| Chapter : | Introduction |
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Introduction
History and the Politics of Memory
Chima J. Korieh
In the border town of Ikot Ekpene, the emaciated bodies of a brother and sister lay side by side in a rough cradle. Their eyes had been pecked out by vultures still circling overhead, waiting to attack a line of wasted bodies in a ditch outside of town.
—Time magazine, August 23, 1968
I do not want to see any Red Cross, any Caritas, any World Council of Churches, any Pope, any Mission, or any United Nations Delegation. I want to stop every single Ibo being fed as long as these people refuse to capitulate.
—Major Benjamin Adekunle, August 1968
The military and civilian killings of Nigerians by Nigerians in 1966 constituted (apart from the civil war) the worst tragedy for this