The Nigerian civil war was fought to reintegrate and unify the country not to annihilate or to disparage a certain tribe as claimed by many.
The Nation of Nigeria, as it is known today, has never really been one homogeneous country, for it's widely differing peoples, tribes and cultures. This obvious fact notwithstanding, the former colonial master decided to keep the country one in order to effectively control her vital resources for their economic interests. Thus, for administrative control the Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated in 1914. Thereafter the only thing this people had in common was the name of their country since each side had different administrative set - up.This alone was an insufficient basis for true unity and stability. Under normal circumstances the amagalmation ought to have brought the various peoples together and provided a firm basis for the arduous task of establishing closer cultural, social, religious, and linguistic ties vital for true unity among the people. There was obvious division, hatred, unhealthy rivalry, and pronounced disparity in development.
The Nigerian Civil War broke out on 6 July 1967. The war was the culmination of an uneasy peace and stability that had plagued the Nation from independence in 1960. This situation had its genesis in the history and culture of Nigeria. The immediate cause of the civil war itself may be identified as the coup and the counter coup of 1966 which altered the political equation and destroyed the fragile trust existing among the major ethnic groups. As a means of holding the country together in the last result, the country was divided into twelve states from the original four regions in May 1967. The former Eastern Region under Lt. Col. Ojukwu saw the act of the creation of states by decree "without consultation" as the last straw, and declared the Region an independent state of "Biafra". The Federal Government in Lagos saw this as an act of secession and illegal. Several meetings were held to resolve the issue peacefully without success. To avoid disintegration of the country, the central government was left with only one choice of bringing back the Region to the main fold by force.The Federal side expected a quick victory while the Biafrans saw the war as that of survival and were ready to fight to the last man.
The self - acclaimed Head of State of Biafra, Lt. Col. Ojukwu, realizing the hopelessness of the situation fled the enclave with his immediate family members on the 10th of January 1970. The Commander of the Biafran Army who took over the administration of the remaining enclave surrendered to the Federal Government on 14th January 1970 bringing an end to the war, secessionist attempt and bloodshed.
Several lessons were learnt from the war and these have helped in the unification, political, military and economical progress of the country.
Recruitment of soldiers into the Nigerian Army was based on ethnic quota system. Under this system Northern Nigeria provided 60%, Eastern and Western Nigeria 15% each and Mid - Western Nigeria 10%. The standard of entry into the Army was as well lowered to favor the Northerners. As a result the North in 1966 had the absolute majority within the rank and file of the Army.
What seems to me a human tragedy all through ages is the inability of man to learn a good lesson from the past so as to avoid the pitfall of those who had gone before. There is also the innate and unconscious desire of man to remain oblivious of the lessons of the past.
The war had come and gone. The story of the war and what led to it has been told, is being told and will continue to be told. However, there are exceptions of nations and men who had learnt from history to avoid collective and individual disasters or a repetition of such disasters.
Nnamdi Kanu became a beacon of light, after the demise of the great leader Lt Odimegwu Ojukwu. He became a voice clamoring for Biafra. But men like Nnamdi Kanu should have known better than agitating for soveringty through violence.
Ideas not bullets win wars.
The east should focus more on human development, rather than invest massively in lagos and Abuja dedicate those wealth in actually making the eastern region the Japan of Africa
the dredging of the river niger will enable easy passage of cargo ships and boats to the northern parts of the country and will indeed open up the South-Eastern region ,a commercial seaport setup would inadvertently ease the over reliance on lagos sea ports..
With the Delta State Government constructing an International and cargo Airport in Asaba, which if completed will serve the commercial needs of the entire Igbo; it will also be wise if the south Easterners cogitate on constructing a sea port at the Onitsha end of the River Niger. We must not bury ourselves in cheap excuses because we know that with today’s technology in place, anything is achievable, as we have seen landlocked nations artificially create rivers.
Brains not bullets.
Olastouch..com

Bros so the nigerian civil war was to keep Nigeria one, how come the asaba massacre?