Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960. Ogbugo Kalu, who died in February, 2004 was a former army officer who served in both the Nigerian Army and Biafran Army. He was military administrator of Bornu state and retired as a Colonel of the Nigerian Army in 1999. The bomb fell on my older brothers house, Okororie said of the missile that missed its target, an adjacent military encampment. This number grew as the war progressed, ultimately reaching 30,000. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. He married Mrs. Joan Angelina Eze from Grenada, West Indies in 1960. In the months preceding the war, Ojukwu often visited UNN, the only university in south-eastern Nigeria at the time, to meet with students and prepare them for secession. [4], 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. Some of the positions he held in the Biafran Army include administrative officer, Biafran Army Headquarters and Commander, 11th and 13th Divisions of the Biafran Army, as well as the guerrilla commando unit. The deaths of more than a million people in Nigeria as a result of the brutal civil war which ended exactly 50 years ago are a scar on the nation's history. 19-06-2014 Interview. The war ended 50 years ago on 15th January 1970 when Ojukwu fled the country. 2. appreciated. [9], Biafra had a small improvised navy, but it never gained the success of the air force. Ms Nwanunobi joined the Biafran ministry of foreign affairs as part of a handful of translators who worked directly with Ojukwu. The six planes were flown by three Swedish pilots and three Biafran pilots. [32] Biafra attempted to finance the war through foreign exchange. The talks were largely unsuccessful in curbing the conflict between Biafra and Nigeria. Dr. Toyin Falola is an African historian and the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair Professor in the Humanities and a Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. The two-month period of the Nigerian civil war from August 9 to October 8th 1967 represent the entry and exit dates of Biafran forces from the Midwest. Most of the coup plotters were Igbo. But survivors like Adizua are cautious about the possibility of another war. It is probably for this reason that the war is barely mentioned. Major General Philip Effiong, the Republic of Biafra's Vice President and Chief of General Staff, orchestrated the surrender after the original President, Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, escaped to the Ivory Coast. But English was more widely spoken in Biafra, so translators were needed whenever French officials visited Ojukwu. Col. (later Gen.) Yakubu Gowon came to power. Biafran Air Force commanders were Chude Sokey and later Godwin Ezeilo,[10] who had trained with the Royal Canadian Air Force. The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, July 6, 1967 - January 13, . Here are list of Nigerian soldiers that pulled out to support Ojukwu's breakaway. In the uncontrollable excitement of the chase, the Battalion cleared the entire town instead of clearing only the left side of it as was ordered. [14] People in the region have described Biafra as the land directly adjacent to the Bight of Biafra and also an indigenous state, existing before European colonialism created such entities as Nigeria. Some women on the trail were raped and killed by soldiers, while others died in bombing raids. [20][21][22], In July1966, northern officers and army units staged a counter-coup. But tragedy struck when Nigerian combatants launched an airstrike. By far, Eze would be remembered in history for his heroic war efforts in Biafra. Biafra also received aid from international organizations for its population, which was suffering from starvation. This coup resulted in General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, an Igbo and head of the Nigerian Army, taking power as President, becoming the first military head of state in Nigeria. A few days later, she left the country for the Biafran office in Paris. Now 50 years since the end of the war, some are still clamoring for the return of the republic. He was assassinated in February 1976 during an unsuccessful coup attempt, and his top aide, Lieut. 10 soldiers who played a major role in the Biafran army Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much [1] History [ edit] Disabled Biafran war veterans in 2017. Although sabotage cannot be totally ruled out in a war situation, the political authorities could not admit that despite the gallant and brave efforts of Biafran troops in many battles, the simple truth was that the balance of ammunition tilted heavily in favour of the Nigerians with strong backing from Britain. The findings are in line with the developmental origin of health and disease hypothesis suggesting that malnutrition in early life is a predisposing factor for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes later in life. 