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94-536: [REDACTED]   Biafran Armed Forces 45,000–100,000 combatants killed The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War , was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra , a secessionist state which had declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967. Nigeria was led by General Yakubu Gowon , and Biafra by Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Odumegwu Ojukwu . The conflict resulted from political, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded

188-498: A Mahdist rebellion broke out outside the city of Sokoto in the village of Satiru. Elements of the Royal West African Frontier Force were dispatched to suppress the rebellion; upon hearing news of what had transpired, Muhammadu Attahiru II dispatched a mixed force of 300 Sokoto cavalry and infantry led by Mallam Isa to join them. The combined force successfully suppressed the rebellion, which marked

282-592: A coup d'état . The two major political leaders of the north, the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and the Premier of the northern region, Sir Ahmadu Bello were killed by Major Nzeogwu. Also murdered was Bello's wife and officers of Northern extraction. The President, Sir Nnamdi Azikiwe , an Igbo, was on an extended vacation in the West Indies. He did not return until days after the coup. There

376-573: A "Distributable Pools Account" with the money split between different parts of government (50% to region of origin, 20% to federal government, 30% to other regions). To ensure continuing influence, the British government promoted unity in the Northern bloc and secessionist sentiments among and within the two Southern regions. The Nigerian government, following independence, promoted discord in the West with

470-415: A British offer of military support but promised to protect British interests. Ironsi fatally did not bring the failed plotters to trial as required by then-military law and as advised by most northern and western officers, rather, coup plotters were maintained in the military on full pay, and some were even promoted while awaiting trial. The coup, despite its failures, was seen by many as primarily benefiting

564-636: A converted DC-3 and one Dove . In 1968, Swedish pilot Carl Gustaf von Rosen suggested the MiniCOIN project to General Ojukwu. By early 1969, Biafra had assembled five MFI-9Bs in Gabon , calling them "Biafra Babies". They were coloured green, were able to carry six 68 mm anti-armour rockets under each wing using simple sights. The five planes were flown by three Swedish pilots and three Biafran pilots. In September 1969, Biafra acquired four ex-Armee de l'Air North American T-6Gs , which were flown to Biafra

658-492: A counter-coup , which had already been in the planning stages. Ironsi was on a visit to Ibadan during their mutiny and there he was killed (along with his host, Adekunle Fajuyi ). The counter-coup led to the installation of Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon as Supreme Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces. Gowon was chosen as a compromise candidate. He was a Northerner, a Christian, from a minority tribe, and had

752-615: A course in officer training at Mons Hall or Eaton Hall in England. Despite the reforms, only an average of two Nigerians per year were awarded officers' commissions between 1948–55 and only seven per year from 1955 to 1960. At the time of independence in 1960, of the 257 officers commanding the Nigeria Regiment which became the Nigerian Army, only 57 were Nigerians. Using the " martial races " theory first developed under

846-623: A decisive role in putting Biafra at a disadvantage from the beginning of the war. Biafran Armed Forces At the beginning of the Nigerian Civil War , Biafra had 3,000 soldiers. This number grew as the war progressed, ultimately reaching 30,000. No official support for the Biafran Army came from any other nation, although arms were clandestinely acquired. Some Europeans served the Biafran cause: German-born Rolf Steiner

940-721: A federal investigation of the event began. Aguyi-Ironsi suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament. He abolished the regional confederated form of government and pursued unitary policies favoured by the NCNC, having apparently been influenced by NCNC political philosophy. He, however, appointed Colonel Hassan Katsina , son of Katsina emir Usman Nagogo , to govern the Northern Region, indicating some willingness to maintain cooperation with this bloc. He also preferentially released northern politicians from jail (enabling them to plan his forthcoming overthrow). Aguyi-Ironsi rejected

1034-606: A foreign and hierarchical system of governance was imposed on the Igbos. Intellectuals began to agitate for greater rights and independence. The size of this intellectual class increased significantly in the 1950s, with the massive expansion of the national education program. During the 1940s and 1950s, the Igbo and Yoruba parties were in the forefront of the campaign for independence from British rule. Northern leaders, fearful that independence would mean political and economic domination by

