“Some people refer to a ‘just war’ or a ‘war of necessity’ andothers posit that it is simply an illusion to dignify war, no matterthe circumstance. Having said that, the necessity or otherwise ofwar can be seen in the Igbo of Nigeria concept of ‘akwa aja ahụọgụ’. A man is thus bound to defend his ‘ama’ or territory andhis manhood against any intruder, oppressor or aggressor or beregarded as a ‘woman’ by his people.”

“Nnaka my son, our elders say, when a kid washes his hands clean, he becomes fit to dine with the elders. Our hearts are filled with indescribable joy and we can rub our belly with delight, so much so that we should give you the largest farmland and the most beautiful bride in the community but alas, we can only do so much. Nonetheless, the crack on the buttocks has not diminished its functions and we shall not disappoint you.”

“I cannot choose for you,” he said, “for choosing a bride is like making a bowl of akamu. If someone makes it poorly, you will blame him for the rest of your life; but if you makeit yourself, you will drink it without complaining, whatever the outcome.”

“Any war that requires the suspension of reason as a necessity for support is a bad war.”

“War is not a polite recreation but the vilest thing in life, and we ought to understand that and not play at war. Our attitude towards the fearful necessity of war ought to be stern. It boils down to this: we should have done with humbug, and let war be war and not a game. Otherwise, war is a favourite pastime of the idle and frivolous...”

“But man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.”

“There is no such thing as a good war and there is no such thing as a justified war but there is a war of necessity and we have to fight it if we want to assure our way of life even if it’s the wrong one.”