In his war period memoir, On a Darkling Plain, one of the most detailed and interesting accounts of the civil war years written by a Nigerian, Saro-Wiwa describes the war of 1967–1970 as a time of confusion. Ogoni was itself divided because of the Biafran War, some sections preferring to go with the breakaway Biafran nation, another part, people like Saro-Wiwa, wanting to remain with the federal government.
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