Tinubu, Peter Obi, the Civil War, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Fubara and the future of Nigeria

In 1999, When I was 40 years old, nearly 40 years old, I moved back to Nigeria because my parents, having gotten over the hurdle of being rebels who stood for Biafra, had now totally reincorporated themselves, re-assimilated themselves back into the Nigerian state.

We accepted defeat and agreed to become Nigerians and stop being Biafrans.

So by 1999, my father was ill.

So I picked up my bags and I went home.

For two reasons, actually.

One of them was that

we'd lost one or two aunties and uncles and I panicked.

I just said, no,

I cannot be abroad if anything happens to my dad.

All of us, all four children were here in the UK.

So I'm the Adah, as I believe you're Igbo.

Yes, of

course.

Yes, and my father's Ogoni.

My mother is Igbo, by the way, from Imo State.

And my dad is from the Ogoni tribe in River State.

So in the Igbo language, I'm the Adah, the eldest girl.

And in the Ogoni language, I'm the Sirah, that's the oldest girl.

And I had certain emotional and practical responsibilities.

So I decided that since none of my siblings wanted to be in Nigeria, let me be the one to take that risk.

By then, I was married to an English journalist called Dominic, and we had a little boy called Oliver.

And I just said to my husband, I said, look, it can't always be that when black people are married to white people, it's the black people who have to always make the sacrifice and always be in the white world.

you need to be in the black world for a while.

I need to go home.

And he came, to be fair.