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. Charles W. Thomas defined the locations of islands in the Bight of Biafra as between the parallels of longitude 5 and 9 East and latitude 4 North and 2 South. By October1967, the FMG had regained the land after intense fighting. I was bringing salt to Oguta, she recalled, and selling weed.. [32]The bank was administered by a governor and four directors; the first governor, who signed on bank notes, wasSylvester Ugoh. The Biafran Navy was made up of captured craft, converted tugs, and armored civilian vessels armed with machine guns, or captured 6-pounder guns. [13], Biafra had a small improvised navy, but it never gained the success of the air force. On 26 May the Eastern Region voted to secede from Nigeria. Biafra War - GlobalSecurity.org The Nigerian Civil War: Why and How It Happened (1967-1970) "The Last Adventurer" by Steiner, Rolf (Boston:, Little, Brown 1978), Chinese-made weapons may have come from Zambia or Tanzania (, http://www.canit.se/~griffon/aviation/text/biafra.htm, "The Douglas A/B-26 Invader - Biafran Invaders", https://web.archive.org/web/20130509094109/http://vectaris.net/id307.html, Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, http://www.marinavasca.eu/en/ficha-otras-marinas-auxiliares.php?id=49&o=, https://books.google.fr/books?id=o50VqaPTWkoC, Pages containing cite templates with deprecated parameters, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The surrender was facilitated by the Biafran Vice President and Chief of General Staff, Major General Philip Effiong, who assumed leadership of the Republic of Biafra after the original President, Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, fled to Ivory Coast. In the west the government had fallen apart in 1962, and a boycott of the federal election of December 1964 brought Nigeria to the brink of breakdown. [27] Biafra was ill-equipped for war, with fewer army personnel and less equipment than the Nigerian military, but had advantages over the Nigerian state as they were fighting in their homeland and had the support of most Biafrans. Eze: Exit of a Biafran war hero - The Sun Nigeria [49]It has two arms of government, the BiafraGovernment in Exileand the Biafra Shadow Government. During a stopover of several days in Lisbon, she heard that Biafra had surrendered. These aircraft flew missions until January 1970 manned by Portuguese ex-military pilots. "He had this incredible sense of humour. He died in November 2011 and was given a full military burial in a ceremony attended by then Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, some other African leaders and members of the diplomatic corps. I looked for death but I couldnt find it.. After running into unexpected resistance and facing many casualties, the right Nigerian column advanced to Nsukka, which was captured on the 14th of July. She sold her items to both residents and Biafran soldiers. Early inventory included fourWorld War IIAmerican bombers: twoB-25 Mitchells, twoB-26 Invaders(Douglas A-26) (one piloted by Zumbach),[37]a converted DouglasDC-3[38]and one Britishde Havilland Dove. Now in his 80s, he says the war was a harrowing experience, and should never be repeated. Biafran Army Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images July 31: France voices support for Ojukwu. 2023 The Sun Nigeria All Right Reserved. Some of us, our skin was getting rotten. "Somewhere in the middle of the war," he said, "the Biafrans made some dramatic successes that gave us hope that we might hold the Nigerians until at least some help from outside came.". [56]On 16June 2012, a Supreme Council of Elders of the Indigenous People of Biafra, another pro-Biafra organization was formed, the body is made up of some prominent persons in the Biafra region, they sued the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the right to self-determination, Debe Odumegwu Ojukwu, the eldest son of ex-President / General Ojukwu and a Lagos state-based lawyer was the lead counsel that championed the case. Colonel Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, the military governor of Eastern Nigeria during the Ironsi regime, became the Head of State of the Republic of Biafra and began establishing the infrastructure of a sovereign nation, including the minting of currency and establishing diplomatic relations with other nations. The final Biafran collapse began on December 24, 1969, when federal troops launched a significant offensive. [16][23][25] It is believed this was one of the major factors that sparked the war. Along other commands held, Kalu was made commander of the Biafran 14th division with a strict orders in a letter written to him by Odumegwu