The two converse back and forth, despite the heightening threats to their lives, about Asaba and the severe censorship in Britain.

Overall, this is a great book to educate yourself on the Nigerian Civil War and understand the effects that it has on individual people.A huge thank you to 10,000 Black Interns for spotlighting this opportunity and your assistance during the recruitment process. I am looking forward to joining the team of incredible student journalists to contribute to the production of cultural pieces for the newspaper during the course of my exchange year at McGill. The book follows two lifelong friends, Chioma and Onome, as they investigate the atrocities that led to the massacre in their hometown of Asaba and the obstacles they encounter. A descendant of colonist who belittle our continent and undermine our experiences to doge responsibility for their despicable actions. I did not know a lot about the Nigerian civil war before reading, and it honestly opened my eyes to the injustice censorship can cause.

With her recently published historical fiction novel, A Letter Away From Asaba, The Edinburgh Tab had the pleasure of interviewing her about her book, inspiration, and writing process. Change country: -Select- Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Azerbaijan Republic Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Cape Verde Islands Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Cook Islands Costa Rica Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Fiji Finland French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Republic Gambia Georgia Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Israel Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of Croatia Republic of the Congo Reunion Romania Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts-Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa South Korea Sri Lanka Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands (U. Claudia Efemini is a current History and Politics student at the University of Edinburgh (2021-2025). International Women’s Day also gives us an opportunity to recognise the inner and outer work we all need to do to achieve gender equality for all women, regardless of where they come from. Nigerian history is something that I am greatly passionate about and looking through a degree programme that makes little mention of Nigeria sparked a burning desire in me to fulfil my passion through writing historical fiction.Efemini does not refrain from straightforward and unapologetic honesty, transporting the reader with the courageous voices of Chioma and Onome. A massive thank you to Deborah Alhassan for organising the book launch and Paula Melissa Ugochukwu for hosting it. Learning about the Nigerian Civil War and Asaba in particular through these two women was enlightening and truly educational. Claudia’s writing is moving and deeply informed, shedding light on one of Nigeria’s greatest tragedies. A second-year History and Politics student at the University of Edinburgh, Claudia is also one of the youngest published authors in Scotland.

A Letter Away From Asaba, an epistolary novella, is a historical fictional narrative centred on the Asaba massacre of the Nigerian Civil War. This is where Onome’s logical and straightforward thinking fails her, It was extremely upsetting to read this the moment (I am still upset even though she does make amends and admit her lack of compassion for Chioma as a witness to the violence and a close friend).

A Letter Away From Asaba' is an account of the Asaba massacre during the Nigerian Civil War woven into a fictional narrative.

Nevertheless, I cannot deny that the general neglect of African history during my first two years has only made me hungrier for history pertaining to Nigeria.Efemini thoughtfully uses diary entries and letters to create a lucid and intimate account of Asaba's censored micro history. Such a mindset demonstrates a lack of empathy and a lack of desire to make amends for the harm caused. It was extremely hard to put this book down and 10x harder to not think about the story and its characters throughout the day.