From: jameskerlindsay
The Biafran War, also known as the Nigerian Civil War, was one of the most brutal and bloody conflicts of modern times, resulting in a million deaths and millions more displaced [00:00:00]. It profoundly shaped contemporary understanding of secession and independence, yet it is largely forgotten today [00:00:11].
International Stance on Secession
The international community has a deep aversion to secession, particularly unilateral secession [00:00:44]. This current thinking evolved over several decades after 1945 and the founding of the United Nations [00:01:00]. Contemporary attitudes towards secession can be traced back to two specific cases of separatism in Africa during the 1960s [00:01:06]. The first was Katanga’s attempt to break away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo [00:01:17]. While Katanga’s secession established the idea of opposing unilateral secession, these ideas were cemented by the Biafran War a few years later [00:01:24]. Together, these cases underscored that the principle of respecting the territorial integrity of states applied not only to external threats but also to internal attempts to secede [00:01:35].
The Biafran War is also notable for its humanitarian tragedy [00:01:52]. When it took place in the late 1960s, it was widely considered the humanitarian tragedy of its era [00:02:01]. Over its three-year duration, well over a million people died, either directly from fighting or indirectly from famine and illness [00:02:10].
Roots of the Conflict: Nigeria’s Formation
Nigeria, located in West Africa, is the 31st largest UN member by area and the most populous country in Africa, with an estimated 200 million people [00:02:26]. It is extremely diverse, comprising over 250 different ethno-linguistic groups [00:02:48]. The three main groups are:
- Hausa and Fulani: Around 30% of the population, mainly in the north [00:02:57].
- Yoruba: Around 20% of the population, from the southwest [00:03:06].
- Igbo: Around 20% of the population, from the southeast [00:03:11].
The story of the conflict begins with the European colonial scramble for Africa in the mid-19th century [00:03:16]. British forces captured Lagos in 1851, annexing it in 1865 [00:03:22]. Other territories in the region were awarded to Britain under the Berlin Conference in 1885 [00:03:30]. These became the Southern Nigerian Protectorate and Northern Nigerian Protectorate in 1900 [00:03:40]. The crucial moment came in 1914 when, facing a budget deficit in the North, the two protectorates were merged to form the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria [00:03:48]. This decision, taken for economic reasons, created an entity fundamentally at odds with itself, leading to profound implications [00:04:00].
Following World War II and decolonization, Britain prepared to leave [00:04:05]. In 1954, Nigeria was reconstituted as the Federation of Nigeria, composed of three regions broadly mapping onto the main ethnic groups: Hausa-Fulani Northern Nigeria, Igbo Eastern Nigeria, and Yoruba Western Nigeria [00:04:12]. Nigeria formally gained independence on 1 October 1960, joining the United Nations shortly after [00:04:32].
Path to War
Nigeria held its first post-independence general election in 1964, marred by serious political violence and disputed results that saw a victory by the Northern People’s Congress [00:04:41]. Tensions escalated throughout 1965 [00:04:55].
On 15 January 1966, junior military officers from the southern Igbo ethnic group launched an attempted coup, resulting in the assassination of 22 senior political and military figures, including the prime minister [00:04:58]. Although the coup was quickly defeated, its effects were widely felt [00:05:21]. On 28 July, northern army officers carried out another coup, executing several hundred southerners, mostly ethnic Igbo, in reprisal [00:05:25]. Attacks on Igbo living in the north increased, with an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 people murdered [00:05:38]. This sparked a mass exodus of up to 2 million Igbo from the north, fleeing south to the Igbo-dominated Eastern Region [00:05:46].
With the country in crisis, talk of eastern secession grew [00:05:55]. On 4 and 5 January 1967, the British Government organized a peace conference in Ghana between Nigerian leader Colonel Yakubu Gowon and Eastern Province leader Colonel Odomegwu Ojukwu [00:06:00]. The sides appeared to reach an agreement, the Aburi Accord, but a dispute soon arose over its interpretation [00:06:13]. Ojukwu believed it paved the way for a loose confederation, but the central government rejected this view [00:06:23]. In early May, to weaken the East (a center of oil production), the government announced Nigeria would be reconstituted into 12 states [00:06:31].
