The nigeriabiafra war, popular culture and agitation for. The biafra civil war and its end at the orders of the federal military government, the nigerian federal troops marched in two divisions into biafra on the 6th of july, 1976. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, igbo land was made up of different sub ethnic groups each of which spoke the same dialect of the igbo language. While the war has its roots in tribalism, the baffling. Ahazuem of the university of nigeria, nsukka, for granting me interviews and permitting me to use some transcripts of the oral interviews his team conducted on the nigeriabiafra war. The glass of illusion of a united nigeria was shattered on the 6th of july, 1967 when general gowon declared war on biafra, making the nigerian civil war legit, it was no longer a rumor or backyard murmuring. The reason is that the name of the peoples general chukwuemeka odimegwu ojukwu is synonymous with the biafra war which was actually a genocide or call it an ethnic cleansing of the biafrans by nigeria, britain and cohorts. The nigerian civil war miamidade county public schools.
Nigerian civil war facts history biafra civil war the nigerian civil war which is also popularly known as the biafran civil war, was fought between 6th of july 1967 to 15th of january 1970. Nigeria marks end of the biafra civil war bbc news. What lasting effect did the biafran war have on the. D department of religious studies alvan ikoku federal college of education owerri08063510111 abstract. The most immediate contribution of this ambitious and incisive book is to distill into a single, accessible volume the sprawling history of the nigeriabiafra war nigerian civil war. There is much about the history of the nigeriabiafra war and the years immediately preceding the. The nigerian civil war history the untold story of biafra. It constituted the former eastern region of nigeria and was inhabited principally by igbo ibo people. Biafra began the war with 3,000 troops and ended with 30,000. It was the rst african war to be televised, and millions around the globe. Nigeriabiafra war synonyms, nigeriabiafra war pronunciation, nigeriabiafra war translation, english dictionary definition of nigeriabiafra war.
Thunder road to biafra letters from somewhere in biafra to philip emeagwali. The civil war was fought to counter the secession of biafra from nigeria brief history of the. Biafran weapons of war displayed in owerri vanguard news. Biafra was formally recognised by gabon, haiti, ivory coast, tanzania and zambia. Nigeria marks end of biafra war jump to media player an excerpt from martin bells report in the former biafra. The article shows how concepts of genocide influence the.
This is a brief history of biafra the biafra telegraph. These the nigerian vil war from 19671970 begon due to ethnic tens exacerbated by british control the attempted secession of biafra and the. Get an answer for what were the causes of the biafrannigerian civil war. Nigeriabiafran war nigerian civil war johanna schaly moira secondary school, belleville on, canada ms. The federal government had started the war, and the east was defending itself. The legacy of the biafran war news the harvard crimson.
With selfrighteous verbal overkill, defenders of biafra cry that lagos is waging a war of genocide. Real reason france supported biafra during nigerian civil war. The intangibles of postwar reconciliation article pdf available december 2016 with 2,496 reads how we measure reads. Events throughout history edited by jennifer stock. Augustine ejike cssp abstact a section of the country, the eastern region biafra declared secession and was thus branded rebel by the rest of the nation. The nigeriabiafra war 19671970 was a defining event in the history of postcolonial nigeria. What were the causes of the biafrannigerian civil war.
The war began on the early hours of 6 july 1967 when nigerian federal troops advanced in two columns into biafra. Shortly after the end of the war in early 1970, abbas took it upon himself to document the aftermath in the now annexed biafra. Biafra appears near collapse as nigeria confirms recapture of owerri, and uli airport is virtually destroyed by artillery fire. Very emotional scenes of boy soldiers, suffering, children dying from starvation. The paper seeks to cast the nigerian civil war of 1967 to 1970 within the mould of a revolution. Biafra, officially the republic of biafra, was a state in west africa that existed from may 1967 to january 1970. The war may have concluded, but in its wake there remained a humanitarian crisis of tragic proportions widespread starvation causing. Popular culture presents the nigeriabiafra war as living material different from a calcified event in human history or that which remains only in the igbos and nigerians communal imagination. In achieving this aim, the paper necessarily explores the theory of revolution and at the same time. At the orders of the federal military government, the nigerian federal troops marched in two divisions into biafra on the 6th of july, 1976. A ceasefire was called january 12, 1970, ending the nigerian civil war. The conflict was the result of economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions among the various peoples of nigeria.
The unforgettable days for the federal republic of nigeria are the days within 1967 1970. In the whole of africa, biafra is now the fourth largest in population, exceeded only by nigeria, the u. Ojukwu, obasanjo, gowon, soyinka key actors that defined. Narrative, history and memory of the nigeriabiafra war chima j. Pdf nigerian civil biafran war odeyinka olasunkanmi. War economy during the nigerian civil war, the economy ground to a standstill. The nigerian government that was voted into power did not have popular support. The nigerian civil war, also known as the nigerianbiafran war, 6 july 1967 15 january 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of nigeria as the selfproclaimed republic of biafra.
First and second generation impacts of the biafran war iza. To date that history has been fragmented across dozens of memoirs, journalistic accounts, and narrowly focused monographs. A video series chronicling the nigerian civil war between nigeria and the breakaway republic of biafra. A comparative perspective of the old and contemporary struggle. But despite that, calls for secession remain strong in. Nigeriabiafra war definition of nigeriabiafra war by. It was made up of the states in the eastern region of nigeria biafras declaration of independence from nigeria resulted in civil war between biafra and nigeria. History, memory and the politics of national unity in. Thunder road to biafra letters from somewhere in biafra to. The nigeria army not only fought with weapons against biafra army.
