Beware Soul Brother

It is impossible to understate the impact the Nigerian Civil War had on Achebe and on the poems he wrote in Beware Soul Brother and Other Poems. While working for Biafra during the war, Achebe found himself unable to write long bursts; much of his work from this time was done in short form, including poetry and short stories. Additionally, Achebe’s firsthand experiences of the horror and genocide during the war, including the killing of his close friend Christopher Okigbo, had a profound impact on him.

During the war, Achebe worked as an international advocate for Biafra, helping spread awareness of the atrocities committed against the people there; however, Achebe’s advocacy did not lead to much action on the part of the international community, and ultimately, Biafra lost the war, leading to the Igbo people having to accept what Achebe deemed a second-class citizenry in the united Nigeria.

The Nigerian Civil War was fought mainly to give the Igbo people autonomy and independence from the ruling government at the time. In many ways, Achebe saw this struggle as a similar one to the fight against colonialism from the British that Nigeria had won in 1960. Like many former colonial countries, Nigeria’s newly formed borders consisted of an amalgamation of different ethnic groups and traditional cultures, leading to inevitable conflict.