Someone said, "I love Biafra" and I'm sitting here thinking what exactly is Biafra? The name gained attention in 27th May 1967, just before the declaration of the Sovereign Republic of Biafra. (even now, it represents the desired independence of the igbo people).

I looked into some old documents and it seems the name first came up in a map produced by John Mitchell around 1755. Where did he get this name from? Does anybody here know?

Nobody knows?

food4tot:
Someone said, "I love Biafra" and I'm sitting here thinking what exactly is Biafra? The name gained attention in 27th May 1967, just before the declaration of the Sovereign Republic of Biafra. (even now, it represents the desired independence of the igbo people).

I looked into some old documents and it seems the name first came up in a map produced by John Mitchell around 1755. Where did he get this name from? Does anybody here know?

The origin of the word Biafra has been debated a long time. Some people say the word came from Cameroon. Others say it is from the Portuguese. There are others who say that ancient maps say it used to cover the area now known as South/South and South East along with some parts of Cameroon. What is not in doubt is that the "Bight Of Biafra" has been in existence long before there was anything called Nigeria.

The important thing to note and know, is why Ojukwu chose that word as the new name of the country he was about to declare. Much of 1966 was not a good year for Nigeria. There were two coups, fighting, pogroms, massacres and distrust. So in January 1967, the President of Ghana, General Joe Ankrah invited the military leaders of Nigeria to his Hilltop mansion in Aburi, Ghana, to resolve the issues. The main contending forces were Lt Colonel Gowon(Military head of state) and Lt Colonel Ojukwu(Military Governor Of the Eastern Region).

They met and signed an agreement that is now known as the Aburi accord. However, when the returned to Nigeria, Gowon started refusing to implement what they signed. Things came to a head in May 1967 when Gowon overturned the Aburi agreement with Decree 14. So Ojukwu summoned a meeting of all the traditional rulers and leaders of the Eastern Region in Enugu where Ojukwu told them that since Gowon had gone back on Aburi, what should be done next?

They held a meeting and advised Ojukwu to declare the Eastern Region a separate country. One of the participants of the meeting and district head of Yenagoa province, Frank Opigo, suggested to Ojukwu that the name of the new country should be "Biafra" because of the Bight of Biafra. It was also found out that the word Biafra meant something in the major languages of the Eastern Region

In Ijaw, Biafra means "water flow" and Ijaws are known for living where water flows.

In Igbo, Bia-fra roughly means "come together"

I forget what it means in Ibibio

So based on all these reasons, Ojukwu chose the name Biafra and the rest is history

gidgiddy:


The origin of the word Biafra has been debated a long time. Some people say the word came from Cameroon. Others say it is from the Portuguese. There are others who say that ancient maps say it used to cover the area now known as South/South and South East along with some parts of Cameroon. What is not in doubt is that the "Bight Of Biafra" has been in existence long before there was anything called Nigeria.

The important thing to note and know, is why Ojukwu chose that word as the new name of the country he was about to declare. Much of 1966 was not a good year for Nigeria. There were two coups, fighting, pogroms, massacres and distrust. So in January 1967, the President of Ghana, General Joe Ankrah invited the military leaders of Nigeria to his Hilltop mansion in Aburi, Ghana, to resolve the issues. The main contending forces were Lt Colonel Gowon(Military head of state) and Lt Colonel Ojukwu(Military Governor Of the Eastern Region).

They met and signed an agreement that is now known as the Aburi accord. However, when the returned to Nigeria, Gowon started refusing to implement what they signed. Things came to a head in May 1967 when Gowon overturned the Aburi agreement with Decree 14. So Ojukwu summoned a meeting of all the traditional rulers and leaders of the Eastern Region in Enugu where Ojukwu told them that since Gowon had gone back on Aburi, what should be done next?

They held a meeting and advised Ojukwu to declare the Eastern Region a separate country. One of the participants of the meeting and district head of Yenagoa province, Frank Opigo, suggested to Ojukwu that the name of the new country should be "Biafra" because of the Bight of Biafra. It was also found out that the word Biafra meant something in the major languages of the Eastern Region

In Ijaw, Biafra means "water flow" and Ijaws are known for living where water flows.

In Igbo, Bia-fra roughly means "come together"

I forget what it means in Ibibio

So based on all these reasons, Ojukwu chose the name Biafra and the rest is history

Interesting to know that the word has a meaning in Ijaw and Igbo.

I also found this

Manuel Álvares (1526–1583), a Portuguese Jesuit educator, in his work “Ethiopia Minor and a geographical account of the Province of Sierra Leone”, writes about the “Biafar heathen” in chapter 13 of the same book. The word Biafar thus appears to have been a common word in the Portuguese language back in the 16th century.

https://elombah.com/the-origin-of-biafra-by-darren-idongesit/

[quote author=gidgiddy post=98872381]

The origin of the word Biafra has been debated a long time. Some people say the word came from Cameroon. Others say it is from the Portuguese. There are others who say that ancient maps say it used to cover the area now known as South/South and South East along with some parts of Cameroon. What is not in doubt is that the "Bight Of Biafra" has been in existence long before there was anything called Nigeria.

The important thing to note and know, is why Ojukwu chose that word as the new name of the country he was about to declare. Much of 1966 was not a good year for Nigeria. There were two coups, fighting, pogroms, massacres and distrust. So in January 1967, the President of Ghana, General Joe Ankrah invited the military leaders of Nigeria to his Hilltop mansion in Aburi, Ghana, to resolve the issues. The main contending forces were Lt Colonel Gowon(Military head of state) and Lt Colonel Ojukwu(Military Governor Of the Eastern Region)oga Biafra mean nothing in ijaw