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1128-633: A good reputation within the army. It seems that Gowon immediately faced not only a potential standoff with the East, but secession threats from the Northern and even the Western region. The counter-coup plotters had considered using the opportunity to withdraw from the federation themselves. Ambassadors from the United Kingdom and the United States, however, urged Gowon to maintain control over

1222-733: A highly political issue in Nigeria. On this basis, the Northern Region was allocated a majority of the seats in the Federal Legislature established by the colonial authorities. Within each of the three regions the dominant ethnic groups, the Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo, respectively formed political parties that were largely regional and based on ethnic allegiances : the Northern People's Congress (NPC) in

1316-636: A long history of rail construction in Canada and Africa and was tasked with substantial railroad construction in the Protectorate. In 1909, Henry Hesketh Bell , the governor of the Uganda Protectorate was appointed high commissioner. In 1912, it was estimated that the area of Northern Nigeria was approximately 660,000 square kilometres (255,000 sq mi) and had a population of about 10 million people. Charles Lindsay Temple became

1410-536: A looser Nigerian federation would be implemented. Gowon delayed announcement of the agreement and eventually reneged. On 27 May 1967, Gowon proclaimed the division of Nigeria into twelve states. This decree carved the Eastern Region in three parts: South Eastern State , Rivers State , and East Central State . Now the Igbos, concentrated in the East Central State, would lose control over most of

1504-812: A manner likely to provoke disaffection. From June through October 1966, pogroms in the North killed an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 Igbo, half of them children, and caused more than a million to two million to flee to the Eastern Region. 29 September 1966 became known as 'Black Thursday', as it was considered the worst day of the massacres. Ethnomusicologist Charles Keil, who was visiting Nigeria in 1966, recounted: The pogroms I witnessed in Makurdi , Nigeria (late Sept. 1966) were foreshadowed by months of intensive anti-Igbo and anti-Eastern conversations among Tiv, Idoma, Hausa and other Northerners resident in Makurdi, and, fitting

1598-465: A pattern replicated in city after city, the massacres were led by the Nigerian army. Before, during and after the slaughter, Col. Gowon could be heard over the radio issuing 'guarantees of safety' to all Easterners, all citizens of Nigeria, but the intent of the soldiers, the only power that counts in Nigeria now or then, was painfully clear. After counting the disemboweled bodies along the Makurdi road I

1692-472: A separatist group known as "Biafran National Guard" (BNG) organized the "Biafran Supreme Military Council of Administration". The latter posed as high command of the restored Biafran Armed Forces, including the "Biafran Army, Biafran Navy, Biafran Air-Force and Biafran Detective Force". At the peak of Biafran military power, the Biafran Army was made of 5 divisions; numbered 11th, 12th, 13th (later renumbered 15th), 14th and 101st. It also had 2 separate brigades,

1786-834: A system of administration built around native authorities. The Protectorate was ended on 1 January 1914, when its area was unified with the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Lagos Colony , becoming the Northern Province of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria . The Berlin Conference of 1884 and 1885 provided the area that would become the Northern Nigeria Protectorate to the British. The Royal Niger Company

1880-576: A unitary Nigerian state. In the face of sustained opposition by the NCNC delegates, later joined by the NPC and backed by threats to view maintenance of the inclusion of secession by the AG as treasonable by the British, the AG was forced to renounce its position of inclusion of the right of secession a part of the Nigerian constitution. Had such a provision been made in the Nigerian constitution, later events which led to

1974-695: The Niger Delta in the southeast lived mostly in autonomous, democratically organised communities, although there were E zes' or monarchs in many of the ancient cities, such as: the Kingdom of Nri . At its zenith, the Kingdom controlled most of Igboland, including influence on the Anioma people , Arochukwu (which controlled slavery in Igbo), and Onitsha territory. Unlike the other two regions, decisions within

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2068-480: The Nigerian federal government would not protect them and that they must protect themselves in an independent Biafra. Within a year, Nigerian government troops surrounded Biafra, and captured coastal oil facilities and the city of Port Harcourt . A blockade was imposed as a deliberate policy during the ensuing stalemate which led to the mass starvation of Biafran civilians. During the 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 years of

2162-591: The Raj in 19th-century India , the colonial government had decided that peoples from northern Nigeria such as the Hausa, Tiv, and Kanuri were the hard " martial races " whose recruitment was encouraged while the peoples from southern Nigeria such as the Igbos and the Yoruba were viewed as too soft to make for good soldiers and hence their recruitment was discouraged. As a result, by 1958, men from northern Nigeria made up 62% of