Ojukwu. Refugees flee the fighting in July 1968. He promised to consider the matter, and the Italians were subsequently released. In addition, the federal governments policy of giving 20 pounds to Igbos with bank savings, irrespective of what they owned before the war, left some impoverished. As he told me himself in 2007, If a true and complete account of the civil war on the Biafran side is to be rendered, I (Eze) Madiebo and Ojukwu are the three people who can sit down together and jointly write such a book. He is a J.E. In May the Eastern regions consultative assembly authorized Ojukwu to establish a sovereign republic, while, at the same time, the federal military government promulgated a decree dividing the four regions into 12 states, including 6 in the north and 3 in the east, in an attempt to break the power of the regions. The two coups deepened Nigerias ethnic tensions. Aguiyi Ironsi wherein Madiebo in the presence of Mobolaji Johnson (then Governor of Lagos State) warned Ironsi of an impending coup against him. But now I know that heroes fight like Biafrans. Eyiche Adizua was a technician at the Nigerian National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) before the civil war broke out, Oguta lake is the largest natural lake in Imo State, southeast Nigeria. The four most senior officers of Northern origin were also killed. We were being shelled from everywhere, she said, recalling the day Nigerian combatants reached the city. Increasing cries of marginalisation have led in recent years to the emergence of Igbo groups agitating once again for secession, particularly the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), formed by UK-based British-Nigerian Nnamdi Kanu. After two-and-a-half years of war, during which almost two million Biafran civilians (34 of them small children) died from starvation caused by the total blockade of the region by the Nigerian government,[5] Biafran forces under Nigerias motto of No-victor, No-vanquished surrendered to the Nigerian Federal Military Government (FMG). New Nigerian newspaper page, 7January 1970. Led by British-Nigerian Nnamdi Kanu, the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), a group fighting for an independent state of Biafra wants the old eastern region of Nigeria to break away. The separatist group has led multiple protests across eastern parts of the country calling for a separate homeland for Biafrans. As a Biafran Army is was a Major and he commanded Biafran 11th division,11 battalion and Biafran S division respectively. They have three children, Andrew, Yvette and Chukwuma who are all married with children. The Military ranks of Biafra were the military insignia used by the Biafran Armed Forces between 1967 and 1970, when Biafra was defeated in the Nigerian Civil War. In a national broadcast, he said the decision was based on the belief that justice must at all times be tempered with mercy. She says they walked all day and survived only on achara, a vegetable similar to a leek, until they got to their destination. [11] 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),[12] a converted DC-3 and one Dove. [1], At the beginning of the Nigerian Civil War, Biafra had 3,000 soldiers. [5], 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. [57], MASSOB leader Chief Ralph Uwazuruike establishedRadio Biafrain theUnited Kingdomin 2009, withNnamdi Kanuas his radio director; later Kanu was said to have been dismissed from MASSOB because of accusations of supporting violence. We were not. 2023 Cable News Network. Following independence, Nigeria was demarcated primarily along ethnic lines:HausaandFulanimajority in the north,Yorubamajority in the West, andIgbomajority in the East.[16]. The military intervention worsened the political situation, as the army itself split along ethnic lines, its officers clashed over power, and the instigators and leaders of the January coup were accused of favouring Igbo domination. Professor Okere is a member of the . Young Biafran soldiers inspect an unexploded shell in June 1968. [36], The Biafrans managed to set up a small yet effective air force. Before the war broke out, Adizua lived in Lagos, Nigerias commercial center with his family. [7], During the war, Biafra tried to acquire jets. [7] It was purported that at the start of the civil war, Igbos withdrew their funds from Nigerian banks and converted it to the Biafran currency. It was Eze that received Madiebo from Kaduna at the Ikeja Airport, Lagos at 1500 hours on the 19th of June, 1966 and drove him in his private car to see the Head of State, Major General J.T.U. In September 1969, Biafra acquired four ex-Armee de l'Air North American T-6Gs, which were flown to Biafra the following month, with another T-6 lost on the ferry flight. During an enemy counter attack at Umuabayi, our