On 30 May 1967, Ojukwu unilaterally declared independence, formally proclaiming the creation of the Republic of Biafra [00:06:44]. Just over a month later, on 6 July 1967, the federal government declared war on the breakaway province [00:06:54].
Course of the War (The Nigerian Civil War)
The war’s outcome seemed never in doubt [00:07:03]. In the following months, the Nigerian army made considerable headway, aided by non-Igbo areas in the East siding with the federal government [00:07:07]. The area controlled by Biafran authorities shrank by a third by August [00:07:15]. In October, the Biafran capital, Enugu, fell to Nigerian troops [00:07:21].
The most significant blow came in May 1968 when the government took control of Port Harcourt, imposing a blockade on Biafra [00:07:30]. This resulted in a famine that killed well over a million people [00:07:39]. By the end of 1969, the conflict was all but lost [00:07:44]. In early 1970, Ojukwu fled, and on 15 January, after 30 months, the war officially ended when the chief of the Biafran Army declared the Republic of Biafra had ceased to exist [00:07:52]. A few days later, General Gowon, head of Nigeria’s military government, stated there was “no victor, no vanquished” to begin national reconciliation and reconstruction [00:08:06]. Nigeria has since deliberately tried to forget its civil war, though pro-Biafran sentiment still exists [00:08:19].
International Responses and Legacy
The Biafran War had a huge international impact [00:08:31]. Publicly, the Biafran cause garnered massive sympathy, especially after images of starving Biafran children emerged [00:08:34]. This led to a major international humanitarian effort, the Biafran Airlift, by NGOs and church groups [00:08:44].
Officially, Biafra received some support [00:08:53]. Five UN members recognized it as an independent state: Tanzania (13 April 1968), followed by Gabon, Ivory Coast, Zambia, and Haiti (the only non-African state) [00:08:58]. Behind the scenes, Biafra also received military assistance from Spain, Portugal, Rhodesia, South Africa, Israel, and France, who all saw a weakened Nigeria as potentially beneficial [00:09:14].
However, these were outliers [00:09:28]. The vast majority of the international community supported the Nigerian government [00:09:30]. African states, in particular, viewed the developments with grave concern [00:09:36]. Like Nigeria, many had recently become independent within colonial borders that mixed diverse ethnic groups [00:09:41]. They saw Biafra’s secession as an existential threat to their own territorial integrity [00:09:51]. The Organization of African Unity (OAU), forerunner of today’s African Union, played a key role in rallying regional and international support for Nigeria [00:09:57].
Two countries became particularly strong Nigerian allies:
- Britain: Driven by a desire to prevent recognition of Rhodesia’s 1965 unilateral declaration of independence, and seeking to protect its significant oil investments in Nigeria, believing Nigeria would win [00:10:15].
- Soviet Union (USSR): Saw the war as an opportunity to win over Nigeria, which had been a strong opponent of communism in sub-Saharan Africa [00:10:40].
The United States largely steered clear, viewing it as an internal affair and unwilling to become embroiled in another conflict while fighting in Vietnam [00:10:51]. It officially remained neutral and did not supply arms to either side [00:11:01].
Despite limited support for Biafra, its attempt to break away cemented the idea that states should not recognize unilateral secession [00:11:07]. Previously, respecting territorial integrity was understood as respecting borders against external aggression [00:11:20]. However, the Congo Crisis and then Biafra underscored the emerging idea that states should also respect each other’s territorial integrity in the face of internal separatist threats [00:11:31].
Conclusion
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, remains one of the most obviously divided [00:11:44]. The British decision to merge the two Nigerian protectorates for economic reasons created an entity fundamentally at odds with itself [00:11:51]. This had dramatic and tragic consequences after independence in 1960 [00:12:06]. Tensions between north and south spilled into political violence, leading to mass killings and one of the most significant wars to affect modern Africa [00:12:14].
The Biafran War was widely regarded as the most pressing humanitarian disaster of its day, with millions dying over two and a half years, largely due to mass starvation [00:12:24]. It also left a powerful legacy for contemporary rules on secession [00:12:35]. While public opinion often sympathized with the Igbo, most countries, especially in Africa, officially or tacitly supported Nigeria [00:12:40]. Facing their own secessionist challenges, they saw the conflict as a chance to affirm the importance of respecting state territorial integrity against both external and internal challenges [00:12:53].
Despite its significance, the Biafran War remains largely forgotten [00:13:08].