Using the recent Biafran war debate as a case study, this article illustrates the important role played by a healthy reading habit in building critical thinking skills, which in turn can improve the quality of interpersonal interactions in societies. Note that by "reading", I refer not just to what happens in learning institutions, but even more specifically to that done by adults to inform and educate themselves on current affairs, history, politics etc.

Many Adult Nigerians Lack Critical Thinking Skills

Whenever I read or hear people make blanket declarations based on tribal or racial sentiments I often feel sorry for them. The recent uproar regarding comments by Chinua Achebe in his latest book (There Was A Country) about some of Nigeria’s past leaders of non-Igbo extraction is a case in point.

As I explain later in this piece, it takes a deep knowledge of the history of the war, and of Nigeria, to fully appreciate the perspective from which Achebe has written his new book. Far from being tribalistic, Achebe is a man who seeks to add clarity to how we treat each other as different nations co-existing as one in the geographical entity called Nigeria.

Unfortunately, some people with tunnel vision have simply turned it into a revival of tribal rivalry – claiming Achebe, an Igbo, had insulted or offended Yorubas by accusing Chief Obafemi Awolowo who was no longer alive to defend himself.

Some of us cannot afford to be narrow in our thinking. For instance, I I’m married to an Igbo woman – from Anambra state. Which makes my kids half Igbo. This gives me a unique opportuntiy to see things from both sides (more on this later)!

It takes a lack of critical thinking skills to assume that everything can be seen in terms of either black or white. The truth about life is that a lot of overlapping will often happen between the white and black we see.

Our ability to intelligently navigate those grey areas in life is often determined by the quality of thinking we are capable of. Reading can help any interested person develop critical thinking skills that will equip him/her to view issues from a balanced perspective.

To Comment Intelligently, You Must Study The Subject!

In many discussions, both online and off, young Nigerians who were either toddlers or not yet born when the war happened condemned the author for his unflattering comments about Awolowo and others.

Yet, from their comments it was often obvious that they had a poor grasp of the subject they challenged Achebe on!

I just don’t get it. How can you intelligently comment on a subject you have not studied?

Achebe wrote a personal account of his experiences and observations during the the Biafran civil war. He experienced it as a young man, in a very personal way – losing loved ones including his own mother!

The young people who criticised him should have done their homework by reading books written on the war. And possibly interviewing older persons who survived it. If their sources were reliable, that would have equipped them to comment more intelligently, and from an informed perspective.

Sadly, they chose to simply jump in and play in the mud like others!

How many Nigerians know what a “Pogrom” is?

According to Wole Soyinka in his book titled “The Man Died”, that was what the Igbo were subjected to in most parts of the country as a result of the war. Innocent citizens of Igbo/eastern origin suddenly became targets of attacks, with some fellow citizens from other tribes that they’d lived amongst for years turning their backs on them.

If you were not a conscious adult when the Biafran war happened(I was born the year it ended), there’s a good chance that most of what you know will have come to you via hear-say. If you’re lucky, your sources would have been authentic and truthful.

Some of us had no willing/reliable channels to learn from. So, we turned to the few books we could find.

It was in Nobel Laurete Wole Soyinka’s book titled “The Man Died”, that I first encountered the word “Pogrom” – and I had to consult a dictionary for the meaning. If your vocabulary is anything like mine was back then, you’ll probably want to do the same…now

The book provides graphic accounts of how many ordinary Igbos who remained behind in non-biafran states were hunted down, to the extent that it became risky for persons belonging to other tribes to openly associate with an Igbo person.

The author – Soyinka (a Yoruba by tribe) had expressed outrage at the treatment meted out to Igbos. It is noteworthy that he did not simply stand aside and watch. Indeed he was an active participant in mediation efforts, to the extent that he eventually got thrown in jail by the Nigerian authorities after visiting Biafra (and foreign organizations) in an effort to broker peace, to stop the war from happening.

Who better to tell you the truth about what really happened, in a book!

Reading Helped Me Bridge The Gaps In My Knowledge

A few years ago, I personally undertook a journey of self-education about the early history of Nigeria, with particular interest in the Biafran war.

My motivation derived from a need to understand the origin of the palpable distrust that persists, especially amongst the dominant tribes in this country.

I also needed to unravel the mystery, for a number of other more personal reasons…

You see, like I said earlier on, I’m married to an Igbo woman from Anambra state. And I’m Yoruba from Ogun state. Every now and then I have heard phrases like “Yoruba people always do this or that…” and I would wonder how any of that described me…:-) That told me there was apparently a lot I needed to learn!

In addition, I got curious about our history, when I read that 6th July 1967 was the day the Biafran war began…and that it ended on January 1970.

Get this: I was born 6th July 1970. In other words, the war began on (what would later be) my day and month of birth, and ended in my year of birth!

Strange coincidence I thought. And that made me even more resolved to learn about the war – especially what happened to the Igbos.

As you can imagine, I chose to do this not just for myself, but also for my kids – who have Igbo names, and Igbo blood running through their veins. I wanted them to know the truth about their past.

And Soyinka’s book has provided some useful insight. So did a few others I bought, though I was not as convinced of some of the other authors’ objectivity, or the reliability of their “sources”.

Summary

The above is why I intend to read Achebe’s new book in full as well, to continue my education.

If you are anything at all like me, as described above, I suggest you get a copy of Soyinka’s “The Man Died”, and that of Achebe’s “There Was A Country”, so that you can educate yourself better about what truly happened during those formative years of the nation we call Nigeria.

Then, and only then, will you be able to make useful contributions to the discussion about the way forward!