Veteran musician Charles Oputa, also known by his stage name Charly Boy, has reflected on the agonising recollections of the civil war in Nigeria.
The maverick artist said that the conflict scandalised his youth while taking to his X handle on Thursday to thank the heroes who lost their lives battling for the establishment of Biafran State and to commemorate Biafran Day.
He said that his survival was due to “luck.”
He remembered the horrifying sight of dead bodies all around him, most of them starving to death.
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Charly Boy admitted to consuming lizards as a source of protein.
The seasoned vocalist celebrated the Igbo people’s tenacious spirit that allowed them to recover from the conflict while bemoaning the hard reality of the Easterners’ post-war existence.
“30th May: Biafran Day,” he wrote.
“In my youth, the Nigerian Civil War (67–70) caused scandal. Some of us survived as teenagers thanks to mother luck. There were far too many dead bodies that I witnessed, most of them from malnutrition.
“Every day felt like the last.” Some of us consumed lizards for protein, despite receiving some food assistance from The Red Cross. It was terrible. I won’t ever forget.
Regardless of how many billions they had before the war, our eastern Igbo brethren received £20 to reconstruct their life when it was all over.
“Lessons Learned: No matter what happens, life is about overcoming obstacles, turning mistakes into opportunities, and keeping an optimistic attitude. The capacity to use one’s own tenacious traits to withstand duress is referred to as resilience. that our Igbo brethren possess in large quantities.
Salute Biafra.
