Surviving Biafra: Coincidence or choreography?

By Pat Onukwuli
Nearly 60 years after the first shots of the Nigerian Civil War tore through the fragile fabric of a young republic, Biafra has returned to public conversation, not as an apology, a restitution, or a national reckoning, but as a memoir and a documentary.
General Yakubu Gowon released My Life of Duty and Allegiance, his account of a war he led from the summit of state power in Abuja on May 19, 2026. Almost simultaneously, the BBC released Surviving Biafra, directed by Meji Alabi, on BBC iPlayer and YouTube on June 1, 2026. Coincidence may explain the timing. It cannot erase the symbolism. The question is stark: is Biafra being remembered, or managed? This question is ...