Let's look at this topic from a neutral perspective rather than from sentiment.

Let's find out who declared war against who- Biafra led by Ojukwu or Nigeria led by Gowon?

We also want to know what really caused the Nigerian civil war also known as Biafran war.

In order for us to answer these pressing questions correctly without being bias, we will be referencing on globally recognised history articles written by foreigners who witnessed the war.

To achieve this goal, let's tackle these questions:

1. What really caused the Nigerian civil war of 1966?
2. Which region declared war against which region or territory?

Going forward, let me answer your initial question of how many Igbos living in the northern Nigeria when the pogrom of 1966 happened?

According to many books written by foreign and Nigerian war historians and according to wikipedia, between 10,000 to 30,000 Igbo people living in the northern Nigeria were massacred in the north between May 1966 - September 1966. You can read about it here>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_anti-Igbo_pogrom

Now, let's move forward with the most pressing questions:

1. What really caused the Nigerian civil war of 1966?

Immediate causes of the Nigeria civil war in 1966 included:
(A) a military coup (carried out by Maj. Nzeogwu which led to the death of Tafawa Belewa, etc)
(B) a counter-coup (led by Gowon, which led to the brutal murder of Aguiyi Ironsi, Fajuyi, etc)
(C) The 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom in the north (persecution of Igbo people living in Northern Nigeria)- this is the imminent cause of the Nigerian civil war according to local and foreign war historians.

2. Which region declared war against which region or territory?

Persecution of Igbo From June through October 1966, pogroms in the North killed tens of thousands of Igbos and caused millions to flee to the Eastern Region. September 29, 1966, was considered the worst day.


Ethnomusicolist Charles Keil, who was visiting Nigeria in 1966, recounted:

The pogroms I witnessed in Makurdi, Nigeria (late Sept. 1966) were foreshadowed by months of intensive anti-Ibo and anti-Eastern conversations among Tiv, Idoma, Hausa and other Northerners resident in Makurdi, and, fitting a pattern replicated in city after city, the massacres were led by the Nigerian army. Before, during and after the slaughter, Col. Gowan could be heard over the radio issuing 'guarantees of safety' to all Easterners, all citizens of Nigeria, but the intent of the soldiers, the only power that counts in Nigeria now or then, was painfully clear. After counting the disemboweled bodies along the Makurdi road I was escorted back to the city by soldiers who apologized for the stench and explained politely that they were doing me and the world a great favor by eliminating Ibos.

The Federal Military Government also laid the groundwork for the blockade of the Eastern Region which would go into full effect in 1967.

Breakaway of Biafra from Nigeria
On May 27, 1967, Gowon proclaimed the division of Nigeria into twelve states. This decree carved the Eastern Region in three parts: South Eastern State, Rivers State, and East Central State. Now the Igbos, concentrated in the East Central State, would lose control over most of the petroleum, located in the other two areas.

On May 30, 1967, Ojukwu declared independence of the Republic of Biafra.

The Federal Military Government immediately placed an embargo on all shipping to and from Biafra—but not on oil tankers. Biafra quickly moved to collect oil royalties from oil companies doing business within its borders. When Shell-BP acquiesced to this request at the end of June, the Federal Government extended its blockade to include oil. The blockade, which most foreign actors accepted, played a decisive role in putting Biafra at a disadvantage from the beginning of the war.

Although the very young nation had a chronic shortage of weapons to go to war, it was determined to defend itself. Although there was much sympathy in Europe and elsewhere, only five countries (Tanzania, Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, Zambia and Haiti) officially recognised the new republic. Britain supplied amounts of heavy weapons and ammunition to the Nigerian side because of its desire to preserve the country it created. The Biafra side on the other hand found it difficult to purchase arms as the countries who supported it did not provide arms and ammunition. The heavy supply of weapons by Britain was the biggest factor in determining the outcome of the war.

Several peace accords, especially the one held at Aburi, Ghana (the Aburi Accord), collapsed and the shooting war soon followed. Ojukwu managed at Aburi to get agreement to a confederation for Nigeria, rather than a federation. He was warned by his advisers that this reflected a failure of Gowon to understand the difference and, that being the case, predicted that it would be reneged upon. When this happened, Ojukwu regarded it as both a failure by Gowon to keep to the spirit of the Aburi agreement, and lack of integrity on the side of the Nigerian Military Government in the negotiations toward a united Nigeria. Gowon's advisers, to the contrary, felt that he had enacted as much as was politically feasible in fulfillment of the spirit of Aburi.[59] The Eastern Region was very ill equipped for war, outmanned and outgunned by the Nigerians. Their advantages included fighting in their homeland, support of most Easterners, determination, and use of limited resources.

