In January 1966 Chinua Achebe published his fourth novel, A Man of the People. This was a highly imaginative satire of the grave socio-economic crisis that plagued Nigeria's immediate post-conquest state and society, six years after the restoration of independence and following 60 years of the British occupation. A few days later the country's military overthrew the inept civilian government of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa that had been in power since 1960. This was followed by yet another military coup six months later and the premeditated campaign of a spate of horrendous massacres of Igbo people across most of Nigeria organised by influential northern Nigerian politicians and officers of the military. A total of 80,000-100,000 Igbo

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First published 30 June 2002

Citation: Ekwe Ekwe, Herbert. "Chinua Achebe". The Literary Encyclopedia. 30 June 2002.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4996, accessed 9 February 2010.]