Chigozie Obioma
The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma is the story of the 1967 civil war in Nigeria in which the Igbo-dominated region of Biafra sought its independence from Nigeria. The conflict lasted a little over two years, after which time the Biafran forces surrendered. Up to 3 million people, mostly Biafrans, died during the war due to starvation, disease, and violence.
This devastating conflict is seen through the eyes of Adekunle Aromire (Kunle), a quiet, reserved young man. Kunle blames himself for an accident that has permanently confined his brother to a wheelchair. He is preparing for a new term at the university when his parents ask him to come home. The civil war has just started. Kunle learns that his brother has gone to Biafra, so he sets off with the intention of bringing him home. His plan is thwarted when he is captured by Biafran soldiers and is forced to join the conflict.
Kunle’s initial thoughts are to escape and find his brother. But fear of being shot as a deserter prevents him from doing so. Gradually, he befriends some of the fighters and develops a strong sense of loyalty and camaraderie. He gets caught up in the frenzy of fighting for independence until he witnesses the carnage and devastation caused by the war.
The brutality, horror, and violence of war are depicted in graphic and immersive detail: the chaos of trench warfare; the endless trudging in the rain and mud while accosted by mosquitoes; the ubiquitous presence of dismembered bodies; fields littered with corpses; torsos soaked in blood; skeletal remains exposed to the elements; wounded soldiers abandoned to their fate; children dying of starvation; women whose unborn babies have been yanked out of their bodies; evidence of rape, torture; and the slaughter of innocent civilians unwittingly caught in the conflict. Fear is palpable as is the stench of rotting flesh, sweat, filth, vomit, and excrement.
The carnage is relentless; the description, unflinchingly honest. Kunle witnesses it all, including the deaths of some of his comrades. He comes close to death, is wounded several times, blown up, hospitalized, falls in love, and has a vivid hallucination of journeying to the underworld where he encounters the newly dead, including enemy soldiers.
Graphic descriptions of violence are interspersed with an element of magical realism in the form of a seer who predicts the war before it happens and who intermittently observes and narrates Kunle’s progress during the war.
Because of a plethora of scenes of shocking violence and carnage, this book may not be for everyone. But if the goal is to offer a realistic rendition of the brutality and palpable horrors of war, Obioma has accomplished his mission.