The War of Biafra

The 20th century atlas lays claim to 1 million deaths owing to The Nigerian Civil War that lasted from 1967 to 1970 : the war of Biafra. Estimates, however, vary from 50,000 to 3,00,000; a wide range indeed, but, "Isn't Nigeria somewhere in Africa? Africa is always wrought with so much tension, all that starvation and death." says Sukriti Sangha, a student of Bangalore University.

Africa is wrought with tension, far and wide, but does the scenario change with time? No, because, even today, the rest of the world views Africa as a remote continent not very many have bothered to discover. Oh sure, "Don't all those celebrities like donate millions? Surely, that must help." On the contrary, nothing could be further from the truth.

To date the International Criminal Court has undertaken the responsibility of bringing to justice people who have committed war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression; but so far,it has been a long and futile road to perdition. Large parts of Africa are merely surviving on the essence of all humanity : hope. This essence thrives in the lives that inhabit the dark continent; for the top 5 'most wanted' criminals cited by the International Criminal Court are, surprise surprise, from Africa.

Moving on to Nigeria, let us pan in on the civil situation before the Nigerian-Biafran War.

Picture yourself living in a society where one day you danced to tribal music at the request of your grandfather and his traditions, another where you swallowed wafer as Holy Communion in the name of God. Imagine having friends that went with you to Sunday Mass and having friends that left for the Mosque on friday, and being completely and totally comfortable with each other's ethnicity and religion. That was the pre-biafran situation : it was one of peace.

But we must remind ourselves, Nigeria was born with the British Empire, who mindlessly charted out a territory on the map, with no regard for the varying traditions and beliefs of the tribes that lived there, and stated that it was country and it was to be called Nigeria. Infamous for their divide and rule policy, the british reigned with an iron fist and encouraged undercurrents of hostility; undercurrents that exploded when Nigeria gained her independence in 1960.

The three predominant groups in Nigeria at the time were the Igbo, which formed between 60-70% of the population in the southeast, the Hausa-Fulani, which formed about 65% of the people in the northern part of the territory and the Yoruba, which formed about 75% of the population in the southwestern part.

The conservative hausas were ruled by an autocratic hierarchy that consisted of 'emirs' who were in turn subservient to the 'sultans', the final political and religious authority in all matters. The Yoruba, likewise, trusted the 'Oba', a series of monarchs. The obas, hoewever,
were more open-minded than the hausas of the north and, in comparison, allowed for greater upward mobility.

The igbo, on the other hand, lived in largely democratic communities where men participated and contributed to societal decision making, hence making it a largely autonomous system of election. In contrast to the Hausas, in igbo society, merit was gained on the basis of accomplishment, whereas in hausas it was gained via status of birth.

These subtle differences in clans were exploited by the British. In the northern hausa influenced areas, the british denied access to missionaries and other western influences. In the south, however, they encouraged the same rampantly. Yorubas took to western philosophy better than the igbos, though the latter group caught up soon enough.

These policies adopted by the 'Land where the sun never sets' proved disastrous in a newly born nation that was teetering on rediscovering and rebuilding itself.

In the month of January, 1966, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu and other Army officers attempted a coup d'etat. It was generally speculated that the coup had been initiated by the Igbos for their own benefit owing to statistics that pointed to the ethnicity of those that were killed. The two major political leaders of the north, the Prime Minister and the Premier, were also executed by Major Nzeogwu, who was of igbo descent. Meanwhile the President, Sir Azikiwe, an Igbo again, was
absent-without-leave, hence largely pinning the blame on all Igbos.

Surprisingly however, evidence proves otherwise. Kaduna was popularly considered as an incorruptible and revolutionary officer who often voiced his discontent with the government. He was an Igbo, but only in name. He hailed from the northern region and spoke Hausa more fluently than he did Igbo. He considered the goverment as a corrupt, malicious organization that had to be disemboweled to restore proper function in Nigeria.

To understand his distress with the government, it is important to note the government that was formed after the departure of the British allocated the northern region with more seats in the parliament than the two southern regions put together. This created wide unrest and many attempts were made to amend the constitution : futile, since the north controlled the parliament. People began to resort to violence, and corruption became rampant in the government to maintain a manageable situation.

'The coup of the Igbos' contained a large number of Hausa soldiers. It was applauded in the North as well as the South for revolting against a corrupt and clumsy federal system. If the coup was Igbo led, why was an Igbo officer also killed? Many tried to justify the death of Lt Col Arthur Unegbe, the Igbo officer in question, but truth be told, the only motive of the coup was to revolt against a corrupt government for the benefit of all the peoples of Nigeria.

The coup failed as Ironsi,the G.O.C(General Officer Commanding), an igbo, rallied the military against the plotters; paradoxical. The gamble of a coup d'etat is generally the death penalty. Ironsi, however, did not bring to court the culprits until six months later, further fueling the suspicions of an Igbo conspiray. In the aftermath, many innocent lives were lost needlessly.
It resulted in General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, an Igbo, succeeding as president of Nigeria, albeit as a military head of state.

In view of all these factors, the coup came to be perceived as a plot nurtured by the igbos all along to aid Ironsi as a total authority and controller of the newly born Nigeria.

Counter coup :

In July 1966, the Northerners carried out a counter-coup. The coup was led by Lt. Col. Mohammed and it placed Lt. Col. Gowon into power, a compromise candidate. Gowon was a Christian from a minority tribe and had an impeccable reputation in the Army. Ethnic tensions due to the coup and counter-coup increased and resulted in the large-scale massacres of Christian Igbo living in the Muslim north.

In the meantime, the military governor of the largely Igbo dominant southeast, Colonel Ojukwu, cited the northern massacres and thus, with the help of the southern parliament, proclaimed the secession of the south-eastern region from Nigeria as the 'Republic of Biafra', an independent nation, on 30 May 1967.

The nascent Biafra had a chronic shortage of weapons, food and all other basic amenities, but it was determined to defend itself. There was widespread sympathy in Europe and other western countries, however only five actively supported Biafra.

Ojukwu and Gowon held several peace accords at Aburi, Ghana, and discussed various factors including the existence of Biafra. Ojukwu managed to convince Gowon and get an agreement to a confederation, rather than a federation, for Nigeria. Gowon, failing to understand the subtle disparity between the two, initially agreed but later reneged his decision.

The outcome wreaked havoc on the Igbo and Yoruba, who had to defend their lives and land to avoid being massacred by a north western population of fairly armed and well equipped nigerians
who had the advantage of fighting in their homeland.

The war of Biafra lasted three years during which thousands died. Hausas, Igbos, Yorubas, all bore victim to a common loss. The Igbos and Yorubas were displaced from their homelands and many lives were lost. Families were destroyed, children lost and murdered, havoc was wrought in a
small, struggling country so many had begun to call their home.

The Biafran war is over, the dead are now forgotten, but the memories of half of a yellow sun fluttering on the flag of The Republic of Biafra, a beloved and cherished land, still bring to life a place where its people stood united and bound together as one.

“Red was the blood of the siblings massacred in the North, black was for mourning them, green was for the prosperity Biafra would have, and, finally, the half of a yellow sun stood for the glorious future.” -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie