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Forgive and Forget? Reconciliation and Memory in Post-Biafra Nigeria
Abstract
PhD Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (United Kingdom), January 2016
This study seeks to examine the relationship between memory and reconciliation in the aftermath of the Nigeria-Biafra war. It is argued that a deliberate policy of suppression surrounds the memory of Biafra and that this contributes to an incomplete reconciliation. A theory of agonistic memory is applied to the case study, to consider the utility of pluralism in memory for an ethnically diverse society. Finally, it is argued that memory cannot be suppressed and that attempting to suppress the memory of Biafra has opened space for contestation, allowing memory to become a focal point for other grievances against the government.
This study seeks to examine the relationship between memory and reconciliation in the aftermath of the Nigeria-Biafra war. It is argued that a deliberate policy of suppression surrounds the memory of Biafra and that this contributes to an incomplete reconciliation. A theory of agonistic memory is applied to the case study, to consider the utility of pluralism in memory for an ethnically diverse society. Finally, it is argued that memory cannot be suppressed and that attempting to suppress the memory of Biafra has opened space for contestation, allowing memory to become a focal point for other grievances against the government.
Biafran War Database.
Editor: Azuka Nzegwu.
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