2256-482: The Soviet Union were the main supporters of the Nigerian government, while France , Israel (after 1968), and some other countries supported Biafra . The United States' official position was one of neutrality, considering Nigeria as "a responsibility of Britain", but some interpret the refusal to recognise Biafra as favouring the Nigerian government. The war highlighted challenges within pan-Africanism during

2350-552: The United Kingdom's formal decolonisation of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963. Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup , a counter-coup , and anti-Igbo pogroms in the Northern Region . The pogroms and the exodus of surviving Igbos from the Northern Region to the Igbo homelands in the Eastern Region led the leadership of the Eastern Region (whose population was two-thirds Igbo) to conclude that

2444-443: The colonial government in Nigeria . In the north, the colonial government found it convenient to rule indirectly through the emirs, thus perpetuating rather than changing the indigenous authoritarian political system. Christian missionaries were excluded from the north, and the area thus remained virtually closed to European cultural influence. By contrast, the richest of the Igbo often sent their sons to British universities, with

2538-427: The Igbo communities were made by a general assembly in which men and women participated. Considering this participation by women in this civil war, the study Female fighters and the fates of rebellions: How mobilizing women influences conflict duration by Reed M. Wood observed that there was a longer duration of wars between rebel groups and the number of women that participated within the conflict at hand. In discussing

2632-415: The Igbo homeland, combined with aspirations for monetary wages, drove thousands of Igbos to other parts of Nigeria in search of work. By the 1960s, Igbo political culture was more unified and the region relatively prosperous, with tradesmen and literate elites active not just in the traditionally Igbo east, but throughout Nigeria. By 1966, the traditional ethnic and religious differences between northerners and

2726-499: The Igbo peoples, as the plotters received no repercussions for their actions and no significant Igbo political leaders were affected. While those that executed the coup were mostly Northern, most of the known plotters were Igbo and the military and political leadership of Western and Northern regions had been largely bloodily eliminated while the Eastern military/political leadership was largely untouched. However, Ironsi, himself an Igbo,

2820-541: The Igbo were exacerbated by new differences in education and economic class. The colonial administration divided Nigeria into three regions—North, West and East—something which exacerbated the already well-developed economic, political, and social differences among Nigeria's different ethnic groups . The country was divided in such a way that the North had a slightly higher population than the other two regions combined. There were also widespread reports of fraud during Nigeria's first census , and even today population remains

2914-407: The Nigeria Regiment while men from the south and the west made up only 36%. In 1958, the policy was changed: henceforward men from the north would make up only 50% of the soldiers while men from the southeast and southwest were each to make up 25%. The new policy was retained after independence. The previously favoured northerners whose egos had been stoked by being told by their officers that they were

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3008-430: The Nigerian military retained the role it held under the British in the 1950s. The Nigerian Army did not conduct field training, and notably lacked heavy weapons. Before 1948, Nigerians were not allowed to hold officer's commissions, and only in 1948 were certain promising Nigerian recruits allowed to attend Sandhurst for officer training while at the same time Nigerian NCOs were allowed to become officers if they completed

3102-677: The Nigerian/Biafran civil war may have been avoided. The pre-independence alliance between the NCNC and the NPC against the aspirations of the AG would later set the tone for political governance of independent Nigeria by the NCNC/NPC and lead to disaster in later years in Nigeria. Northern–Southern tension manifested firstly in the 1945 Jos riots and again on 1 May 1953, as fighting in the Northern city of Kano . The political parties tended to focus on building power in their own regions, resulting in an incoherent and disunified dynamic in

3196-439: The North and West, some to Dahomey . The apparent domination of the political system by the North, and the chaos breaking out across the country, motivated elements within the military to consider decisive action. In addition to Shell-BP, the British reaped profits from mining and commerce. The British-owned United Africa Company alone controlled 41.3% of all Nigeria's foreign trade. At 516,000 barrels per day, Nigeria had become

3290-590: The North; the Action Group in the West (AG); and the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in the East. Although 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. The basis of modern Nigeria formed in 1914 when

