Almost fifty years after the war that nearly broke up Nigeria, Biafra is rising again out of the dust and it is bringing to life some dead and forgotten truths and facts about the war. Some theories of secession emphasize a general right of secession for any reason (“Choice Theory”) while others emphasize that secession should be considered only to rectify grave injustices (“Just Cause Theory”). It is therefore on the basis of one or both of these theories that some nations decided to break out from being under one rule. Pakistan and Bangladesh broke out of India, Sudan separated into South Sudan and Sudan, and the Kingdom of Malaya too had its own issues leading to the division of the country into different countries called Singapore and Malaysia. Having fought and lost the first time, Biafra is citing grave injustice as its major reason for resurrecting its agenda of breakout and preparing to fight for succession.


Who are Biafrans?
When you talk about Biafrans you are referring to the inhabitants of the South-East Nigeria who were mostly the Igbos. The group pursued their desire for secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions among the various people of Nigeria. Biafra as a territory existed long before the amalgamation and independence of Nigeria as a republic but it will be said that the group fully came to lime light in May 30 1967 when it publicly declared her secession from the binding forces of the federal Republic of Nigeria. The Biafran nation had a total number of 25 provinces covering the following Nigerian States: Abia, Anambara, Delta, Ebonyi, Imo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River with Enugu state serving as its capital.

Little is known about the literal meaning of the word Biafra. But it is widely believed that the word Biafra is likely derived from the subgroup Biafar or Biafada of the Tenda ethnic group who reside primarily in Guinea-Bissau. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu who was then the military governor of the Eastern Region and also seen by the Igbo People as “the man in power”, was mandated by the consultative Assembly of the Biafrans, to declare the Eastern Nigeria a free sovereign and independent state by the name and tittle “the Republic of Biafra”. As a nation that is ready for independence, the new group had its flag whose colors are Red, Black and Green. The color combination is sometimes called Panafrican colors. Red stands for the enthusiasm and sacrifice-willingness of the people and for the struggle for independence and giving blood, black stands for the people and its endurance, and green for the fruitfulness of the land. It also has a currency of its own called the Biafran Pounds and Shilling, a National Anthem and Pledge.

The Biafran War: A Brief Description

The Biafran war which convulsed the country for a period of 30 months was a collective tragedy that brought the Nigerian Nation on the brink of disintegration and also left in a trail of reckless destruction of millions of lives and property in Nigeria. As earlier stated, the war; sparked off as a result of economic, ethnic, cultural and religious crises mainly between Northern and Eastern Nigeria. In an attempt to seize power in January 15 1966, some group of military officers who were mainly

This coup, though poorly carried out, was seen as a plot against the Northern region and hence the urge for retaliation became eminent. By July 29, 1966, a counter coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Murtala Muhammed and several other Northern officers saw the deadly destruction of the Igbo people. It was gathered that not less than 30,000 Igbos were killed. People like Major-General J.T.U. Aguyi-Ironsi who was then the Head of State, Col. Francis Adekunle Fajuyi who was the Military Governor of the Western region and other military officers saw their end during the counter coup.
Having recounted series of killings of her people by the Northerners, first in the 1945 and 1953 massacres at Jos and Kano respectively, the second in July 1966, Biafrans finally chose the part of independence from their mother country Nigeria. The federal government under the newly sworn in military leader Lieutenant Colonel (later General) Yakubu ‘Jack’ Gowon chose not to give room for secession of any group because it may stir up other groups to fight for independence hence leading to the total destruction of the nation’s unity, and so came the war which started from the 6th of July 1967 and lasted until 15th January 1970.


The Biafran War: Lesser known Facts


The following is the list of Lesser known facts about Biafra and the Biafran war.

