Eddie Albert Okechukwu Iroh (born 21 April 1945) is a Nigerian novelist, journalist and former director of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria. He is best known internationally for his trilogy of war novels: ''Forty-eight Guns for the General'' (1976), ''Toads of War'' (1979) and ''The Siren in the Night'' (1982). All were published in Heinemann's

African Writers Series The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann (publisher), Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003. The series has provided an int ...

Life

Eddie Iroh was born on 21 April 1945 at Mgboma,

Imo State Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its n ...

in what was then the

Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria Colonial Nigeria was ruled by the British Empire from the mid-nineteenth century until 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence. British influence in the region began with the prohibition of slave trade to British subjects in 1807. Britain an ...

. He attended St. Theresa's Primary School in Mgboma between 1951 and 1957, followed by a correspondence course at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

between 1960 and 1965. In 1967 Iroh joined the Ministry of Information in

Enugu Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...

where he remained for the duration of the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

. After the war ended in 1970 he moved to the

Reuters News Agency Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

. By 1973 he had joined Evans Publishers as an editorial representative, and the following year he became an executive producer at the

Nigerian Television Authority The Nigerian Television Authority or NTA is a Nigerian government-owned and partly commercial broadcast station. Originally known as Nigerian Television (NTV), it was inaugurated in 1977 with a monopoly on national television broadcasting, after ...

. In 1979, he was promoted to head the Documentary and Features Department. During the 1980s, Iroh acted as the managing editor and the regional editor of ''The Guardian'' newspaper. He then served as director general at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria between 1999 and 2005. In 2004 Eddie Iroh was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in public administration from Imo State University. He was also elected President of Union of National Radio and Television Organisations of Africa (URTNA).

Life

Works

References

Sources

Further reading