3384-588: The Royal Niger Company's charter was revoked and the British government took control, in a ceremony where Lugard read the proclamation. The Royal Niger Company was paid £865,000 and was given the rights to half of all mining revenue in a large part of the areas for 99 years in exchange for ceding the territory to the British government. Lord Lugard was appointed the High Commissioner of the newly created Northern Nigeria Protectorate. Lokoja

3478-702: The S Brigade, a Pretorian guard for General Ojukwu, and the 4th Commando Brigade (trained and commanded by mercenaries). It was commanded by Brigadier Hillary Njoku and later Major General Alexander Madiebo . The Biafrans set up a small, yet effective air force. Biafran Air Force commanders were Chude Sokey and later Godwin Ezeilo Ezeilo, who had trained with the Royal Canadian Air Force . Its early inventory included two B-25 Mitchells , two B-26 Invaders , (one piloted by Polish World War II ace Jan Zumbach , known also as John Brown),

3572-660: The United Kingdom amalgamated the Northern and Southern protectorates. Beginning with the Northern Protectorate, the British implemented a system of indirect rule of which they exerted influence through alliances with local forces. This system worked so well, Colonial Governor Frederick Lugard successfully lobbied to extend it to the Southern Protectorate through amalgamation. In this way,

3666-554: The acting Head Commissioner in 1911 and 1912 and began overseeing, with close collaboration with Lugard, the creation of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria . One defining characteristic of administration in Northern Nigeria Protectorate was the inclusion of chiefs and emirs—including the emir of Bornu —as "native authorities" fitting into British administration (cf. the similar practice with chiefs, rajas , and maharajas in British India ). Taxation proved very difficult in

3760-597: The air force. It was headquartered in Kidney Island, Port Harcourt , and was commanded by Winifred Anuku. The Biafran Navy was made up of captured craft, converted tugs, and armored civilian vessels armed with machine guns, or captured 6-pounder guns . It mainly operated in the Niger Delta and along the Niger River . Northern Nigeria Protectorate Northern Nigeria ( Hausa : Arewacin Najeriya )

3854-427: The capital of Nigeria, if it meant loss of Yoruba sovereignty . The AG insisted that Lagos must be completely recognised as a Yoruba town without any loss of identity, control or autonomy by the Yoruba. Contrary to this position, the NCNC was anxious to declare Lagos, by virtue of it being the "Federal Capital Territory" as "no man's land"—a declaration which as could be expected angered the AG, which offered to help fund

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3948-628: The colony of Nigeria was created, its three largest ethnic groups were the Igbo , who formed about 60–70% of the population in the southeast; the Hausa-Fulani of the Sokoto Caliphate , who formed about 67% of the population in the northern part of the territory; and the Yoruba , who formed about 75% of the population in the southwest. Although these groups have their homelands, by the 1960s,

4042-474: The correlation between conflicts of longer duration and a high rate of participation of women, the study suggests that gender norms and the general ways in which "an armed group recruits as well as who it recruits may subsequently influence its behaviors during the conflict and the manner in which the conflict unfolds." The differing political systems and structures reflected and produced divergent customs and values. The Hausa-Fulani commoners, having contact with

4136-499: The country. The Army was repeatedly deployed to Tiv Division , killing hundreds and arresting thousands of Tiv people agitating for self-determination. Widespread reports of fraud tarnished the election's legitimacy. Westerners especially resented the political domination of the Northern People's Congress, many of whose candidates ran unopposed in the election. Violence spread throughout the country, and some began to flee

4230-470: The creation of a new Mid-Western Region in an area with oil potential. The new constitution of 1946 also proclaimed that "The entire property in and control of all mineral oils , in, under, or upon any lands, in Nigeria, and of all rivers, streams, and watercourses throughout Nigeria, is and shall be vested in, the Crown." The United Kingdom profited significantly from a fivefold rise in Nigerian exports amidst

4324-453: The development of another territory in Nigeria as "Federal Capital Territory" and then threatened secession from Nigeria if it didn't get its way. The threat of secession by the AG was tabled, documented and recorded in numerous constitutional conferences, including the constitutional conference held in London in 1954 with the demand that a right of secession be enshrined in the constitution of