· The Biafrans viewed Nigeria then under Military dictatorship as a neocolonial state under the “Iron grasp of its former Colonial master – Britain”
· The summit of military leaders at Aburi, Ghana, in January 1967 which was aimed at resolving the disagreements and recommended the establishment of a base confederation of regions turned out to be a source of contention between the government of Nigeria and the Biafrans
· In order to weaken the strength of the East and to keep to a unified Nigerian country, 12 states were created in May 27, 1967
· One of the immediate reasons for the first-coup was nationwide disillusionment with the corrupt and selfish politicians, as well as their inability to maintain law and order and guarantee the safety of lives and property.
· During the course of the war, the Federal Government received military aide from Britain USA and partly from Israel while the Biafrans gained support from France and later Israel. Other equipment like the Red Devil and other war ships used by the Biafrans in the war were produced through the ingenuity of Biafran engineers and soldiers.
· The Biafrans went through the 30 months war on hunger and starvation while the Nigerian soldiers enjoyed rapid promotion and pay increase throughout the war.
· The capture of the provincial capital of Owerri, (one of the last Biafran strongholds) by the Nigerian forces and the disappearance of Ojukwu to Ivory Coast, led to the total surrender the Biafran Nation on January 11, 1970.
· Several Nigerians took great steps in ensuring that the war was suspended. One of them is Wole Soyinka who visited the Eastern Region Military Governor Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in Enugu in August 1967 to try to avert war and as a result, he was put in solitary confinement for about two years.
· The end of the war saw the death of 1-3 million civilians and over 50,000 casualties of military soldiers from both the Nigerian military and the Biafran warriors.


Source: http://www.hygist.com/2015/11/the-truths-you-should-know-about-biafra.html

lalasticlala

We're on mid semester break . I cant read this biko

igbos dnt knw it and u knw it....well i didn't read dat trash...buh sori 2 disppoint u, it's 2 late....

Just mention one thing you wrote up there that isn't common knowledge already.
Just one.

mtcheeeew

I love this alo o. down the memory lane.

Zeedarh:
We're on mid semester break . I cant read this biko

hmmm only in OAU Shey? I tire oooo

Biafra is sh*t

Nigeria have never and will never manufacture even cutlass, we built and we will continue to build, lazy Nigerians are only good on bed that's why the marry four wife's and above very lazy people

sharawwy:
Biafra is sh*t

THAT'S WHY YOU GUYS WILL ALWAYS BEG FOR LOANS AND BAILOUT.

Now, after all this, was the war worth it?

BAILOUT.

This is the age of information and our generation know way too much. The Nigeria government assisted woefully by the British, Russia and Egypt, went on a genocidal mission against the Biafrans and as a result; 3.5 million Biafrans lost their lives. Nigeria fought to protect the British interest. It was all about oil..

Esa rora.....una just dey shout split split,una be split AC?
AK 47 and bullet no be alcoholic drink for war o,no be akpu and isi ewu.

OP u need to buckle up.

kernel504:


THAT'S WHY YOU GUYS WILL ALWAYS BEG FOR LOANS AND BAILOUT.

gerara here mehn!!!

the cold blood between yeebos & hausas could have been avoided if not for the yeebos major Nzeogwu that killed a northern leader and still bragged about it...

they are always quick to act... but when the repercussion comes.... they cry

eziokwu toluatoo



Umuchineke na ekwunu eziokwu

Ariyke:
hmmm only in OAU Shey? I tire oooo

Abi nah...me sef tire

[size=14pt]WHY NIGERIANS INSULT THE IDEA OF "BIAFRA"

[/size]

@op please stop deciving Nigerians, Delta state and Rivers was never and will never be part of Biafra.

Issac boro and co were never Biafrans, so shove your stupid article into your anus.

Biafrans are located only in the Eastern part of Nigeria, other Biafrans scattered in Nigeria was as a result of the Biafran war.

OK..

Biri kam'mbiri.
LIVE and LET'S LIVE

I'm still waiting for the lesser known facts about Biafra. Every 15 years old Nigerian already know what you posted.

flokii:
the cold blood between yeebos & hausas could have been avoided if not for the yeebos major Nzeogwu that killed a northern leader and still bragged about it...

they are always quick to act... but when the repercussion comes.... they cry

Nzeogwu and his gang of naive majors destroyed Nigeria. Black Africans have a problem; that's how Patrice Lumumba got himself killed in the name of fighting for freedom.

sharawwy:
gerara here mehn!!!

YOU ARE TRUELY FUNNY, CHAI !

deleted

Zeedarh:
We're on mid semester break . I cant read this biko

Lol, aswear... I even tried to start, my eyes just shut down. Very long story

author=jaylister post=40791845]

Biafra as a territory existed long before the amalgamation and independence of Nigeria as a republic but it will be said that the group fully came to lime light in May 30 1967 when it publicly declared her secession from the binding forces of the federal Republic of Nigeria. The Biafran nation had a total number of 25 provinces covering the following Nigerian States: Abia, Anambara, Delta, Ebonyi, Imo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River with Enugu state serving as its capital.

