"Upon reading an advance copy of the novel, Achebe's friend, Nigerian poet and playwright John Pepper Clark, declared: 'Chinua, I know you are a prophet. Everything in this book has happened except a military coup!' [2]
Later on, Nigerian Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu seized control of the northern region of the country as part of a larger coup attempt. Commanders in other areas failed, and the plot was answered by a military crackdown which resulted in the presidency of Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi.