4418-538: The early stages of African independence from colonial rule, suggesting that the diverse nature of African people may present obstacles to achieving common unity. Additionally, it shed light on initial shortcomings within the Organization of African Unity . The war also resulted in the political marginalization of the Igbo people, as Nigeria has not had another Igbo president since the end of the war, leading some Igbo people to believe they are being unfairly punished for

4512-413: The emerging Nigerian nation to allow any part of the emergent nation to opt out of Nigeria, should the need arise. This proposal for inclusion of right of secession by the regions in independent Nigeria by the AG was rejected and resisted by NCNC which vehemently argued for a tightly bound united/unitary structured nation because it viewed the provision of a secession clause as detrimental to the formation of

4606-553: The federal government. In 1946, the British divided the Southern Region into the Western Region and the Eastern Region . Each government was entitled to collect royalties from resources extracted within its area. This changed in 1956 when Shell - BP found large petroleum deposits in the Eastern region. A Commission led by Sir Jeremy Raisman and Ronald Tress determined that resource royalties would now enter

4700-441: The first classes of African civil servants, doctors, lawyers, and other technicians and professionals. Missionaries were introduced at a later date in eastern areas because the British experienced difficulty establishing firm control over the highly autonomous communities there. However, the Igbo and other Biafran people actively embraced Western education, and they overwhelmingly came to adopt Christianity. Population pressure in

4794-466: The following month, with another T-6 lost on the ferry flight. These aircraft flew missions until January 1970 manned by Portuguese ex-military pilots. During the war, Biafra tried to acquire jets. Two Fouga Magisters and several Gloster Meteors were bought but never arrived in Biafra, being abandoned on foreign African airbases. Biafra had a small improvised navy, but it never gained the success of

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4888-456: The general strike heavily exacerbated tensions between the Army and ordinary civilians and put pressure on the Army to take action against a government which was widely perceived as corrupt. The 1964 elections , which involved heavy campaigning all year, brought ethnic and regional divisions into focus. Resentment of politicians ran high, and many campaigners feared for their safety while touring

4982-593: The groundwork for the economic blockade of the Eastern Region which went into full effect in 1967. The deluge of refugees in Eastern Nigeria created a difficult situation. Extensive negotiations took place between Ojukwu, representing Eastern Nigeria, and Gowon, representing the Nigerian Federal military government. In the Aburi Accord , finally signed at Aburi, Ghana , the parties agreed that

5076-592: The intention of preparing them to work with the British. During the ensuing years, the northern emirs maintained their traditional political and religious institutions, while reinforcing their social structure . At the time of independence in 1960, the north was by far the most underdeveloped area in Nigeria. It had an English literacy rate of 2%, as compared to 19.2% in the east (literacy in Ajami , local languages in Arabic script, learned in connection with religious education,

5170-404: The killing of Igbo soldier Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Unegbe by coup executioners, and Ironsi's termination of an Igbo-led coup, the ease by which Ironsi stopped the coup led to suspicion that the Igbo coup plotters planned all along to pave the way for Ironsi to take the reins of power in Nigeria. Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu became military governor of the Eastern Region at this time. On 24 May 1966,

5264-438: The last major instance of armed resistance to British rule in the region. After 1907 there were fewer revolts and use of military force by the British and the focus of the High Commissioner turned toward taxation and administration. The British Administration began with Frederick Lugard as the first High Commissioner. In 1907, Lugard left Nigeria for Hong Kong and Percy Girouard became the new High Commissioner. Girouard had

5358-418: The military government issued Unification Decree #34, which would have replaced the federation with a more centralised system. The Northern bloc found this decree intolerable. In the face of provocation from the Eastern media which repeatedly showed humiliating posters and cartoons of the slain northern politicians, on the night of 29 July 1966, northern soldiers at Abeokuta barracks mutinied, thus precipitating

5452-521: The more Westernized elites in the South, preferred the continuation of British rule. As a condition for accepting independence, they demanded that the country continue to be divided into three regions with the North having a clear majority. Igbo and Yoruba leaders, anxious to obtain an independent country at all costs, accepted the Northern demands. However, the two Southern regions had significant cultural and ideological differences, leading to discord between

5546-512: 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. Apart from Ifeajuna who fled the country after the collapse of their coup, the other two January Majors, and the rest of the military officers involved in the revolt, later surrendered to the loyalist High Command and were subsequently detained as

