ABSTRACT
The Biafran War, a Nigerian Civil War occurring between mid-1967 and early 1970, was a civil war between Nigeria and the breakout nation of Biafra during which many Biafran (mainly Igbo) people were killed and many more were forced to flee to their home villages in South Eastern Nigeria carrying whatever they could of their possessions on their person. Horror stories abound from Ike’s parents, extended family members, and literature about the time, some of which was experienced by Ike’s mother, her siblings, and Ike’s grandmother. Ike explores how the people in our lives, especially those who play a role in shaping and nurturing our sense of self, invariably influence the way we see and feel about the world and ourselves in ways that we do not always even fully recognise or comprehend. Developing an understanding of how this can manifest and having some tools to navigate transgenerational trauma are discussed in depth.
Over the years, Ike has encountered many young clients whose levels of distress and sense of self have been significantly impacted by their parents’ unspoken history, often trauma-based. Ike emphasises that a core task is to find one’s way of navigating our forebearers’ past and its legacy in a way that acknowledges its significance and value but equally allows the present to take a shape of its own in a way that feels authentic to the individual.
