Now, therefore, I, Lieutenant-Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, by virtue of the authority, and pursuant to the principles, recited above, do hereby solemnly proclaim that the territory and region known as and called Eastern Nigeria together with her continental shelf and territorial waters shall henceforth be an independent sovereign state of the name and title of "The Republic of Biafra".


Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu [10] Biafra as a territory existed long before the amalgamation and independence of Nigeria as a republic. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in pursuit of a more agreeable arrangement for peaceful co-existence of all regions in Nigeria proposed for a confederated Nigeria. In January 1967, the military leaders and senior police officials of each region met in Aburi , Ghana and agreed on a loose confederation of regions. The Northerners were at odds with the Aburi Accord ; Obafemi Awolowo , the leader of the Western Region warned that if the Eastern Region seceded, the Western Region would also, which persuaded the northerners.[9]


After the federal and eastern governments failed to reconcile, on 26 May the Eastern region voted to secede from Nigeria. On 30 May, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the South Eastern Region's military governor, announced the Republic of Biafra, citing the Easterners killed in the post-coup violence.[5][9][11] The large amount of oil in the region created conflict, as oil is a major component of the Nigerian economy. [12] The Eastern region was very ill-equipped for war, out- manned and out-gunned by the military of the remainder of Nigeria. Their advantages included fighting in their homeland and support of most South Easterners. [13]

War The FMG launched "police measures" to annex the Eastern Region on 6 July 1967. The FMG's initial efforts were unsuccessful; the Biafrans successfully launched their own offensive, occupying areas in the mid-Western Region in August 1967. By October 1967, the FMG had regained the land after intense fighting. [9][14] In September 1968, the federal army planned what Gowon described as the "final offensive". Initially the final offensive was neutralised by Biafran troops. In the latter stages, a Southern FMG offensive managed to break through the fierce resistance. [9]


During the war there were great shortages of food and medicine throughout Biafra, due largely to the Nigerian government's blockade of the region as suggested by a good number of arguments by leaders of the Nigerian Government: Chief Anthony Enahoro, stated that "there are various ways of fighting a war. You might starve your enemy into submission, or you might kill him on the battlefield." Chief Obafemi Awolowo said "ALL is fair in war, and starvation is one of the weapons of war and I don't see why we should feed our enemies in order for them to fight harder." Many volunteer bodies organised the Biafran airlift which provided blockade-breaking relief flights into Biafra, carrying food and medicines in, and later provided means of evacuation for refugee children. On 30 June 1969, the Nigerian government banned all Red Cross aid to Biafra; two weeks later it allowed medical supplies through the front lines, but restricted food supplies. [14] Later in October 1969, Ojukwu appealed to the United Nations to mediate a cease-fire . The federal government called for Biafra's surrender. In December, the FMG managed to cut Biafra in half, primarily by the efforts of 3 Marine Commando Division of the Nigerian Army, led by then Colonel Benjamin Adekunle , popularly called "The Black Scorpion", and later by Olusegun Obasanjo . Ojukwu fled to Ivory Coast, leaving his chief of staff, Philip Effiong, to act as the "officer administering the government". Effiong called for a cease-fire 12 January and submitted to the FMG. [9] More than one million people had died in battle or from starvation.[15][16] Biafra was reabsorbed into Nigeria on 15 January.

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