sidelined before the ill-advised and costly Midwest campaign, which threw up the Banjo-Ifeajuna death-knell sabotage of Biafra.
It is likely that Professor Njoku didn’t want to be dragged into the sad chapters; but, truth be told, unrevised versions tell the Biafran story too. The sabo saga is a story that is still foggy. Whatever drove Brigadier Victor Banjo, Colonel Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Alale, and Agbam to attempt a coup against popular Odumegwu-Ojukwu remains unresolved. Were they the only four in the cohort of conspirators? There are still so many unknowns from Biafra, and we should not be reluctant to shine light on them whenever the opportunity arises.
Mrs. Maduabum knew the Njokus from way back in Kaduna; Hilary and his wife Rose were her wedding sponsors. She knew that Njoku was no saboteur. She also knew that Mrs. Julie Alale and three women who spent the entire Biafra era in jail were no less patriotic than the average Biafran. Two of the women were simply close associates of Banjo and Ifeajuna. I asked Mrs. Oyibo Odinammadu about the plight of these women in Dallas on Saturday, February 28, 2009. She offered that the women were probably locked up for their own good! Yeah right!
But this is about a songbook? Wrong. Professor Njoku has opened another angle through which the history of Biafra could be revisited. I welcome it wholeheartedly. In order to do a great job and make good use of the opening, these and other suggestions should be taken on board in future editions. Now you get my drift.
The author acknowledged that there are versions of the songs, so he should turn the book into a complete compilation of all songs of Biafra, even if he has to give others the credit. If any song comes in variants, let’s have all of them, not just those he knew very well. As Njoku himself showed, each song tells a story. I could recall two important songs that were not included, one being the one I used in “I Dreamt of Biafra.”
Also, a variant of Song11: Obi Kererenke has absolutely nothing to do with federal troops, derogatorily called “vandals.” It actually targeted civilian males, those who found ways to stay out of enlisting. To that end, the song declares that all beautiful girls belong to soldiers, leaving the ugly ones to civilians. Of course, if anyone raises any objection, he will be castrated and his testes used in concocting charms—possibly bullet-proof charms, who knows! It was a joke, of course, but it inspired and made soldiers, especially “raw recruits,” to feel a part of a supposedly elite establishment.
Overall, the book deserves a place on our shelves. I recommend it. It will provide the base for a million more books about Biafra. I know because it will inspire “other ranks” to tell their stories.