[49][114] The Nigerian soldiers who were supposed to defend the Mid-West state were mostly Mid-West Igbo and, while some were in touch with their eastern counterparts, others resisted. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. No matter where you are, if you say you are a soldier people look at you with less suspicion.”. [103], Although the very young nation had a chronic shortage of weapons to go to war, it was determined to defend itself. The only condition would be that Ojukwu should step down, and I said, ‘If he steps down, who is going to take over from him?’ He said that I would take over. Marginalisation comes from the military constitution which we are still using today. The incomprehensible love note I received from the social media giant made about as much sense as saying ’It ain’t over till it’s over’, Following US elections, the task will be to unify a fragmented society and regain the ability to rise above the differences for the common welfare, Absentee ballot: Living the US election from Israel, All politicians may lie and lay blame for their own failings, but the past 4 years have not been ’business as usual’; they’ve taken a real toll, even at a distance, What my concussion means for Israeli democracy, My attacker was emboldened by society’s tolerance for endemic violence against women and motivated by the PM’s divisive cult of personality, Where is the patriotic decency of the Senate Republicans? The Centre allowed Ojukwu to purchase arms directly from European arms dealers. In response to the Nigerian government using foreigners to lead some advances, the Biafran government also began hiring foreign mercenaries to extend the war. 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. Israel sought to maintain correct relations with the Federal Government of Nigeria, which viewed as a hostile act any support rendered to the Biafran separatists. When I suggested that many young men in present times opt for the army as a last resort, he politely disagreed. [117], As Nigerian forces retook the Mid-West, the Biafran military administrator declared the Republic of Benin on 19 September, though it ceased to exist the next day. After he flipped through the pages of the copy of his book which I came with, he said, “I want to see if it is pirated.” We spoke for half an hour and he recollected the challenges he had in publishing his book. You see, the sort of impression one gets of all these is that MASSOB, IPOB, are nothing but cults. Walking over to the front door, I heard a voice speaking from the sitting room. [52] However, the Igbo and other Biafran people actively took to Western education, and they overwhelmingly came to adopt Christianity. Strategically, its interests aligned with the Federal Military Government, although there was considerable popular sentiment in support of Biafra. Opening the tank cover, the passenger, assisted by the driver, was cautiously lowered into the icy water. Its facilities had been damaged and needed repair. Amidst this press blitz, on 31 July 1968, De Gaulle made an official statement in support of Biafra. If you try something two-three-four times and it doesn’t work, try something else, you see?”. As with the case of the January coup-plotters, Ironsi handled the developing situation poorly. It was co-founded by journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and US hedge fund manager Seth Klarman. Only a few days earlier, Ojukwu fled into exile by plane to the Ivory Coast, leaving his deputy Philip Effiong to handle the details of the surrender to General Yakubu Gowon of the Federal Army on 13 January 1970. The Biafran towns of Owerri fell on 9 January, and Uli on 11 January. Further feelings of injustice were caused by Nigeria changing its currency, so that Biafran supplies of pre-war Nigerian currency were no longer honoured. These parties were not exclusively homogeneous in terms of their ethnic or regional make-up; the disintegration of Nigeria resulted largely from the fact that these parties were primarily based in one region and one tribe. NY: Putnam, p. 176, Farran, Roy. It was in the course of fleeing from the boiling North that Madiebo boarded the goods train and eluded the death which soldiers he once commanded were now more than willing to serve him. Biafra was a resistance against possible extinction of the Igbo. I had wanted my day in court in 2017, but the military response tells me that the rule of law in Nigeria has collapsed. The guest obliges and heads for another room. The Biafran air attacks did disrupt the combat operations of the Nigerian Air Force, but only for a few months. The completion in 1969 of a new terminal at Forçados brought production up from 142,000 barrels/day in 1958 to 540,000 barrels/day in 1969. [86] He also preferentially released northern politicians from jail (enabling them to plan his forthcoming overthrow). (AFP PHOTO / STEFAN HEUNIS), A boy dances during Shabbat celebration gathering Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) militants and members of the Yahveh Yashua Synagogue (Yisraelities Biafra Region) outside the house of the movement’s leader Nnamdi Kanu, in Umuahai on May 27, 2017. "People were being killed and he felt no one was doing anything. "In May and early June 1968, protests and general strikes in France prevented de Gaulle, Foccart or any other French official from following the situation in Biafra. "[citation needed]. Interestingly, the new Mid-Western Region, dominated by minorities also had prospects for oil exploration.". I came back to my home country in October 2015 to try to help bring an end to the violence and persecution by peaceful means. While their 15th January coup succeeded in seizing political control in the north, it failed in the south, especially in the Lagos-Ibadan-Abeokuta military district where loyalist troops led by army commander Johnson Aguyi-Ironsi succeeded in crushing the revolt. Only a few times he came to my office; I am a senior officer to him anyway. [49][50], In the West, the missionaries rapidly introduced Western forms of education. He spoke Hausa better than majority of the Northerners. Levey, Zach. The Biafra war was fought to counter the secession of Biafra from Nigeria, Biafra: 50 years on and the violence continues, take land from Biafra and give it to Fulani, burning down of houses by Nigerian Police in Abia State, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. [106] Nigerian soldiers under Murtala Mohammed carried out a mass killing of 700 civilians when they captured Asaba on the River Niger. The military continues to be a dangerous profession, there is no doubt about it and, for me, I may have escaped death very narrowly about ten times or more; I have seen death inches away. I was determined to be there. I was told they had all congregated in my mother’s room when the soldiers broke in. He introduced the Count to a Canadian method of dropping bagged supplies to remote areas in Canada without losing the contents. We are at the dawn of national reconciliation. There were also wide-spread reports of fraud during Nigeria's first census,[55] and even today population remains a highly political issue in Nigeria. [219][220] The federal Nigerian army is accused of further atrocities including deliberate bombing of civilians, mass slaughter with machine guns, and rape. SAFRAP (a French oil company) is exploring for oil in Biafra as well as in Nigeria. And my men had been telling the soldiers they had no right to enter. I gasped, convinced that I had punctured my lung in the fall. [160], Gulf Oil Nigeria, the third major player in Nigerian oil, was producing 9% of the oil coming out of Nigeria before the war began. Now, today in 2019 the violent, brutal persecution of the Biafran people by the Nigerian state and their supporters continues unabated. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. ", Griffin, "French military policy in the Nigerian Civil War" (2015), Griffin, "French military policy in the Nigerian Civil War" (2015), pp. This reasoning was also extended to Igbo-owned properties and houses. "The Biafran humanitarian crisis holds a critical place in the history of non-government organisations (NGOs). (AFP PHOTO / STEFAN HEUNIS), Supporters of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), members of the Yahveh Yashua Synagogue (Yisraelities Biafra Region) celebrate Shabbat outside the residence of the movement's leader Nnamdi Kanu in Umuahia, on May 27, 2017. Portugal also provided weapons to Biafra, as did Czechoslovakia, until the Soviet invasion in 1968. I protested. This, however, has led to a feeling of an injustice as the Nigerian government policies were seen as further economically disabling the Igbos even long after the war. "Yet the dominance of the decolonisation paradigm suggests that the experiences of the British and Irish NGOs were much closer than they might at first appear. He says that the SDECE gave the French press precise information about Biafran casualties and civilian losses, and that.

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