INTRO: The horrible incidence of civil war between Nigeria
and the secessionist Biafra between July 6, 1967 and January 15, 1970 is better
imagined than experienced. The bloody war claimed millions of lives of Biafrans especially through
the blockade strategy of the war. Several accounts of the war have been written
either from experience, careful study, or both, and none of them is pleasurable
to read given the reports of tear-jerking humanitarian crises that are rife in
those accounts. For instance, the account on the effect of the blockade against
Biafra which made the ribs of Biafran children countable, and their bellies
float-able out of Kwashiorkor. Now, the question is why did the Nigerian Civil
War break out?
The reasons for and causes of the Nigeria Civil War are as follows:
1. Ethnic Pluralism: Nigeria is a product of
British colonialism which separated kith and kin, and united total strangers
with the errors of the Berlin Conference 1884/85, and the Amalgamation of the
Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria in 1914. By these dastardly and
insensitive colonial decisions, Nigeria emerged a multi-ethnic country, so that
from Independence, ethnic politics remained at the centre of the circle in
Nigerian politics. The first generation political parties in Nigeria took
ethnic wings and played for their respective parochial interests. One thing led
to the order until the war broke out between the ethnic Igbo and an amalgam of
Hausa and Yoruba ethnic groups. Therefore, one of the major causes of the
Nigerian Civil War was the multi-ethnic configuration of Nigeria.
2. The January 1966 Military Coup: Another
reason for the Nigerian Civil War was the military incursion into the politics
of Nigeria. That the January 1966 military incursion into Nigerian politics
changed the destiny of the country is an understatement. The military coup
opened the floodgate of political crises that climaxed with the Nigeria-Biafra
Civil War. Although well-meaning and popular, the coup was promptly painted
black by opportunists who tagged it an Igbo Coup. To make matters worse, the
survival of some Igbo government officials such as Zik and Okpala in the coup,
coupled with the reluctance of Major General Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi Ironsi to
execute the champions of the botched revolution supported the conspiracy theory
that pointed accusing fingers to Igbo young majors that constituted the greater
part of the mutineers. Then for vengeance, there were the counter coup, the
pogrom, and other sundry crises which plunged the country into the 30-month
bloody civil war in 1967.
3. Personality Issues between Ojukwu and Gowon: After the counter-coup in July 1966, barely six months after the
maiden coup, the most senior in the Army, Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe was
denied his rightful throne in Dodan Barracks by the Northern mutineers that
carried out the counter coup. Lt. Col. Danyuma Gowon instead was appointed the
Head of State. This did not go down well with Ojukwu and he refused to take
orders from Gowon who was also under him in the Army, although of the same
rank. This left their relationship very acrimonious, and their respective egos
blocked the voices of reason against the war, and the war broke out.
4. Nigerian Civil War Broke Out Due to the Breach of Aburi Accord: In January 1967 when the crisis situation in Nigeria reached a
crescendo, Lt. Col. J.A Ankrah of Ghana summoned the conflicting parties to a
negotiation table in search of a ground for resolution. The negotiation
produced the popular Aburi Accord in which Ojukwu got the Federal Government’s
consent to change Nigeria to a confederation. This system of government unlike
a federation allows secession. Upon arrival, the Federal Government headed by
Gowon did a volte-face from the Aburi Accord, perhaps having been told of the
implication of the confederation thing. The crisis situation worsened and the
war broke out.
5. The Pogrom: It did not end with the counter coup. Igbo
civilians were swooped upon and killed in their tens of thousands on the
streets in the North. Gowon was on the radio giving the Igbos the assurances of
their safety in the North while the Army were leading ethnic cleansing on the
streets against the Igbo people. The pogrom which spanned some four or five
months set off a massive exodus of the Igbos from the North. Charles Keil, an
expatriate who stumbled into the eye of the pogrom recounted:
The pogroms I witnessed in Makurdi, Nigeria (late
Sept. 1966) were foreshadowed by months of intensive anti-Ibo and anti-Eastern
conversations among Tiv, Idoma, Hausa and other Northerners resident in
Makurdi, and, fitting 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 was escorted back to the city
by soldiers who apologized for the stench and explained politely that they were
doing me and the world a great favor by eliminating Ibos.
This ugly condition of the Igbo people in the North
set off a massive exodus of the persecuted people back to their Region. The
resultant humanitarian crisis was huge in the East. Tens of people had to sleep
in a room. Innocent Obieze-Ofu Ezeigbo reported a stage when couples had no
qualms having sex in the night in the presence of other occupants of the room.
6. Gowon’s Divide and Rule Policy of Creation of Twelve States: Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon’s effort to maintaining his authority
informed the creation of the 12 states from the former 4 regions structure of
the country. This was a political stroke geared towards muzzling the
centrifugal thrust of the Eastern region. Gowon split each of the regions into
3 states. The Eastern region was split into South Eastern, Rivers, and East
Central states; confining the core Igbos in the East Central state away from
the oil-rich South Eastern and Rivers states. Ojukwu considered the splitting
of the Eastern Region as an assault against his sphere of control and he
gambled with secession, and the Nigerian Civil War broke out.
7. The Secession: Out of frustration and feeling of rejection
by the people of the East, and based on the recommendation by the Eastern
Region Consultative Assembly which May 26, 1967 voted for secession, Ojukwu
declared the Region independent and named it the Republic of Biafra. Secession
is a grave offence in a federal state. This prompted the Federal Government to
initiate what it termed a “police action” in which the breakaway region was
pounded with shelling. The poorly equipped Eastern region replied fire with
fire and the war broke out.
8. Youthful Exuberance of the Leaders: The duo
of Ojukwu and Gowon were in their early 30's when they were saddled with
leadership in their various spheres. The brazen aggressiveness of a typical
youthful age tainted most of their decisions. Ojukwu and Gowon practically
committed a number of blunders, and we had the Nigerian Civil War as a result.
It got to a time when Zik fell out with Ojukwu because of what he considered
Ojukwu’s excesses.
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