S!lly bloggers, there was no region called "Biafra" before the 1967 pronouncement, our present day Gulf of Guinea in part was called "Bight of Biafra". Biafra was adopted as a name for mostly south easterners in 1967.

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu who was then the military governor of the Eastern Region and also seen by the Igbo People as “the man in power”, was mandated by the consultative Assembly of the Biafrans, to declare the Eastern Nigeria a free sovereign and independent state by the name and tittle “the Republic of Biafra”.

The last legitimate assembly that existed in the east was dissolved in 1966 as a fall out of the coup of the 5 majors, there was no existing assembly let alone one to issue any mandate to Ojukwu, recall that no member of the so called assembly was represented in the Aburi conference where ojukwu proposed confederation as his solution for peace.
How could they have mandated Ojukwu to declare what they were not privy of? some unscrupulous historians have written series of fallacies to give legitimacy to Ojukwu's struggle by making it seem like a unanimous agreement, I don't blame you much because you are likely a victim of their lies.
The resistance Ojukwu met in the hands of our present Niger delta points to the fact that there was "NEVER" a unanimous agreement to declare Biafra.

· The Biafrans viewed Nigeria then under Military dictatorship as a neocolonial state under the “Iron grasp of its former Colonial master – Britain”

Perceptions/feelings of a group of people or individuals can not be peddled as a fact, Igbos (Biafrans by extension) felt that the North was favored by the British but they quickly forgot that there was an election were several positions were justled for, secondly, Igbos had adequate representation in government at the time so people like us consider those perceptions as immaterial.

· The summit of military leaders at Aburi, Ghana, in January 1967 which was aimed at resolving the disagreements and recommended the establishment of a base confederation of regions turned out to be a source of contention between the government of Nigeria and the Biafrans

The Aburi conference was where both sides came to a round table to iron issues out and chart a way forward, first, Biafra had only ojukwu and his secretary as their representative while the Nigerian side had 31, including the 21 members of the supreme military council and people who make up our present day FEC.
With this arrangement, Ojukwu's demands was NEVER agreed upon by a vast majority of Biafrans, recall that the Governor general at the time was an Igbo man yet Ojukwu in his infinite wisdom chose to exclude him and presented his phoney demands alone.
Even at that, gowon did not completely renege on the Aburi terms, immediately he returned, he drafted decree 8 which i am sure most of you have no idea that decree 8 accommodated about 90% of Ojukwu's Aburi phoney demands.
the only part Ojukwu disagreed with was where decree 8 states that when necessary, the FG can declare a state of emergency which automatically will suspend the governor, Ojukwu felt it was a plot by Gowon to remove him as governor installed by his igbo Brother Aguiyi ironsi. In a nut shell, the Aburi accord failed largely because ojukwu was unreasonable.
If he accepted the terms of decree 8, there will be no need for any Biafra and the senseless war that ensued....that is the fact I am aware of!!

· In order to weaken the strength of the East and to keep to a unified Nigerian country, 12 states were created in May 27, 1967

This is not a statement of fact, it is only an individual wearing an Igbo lens will make such allegation. recall that the mandate which empowered Gowon to create those 12 states was the famous decree 34 promulgated by Aguiyi Ironsi from the eastern region, are you implying that Aguiyi wanted to weaken his region? as a matter of fact, if Ironsi had lived another 6 months, he would have created the states himself.
The northern region was balkanized into 5 states, the west 4 and the East 3. going by your statement the north was more weakened than any other region.
Rightly put the states were created to weaken all the regions not necessarily the eastern region.

· During the course of the war, the Federal Government received military aide from Britain USA and partly from Israel while the Biafrans gained support from France and later Israel. Other equipment like the Red Devil and other war ships used by the Biafrans in the war were produced through the ingenuity of Biafran engineers and soldiers.

It was a war everyone got help, Ivory coast helped Biafra so did gabon etc, outside the "Ogbunigwe" (Biafran improvised explosive) I am not privy to any other ingenious "invention" of the Biafrans, I understand clearly that necessity brings innovation however, i do not think that modifying existing war relics to fit for purpose is an invention.

· The Biafrans went through the 30 months war on hunger and starvation while the Nigerian soldiers enjoyed rapid promotion and pay increase throughout the war.

Hunger started after Biafran lost Bonny, Calabar then rivers to Nigeria being their access to the sea that should be in the 12th or 13th month not the entire 30 months.