The UK-which still maintained the highest level of influence over Nigeria's highly valued oil industry through Shell-BP-[60] and the Soviet Union supported (especially militarily) the Nigerian government.- This was the main reason Nigeria won the war.

The Civil War
Shortly after extending its blockade to include oil, the Nigerian government launched a "police action" to retake the secessionist territory. The war began on 6 July 1967 when Nigerian Federal troops advanced in two columns into Biafra. The Nigerian army offensive was through the north of Biafra led by Colonel Shuwa and the local military units were formed as the 1st Infantry Division. The division was led mostly by northern officers. After facing unexpectedly fierce resistance and high casualties, the right-hand Nigerian column advanced on the town of Nsukka which fell on 14 July, while the left-hand column made for Garkem, which was captured on 12 July. At this stage of the war, the other regions of Nigeria (the West and Mid-West) still considered the war as a confrontation between the north (mainly Hausas) against the east (mainly Igbos). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Civil_War#War

una dey tire person for this NL oo, evriday na visit to d past wen Una wan visit d future? anybody dat wants to knw abt d war shld get books abt it n read.

Simple answer: Ibo greed and selfishness.


You can slice it and dice it anyhow but it comes down to this issues. It all started well before independence, with Zik (ibo) thinking he would rule over a large expanse of a country and had previously said that ibos were some special breed of humans whom their god (not the real God) of greed and selfishness had chosen to be rulers, would rule over the country. Zik passed on an alliance of a more intellectual, hardworking and forward looking West so as not to have to compete so hard for anything as he knew he was on a long thing and chose the North seeing he thought he could take advantage of a largely uneducated north (at that time) and they would simply hand him high office as PM! Well he lost out and ibo soldiers wanting to bring them into an advantage by force killed every leader from every other region, Ironsi took over leadership and destroyed Nigeria's federalism (regionalism) to unitary government by his infamous decree 34 against much advise to the contrary. With ibos ululating on their victory in the north, 6 months later the revenge coup put ibos on their knees with much killings in th north where ibos had been making fun of th northerners on th killings of their leaders. No do, no do, Ojukwu without good military knowledge and common sense, under the guise of protecting ibos declared Biafra taking all of today's Niger Delta (SS), marching across to the militarily neutral Mid West (Edo & Delta states) and annexing it. Then, he planned and launched his worst military offensive against the Yoruba West deploying several tens of thousands (maybe close to a hundred thousand or more) of fully armed soldiers to approach from Ore, breach the SW defences and march straight to Lagos (deep in the heart of Yorubaland), capture and destroy it and then await orders from Ojukwu on how the West will be governed. The order was a kill, no-capture and scorched earth policy all with the cover of "liberation" of the West.

Ojukwu and his ibos failed massively because less than 200 Nigerian soldiers mostly from the West set up a defence about 40 km from the borders of Ore and set up strategy to funnel them into the cold pass, at the bridge. There, waves after waves of biafran soldiers were destroyed until they fled. The NA finished the business by ensuring the total capitulation of Biafra and Ojukwu fled as a cross dressed woman to Abidjan.

Ruffychuks:
una dey tire person for this NL oo, evriday na visit to d past wen Una wan visit d future? anybody dat wants to knw abt d war shld get books abt it n read.

Without history, u won't be guided to a good future. Switch on Discovery channel...u will see world war ii history still being discussed.

So for us to move forward or backward in Nigeria, we need to discuss our history.

madamoringo:
Simple answer: Ibo greed.

Madam, can u pls follow history and stop commenting based on negative sentiment

The 1966 pogrom was the imminent cause of the Nigerian civil war.

humilitypays:
Madam, can u pls follow history and stop commenting based on negative sentiment

The 1966 pogrom was the imminent cause of the Nigerian civil war.

And what was the cause of the 1966 pogrom?

humilitypays:
Without history, u won't be guided to a good future. Switch on Discovery channel...u will see world war ii history still being discussed.

So for us to move forward or backward in Nigeria, we need to discuss our history.

why not use the search function when you want to discuss your history, instead of wasting gigabytes on somebody's forum?

wirinet:


And what was the cause of the 1966 pogrom?

please do tell us.

Ruffychuks:
una dey tire person for this NL oo, evriday na visit to d past wen Una wan visit d future?

Answer is blowing in the wind.

So the iboes caused and started the war? am sure they were beating their dry chest thinking nothing will happen, making fun of the notherners in the nothern region after the coup, i knw they must have declared north a no-man's land, also running to the southwest to capture it, only to be chased away with just 180 soldiers, yet they have still not learn their lessons

.

