THEY BOMBED OUR REFINERY!!!

...It was not however long after we moved into this house, that my mother decided that we had to relocate to Omoba.


I did not understand why then, but now, I understand that she had information that the war had started, and that it was better for us to be closer home.

So, all our things were packed into trucks, and they left for Omoba, leaving me behind, to stay with my sister Meg.

My sister Meg was not living with us. She had her own apartment.

The street where her house was located was close to the creeks, so I loved to go fishing and periwinkle ‘hunting’ with my friends, much to her displeasure.

By this time, I had stopped going to school, and I did not know why, but I knew that some of our neighbours were leaving Port Harcourt, just like my mother had done with my other siblings.

So, there was nothing much to when my sister leaves for work. I join my friends to go to the waters of the creek, for fishing and periwinkles, which usually, do not get home with me.

It was during one such trip to the creeks, that we heard and saw a lot of people running about and gathering in groups.

Suddenly, we heard sound of military aircrafts (the sound is very different from that of civilian or commercial aircrafts), flying over head.

Eventually, people started pointing fingers towards a direction from which there was a lot of black smoke in the sky.

The said it was the Refinery at Afam, Eleme that had just been bombed by the aircrafts that flew past.

From that day, the aircrafts and the bombings continued, almost on a daily basis, we would here sirens sound, and people will shout ‘enemy planes’ and run outside, to watch the directions the aircrafts would fly to and soon enough, there would be black smoke in the sky.

We could not go fishing freely any more, even when my sister Meg was not around. People were afraid to go out.

Open fields were farmed with spiky bamboo stakes. As I learned later, it was to prevent paratroopers from landing in those fields.

After a while, my sister Meg said it was no longer safe for me to be with her I Port Harcourt, and decided to put me in a train bound for Omoba, so I could be safe with my mother and other siblings there.



She remained in Port Harcourt; only to arrive in Omoba not too long after I she had sent there with nothing.

No Property, no car. No nothing.

Port Harcourt had been captured by the Federal troops, who defeated the Biafran troops defending it...

----BIAFRA:LEST WE FORGET!