5640-515: The northerners. At the same time, as a part of Nigerianisation policy, it was government policy to send home the British officers who had been retained after independence, by promoting as many Nigerians as possible until by 1966 there were no more British officers. As part of the Nigerianisation policy, educational standards for officers were drastically lowered with only a high school diploma being necessary for an officer's commission while at

5734-523: The people were dispersed across Nigeria, with all three ethnic groups represented substantially in major cities. When the war broke out in 1967, there were still 5,000 Igbos in Lagos . The semi- feudal and Muslim Hausa-Fulani in the north were traditionally ruled by a conservative Islamic hierarchy consisting of emirs who in turn owed their ultimate allegiance to the Sultan of Sokoto , whom they regarded as

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5828-523: The petroleum, located in the other two areas. The Federal Military Government immediately placed an embargo on all shipping to and from Biafra—but not on oil tankers. Biafra quickly moved to collect oil royalties from oil companies doing business within its borders. When Shell - BP acquiesced to this request at the end of June, the Federal Government extended its blockade to include oil. The blockade, which most foreign actors accepted, played

5922-420: The political system only through a village head designated by the emir or one of his subordinates, did not view political leaders as amenable to influence. Political decisions were to be submitted to. As with many other authoritarian religious and political systems, leadership positions were given to persons willing to be subservient and loyal to superiors. A chief function of this political system in this context

6016-489: The post-war economic boom. Nigeria gained independence on 1 October 1960, and the First Republic came to be on 1 October 1963. The first prime minister of Nigeria, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa , was a northerner and co-founder of the Northern People's Congress. He formed an alliance with the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons party, and its popular nationalist leader Nnamdi "Zik" Azikiwe , who became Governor General and then President. The Yoruba-aligned Action Group,

6110-453: The promulgation of Decree 44 of 1966 banning them by the military government. The first president of Nigeria Nnamdi Azikiwe who was away during the first coup noted: Some Ibo elements, who were domiciled in Northern Nigeria taunted northerners by defaming their leaders through means of records or songs or pictures. They also published pamphlets and postcards, which displayed a peculiar representation of certain northerners, living or dead, in

6204-519: The protectorate for the first years of British rule. Lugard's attempts to institute poll taxes were foiled by the Emirates, the need to introduce coin controversy and attempts to tax trade were opposed by powerful merchants. This created a substantial deficit in the budget of the Protectorate and public works projects had to be paid by grants from the British Empire. As a result, the British often had significant shortages of British personnel before 1907. These pragmatic concerns resulted in incorporation of

6298-415: The proximity of these protectorates . However, the change did not take into consideration the differences in the culture and religions of the people in each area. Competition for political and economic power exacerbated tensions. Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960, with a population of 45.2 million made up of more than 300 differing ethnic and cultural groups. When

6392-446: The region known as the Middle Belt had large populations of Christian and Animist populations. Through missionary activities and the 'Northernisation' policy of the Regional Government , the sub-region had a significant Eurocentric-educated population. Several key figures on the Nigerian side of the war came from this sub-region, such as Yakubu Gowon and Theophilus Danjuma, both of whom are Christians. The Yoruba political system in

6486-559: The same time Nigerianisation resulted in an extremely youthful officer corps, full of ambitious men who disliked the Sandhurst graduates who served in the high command as blocking further chances for promotion. A group of Igbo officers formed a conspiracy to overthrow the government, seeing the northern prime minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa , as allegedly plundering the oil wealth of the southeast. On 15 January 1966, Major Chukuma Kaduna Nzeogwu , Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna , and other junior Army officers (mostly majors and captains) attempted

6580-459: The source of all political power and religious authority. Apart from the Hausa-Fulani, the Kanuri were another dominant majority Muslim ethnic group that had key figures in the war. They made up about 5% of Nigeria's population and were the dominant ethnic group in the North-Eastern state . They historically successfully resisted the Sokoto Caliphate during the 19th-century through their millennium-long Kanem-Bornu empire . The southernmost part of

6674-401: The southwest, like that of the Hausa-Fulani, also consisted of a series of monarchs , the Oba . The Yoruba monarchs, however, were less autocratic than those in the north. The political and social system of the Yoruba accordingly allowed for greater upward mobility , based on acquired rather than inherited wealth and title. In contrast to the two other groups, Igbos and the ethnic groups of

