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I felt political fear under Buhari –Chimamanda Adichie

Published

8 years ago

October 19, 2016

I felt political fear under Buhari –Chimamanda Adichie

Less than two weeks after Nigerian novelist, nonfiction writer and short story writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie revealed that she resents it when people attribute her popularity to American Pop star Beyonce, the serial author has recalled the first time she experienced political fear and economic hardship under President Muhammadu Buhari.

In her OP-ED (opinion editorial) for the New York Times, Chimamanda who is a MacArthur genius grant recipient described Nigeria as a country enamoured of dark humour, where a common greeting among the middle class now is “Happy recession!”

“I was 7 years old the first time I recognized political fear. My parents and their friends were talking about the government, in our living room, in our relatively big house, set on relatively wide grounds at a south eastern Nigerian university, with doors shut and no strangers present.

“Yet they spoke in whispers. So ingrained was their apprehension that they whispered even when they did not need to. It was 1984 and Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was the military head of state. Governmental controls had mangled the economy.

“Many imported goods were banned, scarcity was rife, black markets thrived, businesses were failing and soldiers stalked markets to enforce government-determined prices.

“My mother came home with precious cartons of subsidized milk and soap, which were sold in rationed quantities. Soldiers flogged people on the streets for “indiscipline” — such as littering or not standing in queues at the bus stop.

“On television, the head of state, stick-straight and authoritative, seemed remote, impassive on his throne amid the fear and uncertainty…”

By Ahmed Boulor…

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