*wears my helmet and bodyarmor*
Am just here to observe

Ruffychuks:
una dey tire person for this NL oo, evriday na visit to d past wen Una wan visit d future? anybody dat wants to knw abt d war shld get books abt it n read.

he who knows no past will never have a future.

I smell blood all over this thread. Lemme put on my bullet proof vest coz this bloodbath fit no get part 2. I reserve my space.

IGBOS DREW THE FIRST BLOOD
Nzeogwu and his team of Igbo comrades murdered Nigeria’s top brass Hausa’s in that Coup. Prime minister, Tafawa Balewa, a federal minister and two top regional premiers were among those murdered.
Kaduna Nzeogwu’s Igbo squad killed he premier of the Northern and Western regions but of course left the Igbo Eastern premiere alive.
He killed the Finance minister, who was Nigeria’s #3 man, but left the number #2 man.
The coup started failing when the ethnic nature of it was noticed. Neogwu confronted Captain Isong, the second-in-command at the 1 Recce Squadron, on account of a rumor that Isong was allegedly spreading in the barracks about the ethnic coloration of the unfolding events.
Azikiwe was left alive.
In essence Kaduna Nzeogwu’ coup was not a coup against the establishment only, but a targeted ethnic war, waged by himself and his fellow Igbo patriots against the Hausa-Fulani, who he grew up and served with.
Nzeogwu assassinated very many top Northern brass. Included and very significant was the Sardauna of Sokoto who was shot dead with his wives too.

the igbo kill the hausa people. in a coup... and the north people kill them back and that was it.

gwales:
IGBOS DREW THE FIRST BLOOD
Nzeogwu and his team of Igbo comrades murdered Nigeria’s top brass Hausa’s in that Coup. Prime minister, Tafawa Balewa, a federal minister and two top regional premiers were among those murdered.
Kaduna Nzeogwu’s Igbo squad killed he premier of the Northern and Western regions but of course left the Igbo Eastern premiere alive.
He killed the Finance minister, who was Nigeria’s #3 man, but left the number #2 man.
The coup started failing when the ethnic nature of it was noticed. Neogwu confronted Captain Isong, the second-in-command at the 1 Recce Squadron, on account of a rumor that Isong was allegedly spreading in the barracks about the ethnic coloration of the unfolding events.
Azikiwe was left alive.
In essence Kaduna Nzeogwu’ coup was not a coup against the establishment only, but a targeted ethnic war, waged by himself and his fellow Igbo patriots against the Hausa-Fulani, who he grew up and served with.
Nzeogwu assassinated very many top Northern brass. Included and very significant was the Sardauna of Sokoto who was shot dead with his wives too.

That right there plus Ironsi's failure to punish the coup plotters (considering that ironsi, himself an igbo, was also beneficiary of the "failed" coup), this angered the North and triggered a vengeful counter-coup and unprecedented pogrom that in effect led to the civil war.

ketiy77:
the igbo kill the hausa people. in a coup... and the north people kill them back and that was it.

Musiwa

The north caused the war.

gwales:
IGBOS DREW THE FIRST BLOOD
Nzeogwu and his team of Igbo comrades murdered Nigeria’s top brass Hausa’s in that Coup. Prime minister, Tafawa Balewa, a federal minister and two top regional premiers were among those murdered.
Kaduna Nzeogwu’s Igbo squad killed he premier of the Northern and Western regions but of course left the Igbo Eastern premiere alive.
He killed the Finance minister, who was Nigeria’s #3 man, but left the number #2 man.
The coup started failing when the ethnic nature of it was noticed. Neogwu confronted Captain Isong, the second-in-command at the 1 Recce Squadron, on account of a rumor that Isong was allegedly spreading in the barracks about the ethnic coloration of the unfolding events.
Azikiwe was left alive.
In essence Kaduna Nzeogwu’ coup was not a coup against the establishment only, but a targeted ethnic war, waged by himself and his fellow Igbo patriots against the Hausa-Fulani, who he grew up and served with.
Nzeogwu assassinated very many top Northern brass. Included and very significant was the Sardauna of Sokoto who was shot dead with his wives too.

Nnamdi Azikiwe was not in the country when the coup happened. The coup failed because major Ifeajuna flopped in the south. Ironsi was singled out for elimination.

just

Frankenstein:
Nnamdi Azikiwe was not in the country when the coup happened. The coup failed because major Ifeajuna flopped in the south. Ironsi was singled out for elimination.

It's believed that Zik was cousins with Ifeajuna who tipped him off ahead of time about the coup so he conveniently "traveled" out of the country before they struck.