6768-454: The starving Biafrans became a cause célèbre in foreign countries, enabling a significant rise in the funding and prominence of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Biafra received international humanitarian aid from civilians during the Biafran airlift , an event which inspired the formation of Doctors Without Borders following the end of the war. The United Kingdom and

6862-593: The tenth-biggest oil exporter in the world. Though the Nigeria Regiment had fought for the United Kingdom in both the First and Second World Wars , the army Nigeria inherited upon independence in 1960 was an internal security force designed and trained to assist the police in putting down challenges to authority rather than to fight a war. The Indian historian Pradeep Barua called the Nigerian Army in 1960 "a glorified police force", and even after independence,

6956-758: The third major party, played the opposition role. Workers became increasingly aggrieved by low wages and bad conditions, especially when they compared their lot to the lifestyles of politicians in Lagos. Most wage earners lived in the Lagos area, and many lived in overcrowded dangerous housing. Labour activity including strikes intensified in 1963, culminating in a nationwide general strike in June 1964. Strikers disobeyed an ultimatum to return to work and at one point were dispersed by riot police. Eventually, they did win wage increases. The strike included people from all ethnic groups. Retired Brigadier General H. M. Njoku later wrote that

7050-468: The tough and hardy "martial races" greatly resented the change in recruitment policies, all the more as after independence in 1960 there were opportunities for Nigerian men to serve as officers that had not existed prior to independence. As men from the southeast and southwest were generally much better educated than men from the north, they were much more likely to be promoted to officers in the newly founded Nigerian Army, which provoked further resentment from

7144-408: The traditional authorities within the British structure. These same financial and administrative challenges resulted in discussions led by Lugard for the unification of the Lagos Colony , the Southern Nigeria Protectorate , and Northern Nigeria. The disparities between the protectorates was to be corrected by creating a central administration in Lagos, with custom revenues from the south paying for

7238-479: The two Southern political parties. Firstly, the AG favoured a loose confederacy of regions in the emergent Nigerian nation whereby each region would be in total control of its own distinct territory. The status of Lagos was a sore point for the AG, which did not want Lagos, a Yoruba town situated in Western Nigeria (which was at that time the federal capital and seat of national government) to be designated as

7332-485: The war, there were about 100,000 overall military casualties, while between 500,000 and 2 million Biafran civilians died of starvation. Alongside the concurrent Vietnam War , the Nigerian Civil War was one of the first wars in human history to be televised to a global audience. In mid-1968, images of malnourished and starving Biafran children saturated the mass media of Western countries . The plight of

7426-708: The war. Igbo nationalism has emerged since the end of the war, as well as various neo-Biafran secessionist groups such as the Indigenous People of Biafra and Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra . This civil war can be connected to the colonial amalgamation in 1914 of the Northern Protectorate , Lagos Colony , and Southern Nigeria Protectorate , which was intended for better administration due to

7520-584: The whole country. Gowon followed this plan, repealing the Unification Decree, announcing a return to the federal system. After the January coup, Igbos in the North were accused of taunting their hosts on the loss of their leaders. A popular example was Celestine Ukwu, a popular Igbo musician, who released a song titled "Ewu Ne Ba Akwa" (Goats Are Crying) apparently mocking the late Ahmadu Bello . These provocations were so pervasive that they warranted

7614-435: Was a British protectorate which lasted from 1900 until 1914, and covered the northern part of what is now Nigeria . The protectorate spanned 660,000 square kilometres (255,000 sq mi) and included the emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate and parts of the former Bornu Empire , conquered in 1902. The first High Commissioner of the protectorate was Frederick Lugard , who suppressed slavery and tribal raiding and created

7708-627: Was a lieutenant colonel assigned to the 4th Commando Brigade, and Welshman Taffy Williams served as a major throughout the conflict. A special guerrilla unit, the Biafran Organization of Freedom Fighters, was established: designed to emulate the Viet Cong , they targeted Nigerian supply lines, forcing them to shift resources to internal security efforts. In course of the insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria of 2021,