The nigerian civil war, popularly known as the nigeriabiafra war, lasted from 6th july, 1967 15th january 1970. Nigerias independence in 1960 marked the beginning of attempts to build a strong, united, and prosperous nation in africas most populous pluralistic country. The biafra war ranks as one of the great nutritional disasters of modern times. Like all civil wars, the nigerian civil war was unique in. A region of southern nigeria on the bight of biafra, an arm of the gulf of guinea stretching from the niger river delta to northern gabon. The genesis of the nigerian civil war and the theory of fear. Government policy remained one nigeria with relief supplied to both sides in the conflict. Telegram 53 from the department of state to the embassy in nigeria, january 11, 1969, 2050z pdf version. The genesis of the nigerian civil war and the theory of fear author. Biafra, secessionist western african state that unilaterally declared its independence from nigeria in may 1967. Biafra ceased to exist as an independent state in january 1970. It all started in the 1964 general elections, seen by many as totally corrupt and rigged beyond salvation. A controversial french support to biafra as it fought to break away from nigeria between 1967 and 1970 was not in. For the purposes of this book, we examine specific authors as well as.
Hostilities continued until 1970, at which point the federal forces had starved the biafran forces into submission. Biafran war memories is a digital archive of firsthand accounts of the 19671970 nigerian civil war, also known as the biafran war. The department provided its justification for the sale of eight c97g aircraft to joint church aid u. The information posted on my biafra home page is incomplete and unbalanced. Dirk moses the nigeria biafra war that raged between 1967 and 1970 made headlines around the world, above all for the major famine in the secessionist enclave of biafra, and prompted a major international relief. In 1966, a group of army officers and majors, the large ma. January 11 biafra capitulates, ending a 30month war that cost an estimated two million lives on both sides. The war raged in biafra, the secessionist region in the southeast of nigeria from 6 july 1967 to. Ethnic minorities in the nigeriabiafra war, 19671970 cover page footnote acknowledgment i wish to thank j. Its 50 years since the start of the biafran war, one of africas bloodiest postindependence conflicts. Biafra was a sovereign nation biafra was a sovereign entity with its own geographical territory clearly shown on the map of africa before the coming of europeans just like the ancient nations of ethiopia, egypt, sudan, etc. The nigerian civil war also known as the biafran war and the nigerianbiafran war was a civil war in nigeria fought between the government of nigeria and the secessionist state of biafra from 6 july 1967 to 15 january 1970.
Pdf nigeria biafran war ib history summary report johanna. As it was one of the rst postworld war ii tragedies, biafra drew the widespread attention of global religious and political leaders and gained extensive coverage in the international media. First, the nigeriabiafra war evinces the importance of conceptual history for the study of genocides. The biafran war began in july 1966, and ended in 1970 after more than a million people had been killed, mostly from starvation. The other side of the nigeriabiafra war bangor university. The present population of biafra, therefore, equals the total number of people inhibiting the west african states of togo, dahomey, ghana, liberia, sierra leone and gambia put together. Narrative, history, and memory of the nigeriabiafra war brings the reader face to face with the literary and historical narratives of the nigeriabiafra civil war from the perspectives of scholars and individuals. The war that changed nigeria jump to media player its 50 years since the start of the biafran war, one of africas bloodiest postindependence conflicts. The nigeriabiafra war, popular culture and agitation for sovereignty. History, memory and the politics of national unity in adichies half of a yellow sun and achebes there was a country international journal on studies in english language and literature ijsell page 83 hence, the novel becomes the author. These years were filled with agony and crisis, this was the period were the nigerian civil war also known as the biafra war was fought. The federal military had expanded from around 8,000 personnel just before the war to 120,000 in 1968 and 250,000 in 1970. Biafra represented nationalist aspirations of the igbo people, whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the northerndominated federal government. Chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu addressed his people over the radio on june 30, 1967, he warned them that war with nigeria was imminent.
Western powers were also involved in the war, with britain and the then soviet union backing nigeria, while france and a few other countries supported biafra. Pdf the nigerian civil war in history and historiography. First and second generation impacts of the biafran war. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Ojukwu, obasanjo, gowon, soyinka key actors that defined biafran war. The personal stories of people who remember the war and some who lived through it are here. Biafra simply did not have enough resources or international support to challenge the large and wellsupplied nigerian forces.
Owerrimemories of the nigeriabiafra war was yesterday, reenacted in owerri, as the consultant to the federal ministry of defence, professor bala. Between 1967 and 1970, nigeria was the theatre of a cruent and bloody civil war that is commonly known as biafra war. Nigerias political history and not an isolated event or. Shuwa operated through the north of biafra, while the second division advanced on nsukka which later fell on july 14. The conflict originated from internal crisis such as tribalism and political failures of the civil government after the indipendence, as. The untold story of the nigeriabiafra war how nigeria. The agitators for biafra republic must learn from history. The biafra nation practiced autonomous democracies among its clans as practiced among the igbo today.
460 1074 156 1132 426 1123 1129 730 1596 81 1440 735 1048 241 891 1141 661 14 296 1530 934 1260 1595 548 1561 404 1325 1041 540 1300 927 598 1229 173 1351 487 222