OduaVanguard:


It's believed that Zik was cousins with Ifeajuna who tipped him off ahead of time about the coup so he conveniently "traveled" out of the country before they struck.

It was believed? We are not here to discuss 'It was believed'.
Do you know that a Yoruba was among the plotters of the coup. If the whole idea was for Igbo domination, why did they add the release of Awolowo from detention to their plan?

Frankenstein:
It was believed? We are not here to discuss 'It was believed'.
Do you know that a Yoruba was among the plotters of the coup. If the whole idea was for Igbo domination, why did they add the release of Awolowo from detention to their plan?

Let's assume am wrong (even though I am correct about zik's affiliation with ifeajuna), what about Michael Okpara the then premier of the Eastern Region ? He was in the country, so why did they spare him while they murdered the Northern and Western premiers?

OduaVanguard:


Let's assume am wrong (even though I am correct about zik's affiliation with ifeajuna), what about Michael Okpara the then premier of the Eastern Region ? He was in the country, so why did they spare him while they murdered the Northern and Western premiers?

Ironsi overpowered Ifeajuna in the south before he could complete his part. There was an Igbo casualty in that coup. Their aim was to put Awo who was imprisoned by the Balewa government in charge.

OduaVanguard:


Let's assume am wrong (even though I am correct about zik's affiliation with ifeajuna), what about Michael Okpara the then premier of the Eastern Region ? He was in the country, so why did they spare him while they murdered the Northern and Western premiers?

As for Ademoyega's participation, he was very foolish not to have discerned the clear ethnic coloration of the victim selection by his fellow coupists. Wasn't he eventually executed by Ojukwu at the start of the civil war? He was a fool and a pawn. Simple and short.

I don't think you have read a book about the coup. Okay, did you know that the counter-coup was aimed against Ironsi's unification plan and it was supposed to lead to the total pullout of the northern region from the country. But they later changed that primary objective.

The pogrom was meant to sweep north clean of all the Igbos there in order to set the stage for a successful secession.

After losing the political game of 1964 to the North and Akintola NNDC alliance, the Ibos sought to gain power through the backdoor of a coup de tat

4 Premiers in Nigeria
2 Ibos, 2 non Ibos

The 2 non Ibos were killed, the 2 Ibos were spared in a coup led by mainly soldiers of Ibo origin

Frankenstein:
There was an Igbo casualty in that coup.

That casualty was Col. Arthur Unegbe, but his death was more or less circumstantial and happened as a result of his closeness to Brig. Maimalari (one of the victims of that unfortunate coup) -- he was shot and killed to avoid him raising the alarm after Maimalari's was killed.

Now, you can't compare Unegbe's death to Ahmadu Bello (Northern Region Premiere), Balewa (Prime Minister), Akintola (Western Region Premier) and Okotie-Eboh's (Finance Minister) coz Unegbe wasn't an original target of the coupists, unlike the aforementioned high-profile ones.

In my honest opinion and based on my understanding of the events surrounding that coup, it wasn't originally planned to exclusively target non-igbo leaders, but along the line ethnic sentiments creeped in as some of the plotters decided to exclude and spare the igbo targets. That explains why Zik (the President) and Michael Okpara (the Eastern Region Premier) were spared while the others were butchered.

Frankenstein:
It was believed? We are not here to discuss 'It was believed'.
Do you know that a Yoruba was among the plotters of the coup. If the whole idea was for Igbo domination, why did they add the release of Awolowo from detention to their plan?

Thanks for that very very much.i always laugh when i see people claiming they are discussing history but they know nothing,especially dose pointin accusing fingers at the igbos.It's better they go and reand BIAFRA STORY By FEDERICK FORSYTH,A real life story.

The whole country was simply drunk on Igbophobia. That's the cause the war. Anyother reason they give you is to camouflage this fact.

Akintola death helped stabilize Yorubaland, it enabled Awo to once again unite the Yoruba speaking people. Without Akintola's death, Yorubas would have never had a United front, Awo would have rot in prison, and Awoist won't agree to bend for Akintola who was perceived as a sell out to the North, by the Yorubas. Akintola's death was beneficial to Yorubaland, if they want to be honest to themselves.


The far North claimed that they so much loved Balewa and were killing Ndiigbo for his death, but how about the Tivs and Idomas? What's their excuse for killing innocent Igbos that ran to Benue state, was Tor of Tiv/ Ochi Idoma killed by Igbos too, or was Balewa their revered leader too?

The root cause of the civil war was Igbophobia, planted by Tribal leaders of Nigerian groups and allowed to grow by the Igbo elites who did nothing to counter those lies.