Nearly
50 years after the Biafran War (July 6, 1967 – January 15, 1970) which almost
destroyed the unity of Nigeria, its agitators have refused to give up the
struggle. This struggle by some Igbo people to secede from Nigeria started when
on May 30, 1967, late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a military officer and
politician announced a breakaway of the Eastern Region under the new name
Republic of Biafra. This subsequently sparked the Nigerian civil war also known
as the Biafran war. The war was between the then Eastern Region of Nigeria and
the rest of the country. The war was fought to reunify the country. Below are
some thing you should know about Biafra and the Biafran war.
1. Meaning of Biafra:
Little is known about the literal meaning of the word Biafra. The word Biafra
most likely derives from the subgroup Biafar or Biafada of the Tenda ethnic
group who reside primarily in Guinea-Bissau. The word Biafar thus appears to
have been a common word in the Portuguese language back in the 16th century.
Biafra, a secessionist state in south eastern Nigeria is believed to have taken
its name from the Bight of Biafra (the Atlantic bay to its south).
2. What caused the war: According
to local and foreign war historians the immediate causes of the Nigeria civil
war in 1966 included: a military coup (carried out by Maj. Nzeogwu which led to
the death of Tafawa Belewa, etc), a counter-coup (led by Gowon, which led to
the brutal murder of Aguiyi Ironsi, Fajuyi, etc) and the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom
in the north (persecution of Igbo people living in Northern Nigeria).
3. Over one million people died in the
war:
The war which lasted for 30 months took the lives of more than one million
people. Some died in the battle while others were lost majorly through famine,
and hunger. There were over 50,000 casualties of soldiers both from Biafran
side and the Nigerian military.
4. The Biafran money:
The
Biafran money The Biafran government created the Bank of Biafra, accomplished
under “Decree No. 3 of 1967”. The bank was administered by a governor and four
directors; the first governor, who signed on bank notes, was Sylvester Ugoh.
They had their own currency different from that of Nigeria. The currency of
Biafra had been the Nigerian pound, until the Bank of Biafra started printing
out its own notes, the Biafran pound. The new currency went public on 28
January 1968. It is estimated that a total of £115–140 million Biafran pounds
were in circulation by the end of the war. Watch the November 6 protest on
Onitsha bridge against the detention of Radio Biafra director, Nnamdi Kanu (the
article continues below): The Nigerian Government at the end of the war ordered
defeated Biafrans to destroy all their currencies.
5. Their national anthem:
Land of the Rising Sun” was the proclaimed national anthem of the secessionist
state of Biafra, in south-eastern Nigeria. The tune was adopted from Sibelius’
“Finlandia”, and written by Nnamdi Azikiwe.
6. The flag: A flag of red, black and green, horizontally, with a
rising sun from the Coat of Arms (of the old Eastern Province) in gold in the
centre was created by the Biafran Government and raised on May 30, 1967. The
design and colours are based on the Pan-African flag designed by Marcus
Garvey’s Union. The eleven rays of the sun represented the eleven provinces of
Biafra. The Biafran flag The three Pan-African colors on the flag represent:
Red: the blood that unites all people of Black African ancestry, and shed for
liberation; Black: black people whose existence as a nation, though not a
nation-state, is affirmed by the existence of the flag; Green: the abundant
natural wealth of Africa.
7. States under Biafra:
It constituted the former
Eastern region of Nigeria and was inhabited principally by Igbo (Ibo) people.
Biafra has been commonly divided into four main “tribes”: the Igbos, the
Ibibio-Efiks, the Ijaws and the Ogojas. The modern-day states that make up
Biafra from the eastern region and midwest are: Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom,
Bayelsa, Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Delta, Rivers and Cross River, Igbanke in Edo
state and southern part of Benue state. Edo.
8. How they got their arms and
ammunitions: The Biafrans, through many of their
people abroad, mounted a very strong campaign and propaganda for the
recognition of Biafra by the international community and for the purchase of
arms and equipment. Biafra was recognised by countries like, Tanzania, Zambia,
Gabon, Ivory Coast, Haiti and Côte d’Ivoire. However, Britain supplied amounts
of heavy weapons and ammunition to the Nigerian side because of its desire to
preserve the country it created.
9. How Nigerian military captured
Biafran territories back: In March 1968, Onitsha fell to
federal troops of the 2nd Infantry Division, after many bloody unsuccessful
attempts. In April, Abakaliki was captured, followed in May by the fall of Port
Harcourt to troops of the 3rd Marine Commando Division. Aba fell to federal
forces on September 4th followed on September 16th by Owerri and Okigwe was
taken on October 1st.
10. How the war ended:
Biafran forces were finally routed in a series of engagements in late December
1969 and early January 1970. Realising that the situation was a hopeless one,
Ojukwu handed over the administration of Biafra to the Commander Biafran Army
Maj. Gen. Phillip Effiong. He then fled with his immediate family to Côte
d’Ivoire. Effiong consulted with the Biafra Strategic Committee on the
situation and they decided that enough was enough and that the only honorable
way out was to surrender. Biafra, on the point of total collapse, surrendered
and ceased to exist.
source: naij.com
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