The long awaited A Letter Away From Asaba is a dazzling debut by Claudia Efemini, writer and History and Politics student at the University of Edinburgh. A second-year History and Politics student at the University of Edinburgh, Claudia is also one of the youngest published authors in Scotland. Next month, her novel, A Letter Away from Asaba, is set to debut, delving into a turbulent episode of Nigerian history that is poorly understood by many in the United Kingdom today. Although her novel is a work of historical fiction, it is based on real events that unfolded during the Asaba Massacre of 1967, which took place during the Nigerian Civil War. Perhaps it is not surprising that very little is known about the massacre in the UK today - indeed, there was precious little publicly available information about it at the time. Censorship within the British press played a significant role in throwing up a smokescreen, and this became a key theme in the novel. Onome is an international student from Nigeria studying law at King’s College London, whilst her friend Chioma lives in Asaba. The story centres on these two protagonists, as they attempt to piece together what really happened at Asaba through a series of diary entries and letters. The process of writing was good. I got lots of my friends involved who wanted to help. Being in a university space gives access to inform a lot more people and broadens the reach. Being in an academic space means I can get advice and knowledge from people. If I waited until after graduation, I wouldn’t have that community of people who are passionate about history, and decolonising the curriculum, so though it was scary I am glad I did it.

Efemini’s retelling of the Asaba massacre is an important read. Our stories need to be told through the wide lens that Nigerian history deserves.” CHINNY UKATA, co-author of It’s a Continent (2022) and co-host of It’s a Continent podcast A huge thank you to everyone who has supported me so far and to my editor. I am very excited to see where this journey is headed.Overall, this is a great book to educate yourself on the Nigerian Civil War and understand the effects that it has on individual people.

Definitely- this is such a good question that I didn’t think about until you asked. I do think my own life experiences have shaped the characterisations in the novel. Initially, I wanted to write it only set in Nigeria, but I realised it was harder as someone who did not grow up there. I’ve been on holiday once and I do have family there, but I was raised in the UK. As I was describing the setting, I wanted it to be represented rightly and I did not feel equipped to do so. So having both the UK and Nigeria feature eased the writing process. Writing has always been a huge hobby of mine. Growing up as a child, I would start writing different kinds of novels all the time, but I would always lose motivation around the third or fourth chapter. However, in my final year of the IB diploma programme, I wrote my History Extended Essay on press censorship of the Asaba massacre, a tragic event that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. That essay never really left my mind. Even as I continued into university, I was still captivated by how under-researched and neglected it was within the scholarship.I began the book as I realised how neglected it was within history, many of my friends and family did not know about the massacre. My parents who grew up in Nigeria did not learn about the massacre in school. I wanted people to know about it and felt the best way for people to learn was through historical fiction. Reading Half a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adichie introduced me to the Nigerian civil war and got me researching about it, which shows the power of historical fiction. You are nothing without a community! This is really a proverb that I have flipped into a slightly less exciting sequence of words, but really means “it takes a village to raise a child”. Every opportunity I sought after during my internship was championed by each of these interns. Ndubuisi reminded me that he was my comrad in all things finding a way to better represent Africa in UK curriculums and abroad, which gave me a strong foundation of knowledge and support.

You are slowly turning into one of them. A descendant of colonist who belittle our continent and undermine our experiences to doge responsibility for their despicable actions. "This is an appreciation post to the interns (some missing above) who shaped my time at Cambridge University Press & Assessment . Letters were always going to be a key part of the book. I felt that it was essential to have the two protagonists, Onome and Chioma, communicate with each other through letters, given that they live so far away from each other. Initially, I wrote with the intention of having narrative chapters between each letter. However, after I sent in my first draft to my lovely editor Lily, she recommended that I transform my manuscript into an epistolary novella, meaning a work of fiction that only consists of letters and other documents. I think there’s a staffing issue. There’s only so much you can decolonise if you don’t have people that specialise in certain areas. There are scholars out there, but you don’t see them at our university, or really the UK in general. America seems to have a lot more diversity in what they offer. Also reading lists; I am taking a course about contemporary Africa, and we had a reading list where every author was a white man. I think diverse reading lists are so important because not only does it enrich your knowledge, but it also introduces you to so many different perspectives. I appreciated the ending because it was hopeful rather than final. They were unable to achieve their objectives of resisting British censorship and obtaining justice for the Asaba massacre victims, which, in my opinion, held a more important lesson. Sometimes our need to achieve a thing causes us to lose sight of the bigger picture, we burn ourselves out with rage or frustration leaving us with nothing. The ending left us hoping that someone would someday locate the letters (maybe even write a book about it) and tell their story. Both characters were bold, courageous, and brilliantly written; they accomplished much more than individuals at their (fictional) time were able to.

Thank you Retrospect Journal HCA for recognising the importance of this book and announcing it on your platform. I’ve included a quote at the beginning of this post that I wrote in the article, which really encapsulates my motivation for writing this book. The article provides a deeper insight into why I wrote the book and what the book is about in brief. Here is the link to the article: https://lnkd.in/e7U-ZXHV As mentioned, I learnt about the Asaba massacre whilst researching for my IB extended essay. As it was a 4,000-word essay, I had to do a plethora of in-depth research to develop a good level of understanding. I’ve actually already started working on my second novel, but I’m only halfway through the first draft. Unfortunately, I had to stop writing it once I decided to self-publish A Letter Away From Asaba. It became too overwhelming working on a new manuscript whilst publishing a piece of work. However, I definitely look forward to continuing the story once A Letter Away From Asaba has been published. Perhaps I’ll continue writing it over summer, it really depends on whether I feel ready to do so. Writing novels is something I hope to do long-term as it’s been such a phenomenal experience so far working towards publishing A Letter Away From Asaba. It is very good timing because a lot of people are now engaged in contemporary Nigerian politics and the effects of colonialism. When Nigeria gained independence, three main parties were created based on tribal lines, and people voted tribally. The younger generation is more politically engaged, which is why there was such an uproar with the election. If you look at the Nigerian family structure today, a lot of the youth are the driving force in demanding accountability, whereas the older generation has lost that a little, which is reflected in the book itself, with the parents of Chioma. When did you first learn about the Asaba massacre, and what were your main motivations to write a novel about it? What wider themes does it represent in history?A Letter Away From Asaba, an epistolary novella, is a historical fictional narrative centred on the Asaba massacre of the Nigerian Civil War. The story follows the lives of best friends Onome and Chioma. Onome is an international student from Nigeria studying law at King's College London whilst Chioma lives in Asaba, Nigeria. Chioma experiences the Asaba massacre, an overlooked and traumatic event of the war, and is forced to confront issues of censorship, grief, and trust. Whilst in London, Onome notices the blatant censorship of the event within the British press. Through a series of diary entries and letters these two young women attempt to come to grips with the massacre and fulfil their desire of publicising its existence in opposition to this censorship. This is far from easy, and they await a series of hurdles in ways they least expect that, in contrast, try to ensure that the victims of the massacre die in vain. Advocate: We advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion within the university and society at large.