7802-595: Was acquired through the ability to arbitrate disputes that might arise in the village, and through acquiring rather than inheriting wealth. The Igbo had been substantially victimised in the Atlantic slave trade ; in the year 1790, it was reported that of 20,000 people sold each year from Bonny , 16,000 were Igbo. With their emphasis upon social achievement and political participation, the Igbo adapted to and challenged colonial rule in innovative ways. These tradition-derived differences were perpetuated and perhaps enhanced by

7896-531: Was escorted back to the city by soldiers who apologised for the stench and explained politely that they were doing me and the world a great favor by eliminating Igbos. Professor of History Murray Last , who was in Zaria city on the day after the first coup, describes his experience on that day: And the day after the coup – January 16th 1966 – there was initially so much open relief on the ABU campus that it shocked me. It

7990-499: Was formed in 1886 with George Taubman Goldie as the vice governor. The Company moved in-land and negotiated trade agreements and political agreements, sometimes coercive, with several local chieftains. In 1897, Frederick Lugard was the appointed head of the West African Frontier Force which was tasked with stopping Fulani resistance and possible French incursions in the northwest area. On 1 January 1900,

8084-473: Was from the Midwest. Only one was an Igbo. This coup was, however, not seen as a revolutionary coup by other sections of Nigerians, especially in the Northern and Western sections and by later revisionists of Nigerian coups. Some alleged, mostly from Eastern part of Nigeria, that the majors sought to spring Action Group leader Obafemi Awolowo out of jail and make him head of the new government. Their intention

8178-446: Was much higher). The west also enjoyed a much higher literacy level, as it was the first part of the country to have contact with western education and established a free primary education program under the pre-independence Western Regional Government. In the west, the missionaries rapidly introduced Western forms of education. Consequently, the Yoruba were the first group in Nigeria to adopt Western bureaucratic social norms. They made up

8272-526: Was only later, when I was living within Zaria city (at Babban Dodo), that I encountered the anger at the way Igbo traders (and journalists) were mocking their Hausa fellow traders in Zaria’s Sabon Gari over the death of their ‘father’, and were pushing aside various motorpark workers elsewhere, telling the Hausa that the rules had now all changed and it was the Hausa who were now the underlings in market or motorpark. The Federal Military Government also laid

8366-595: Was the capital from 1900, but Zungeru became the headquarters for the protectorate in 1902 because it was the most northerly city accessible by river transport. Military operations began in 1902 and continued for about five years of sporadic fighting. The remnants of the Bornu Empire were conquered in 1902 and the Sokoto Caliphate and was defeated in the Battle of Kano . Fighting continued in 1904 in Bassa . In 1906,

8460-543: Was the first coup in the short life of Nigeria's nascent second democracy. Claims of electoral fraud were one of the reasons given by the coup plotters. Besides killing much of Nigeria's elite, the Coup also saw much of the leadership of the Nigerian Federal Army killed with seven officers holding the rank above colonel killed. Of the seven officers killed, four were northerners, two were from the southeast and one

8554-582: Was thought to have made numerous attempts to please Northerners. The other events that also fuelled suspicions of a so-called "Igbo conspiracy" were the killing of Northern leaders, and the killing of the Brigadier-General Ademulegun's pregnant wife by the coup executioners. Among the Igbo people, reaction to the coup was mixed. Despite the overwhelming contradictions of the coup being executed by mostly Northern soldiers (such as John Atom Kpera, later military governor of Benue State ),

8648-598: Was to dismantle the Northern-dominated power structure but their efforts to take power were unsuccessful. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi , an Igbo and loyalist head of the Nigerian Army , suppressed coup operations in the South and he was declared head of state on 16 January after the surrender of the majors. In the end though, the majors were not in the position to embark on this political goal. While their 15th January coup succeeded in seizing political control in

8742-402: Was to maintain conservative values, which caused many Hausa-Fulani to view economic and social innovation as subversive or sacrilegious. In contrast to the Hausa-Fulani, the Igbos and other Biafrans often participated directly in the decisions which affected their lives. They had a lively awareness of the political system and regarded it as an instrument for achieving their personal goals. Status

8836-460: Was widespread suspicion that the Igbo coup plotters had tipped him and other Igbo leaders off regarding the pending coup. In addition to the killings of the Northern political leaders, the Premier of the Western region, Ladoke Akintola and Yoruba senior military officers were also killed. This "Coup of the Five Majors" has been described in some quarters as Nigeria's only revolutionary coup. This

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