Summary

After the establishment of the new Republic, Biafrans were told that they had to rely on British and European expertise to deal with the technological advancements in the oil industry. They were being treated as though they weren’t intellectually incapable of understanding cutting edge technology. The Igbo people had proven themselves in many ways including the development of new technology for refining oil.

Chinua was asked by Ojukwu to serve as unofficial envoy of the Biafran people. His first trip was to Senegal. At the time, President Senghor, the Senegalese leader was leading a movement called La Négritude which had been inspired by the early work of W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington and other black leaders. The movement was an attempt to respond to the colonial experience through African literature and political ideation.

Chinua also was sent to...