troops destroyed a Saladine and an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC). Ogbugo Kalu. The oil boom that followed the war allowed the federal government to finance development programs and consolidate its power. He was behind the setting up of four universities of science and technology in different regions of Nigeria and after retirement he published Scientific and Technological Innovations in Biafra, a book he hoped would inspire young Nigerians. Weapons and equipment used by Army and militias. Owerri is now captured. A Warner Bros. Biafra over the years has represented the nationalist aspirations of the Igbo people whose leadership felt they could no longer co-exist with the Northern-dominated federal government. It mainly operated in the Niger Delta and along the Niger River.[10]. They undertook this dangerous task without carrying weapons. The currency of Biafra had been the Nigerian pound until the Bank of Biafra started printing out its own notes, the Biafran pound. . Not everything captured could be brought across the river but that which was brought back included 100,000 rounds of ammunition, 50 bicycles, 3 battery charging machines, 4 wireless sets, 2 typewriters, 300 rounds of 105mm shells, 2 anti-aircraft guns and ammunition, a few weapons and fairly large quantities of food and clothing. Commissioned officer ranks [ edit ] The rank insignia of commissioned officers . Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [11], During the war, Biafra tried to acquire jets. Mrs Nwanunobi met Ojukwu for the last time on 23 December 1969, when she lined up outside his office with her colleagues, to receive a Christmas gift and a handshake from him. The Northerners were at odds with this agreement that was known as theAburi Accords;Obafemi Awolowo, the leader of the Western Region warned that if the Eastern Region seceded, the Western Region would also, which persuaded the northerners.[23]. It was during one of Okorories trips to the market that her brothers house was bombed. This led to months of massacres against the Igbo living in the north. Subsequently, the Biafran Commander-in-Chief posted him to Army Headquarters as Chief of Operations under Madiebo, away from field operations. ", Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, pictured here in June 1968, was a charismatic figure, Nigerian troops seen in one of Biafra's main cities, Port Harcourt, in 1968 after fierce fighting, Hunger caused the deaths of many people during the conflict, When the war started, there was not a single weapon anywhere throughout Biafra. [26] A large amount of oil in the region also created conflict, as oil was already becoming a major component of the Nigerian economy. [9]In 1953 a similar riot occurred inKanolater. Ojukwu says in the letter: "Your role in the . Colonel Robert Akonobi commanded the Biafran 57 Brigade. After Nigeria announced its currency would no longer be legal tender (to make way for a new currency), this effort increased. In July 1966 northern officers staged a countercoup, Aguiyi-Ironsi was assassinated, and Lieut. . These events sparked the decision to secede, spearheaded by Ojukwu, who was then the military governor of the Eastern Region. By early 1969, Biafra had assembled five MFI-9Bs in Gabon, calling them "Biafra Babies". "I didn't want anybody to disgrace him.". Initially, the final offensive was neutralised by Biafran troops. 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. And he had the distinction of having held out against all odds for 15 months in the face of furious onslaughts by federal troops. Ejike Obumneme Aghanya - Wikipedia Nigerian Civil War: History, Causes & Effects - World History Edu These were people who were doing all sorts of things and the war forced them out of their positions.". The Biafran War began in July 1966, and ended in 1970 after more than a million people had been killed, mostly from starvation. Two Fouga Magisters and several Gloster Meteors were bought but never arrived in Biafra, being abandoned on foreign African airbases. Eze was recalled to field operations when the situation in the war front was becoming hopeless and propaganda alone could not win the war. As a well-trained and experienced military officer in Nigeria, it was only natural that being an officer later in the Biafran Army, he had to play a key role in the war. Two Fouga Magister and several Gloster Meteor were bought but never arrived to Biafra, being abandoned on foreign African airbases. [50]MASSOB accuses Nigeria of marginalising Biafran people. Evelyn Okororie had just returned home from the market in Nigerias Midwest region, when neighbors informed her that an airstrike had killed her mother, her niece and three of her children. A starving Biafran family during the famine resulting from the Biafran War. Lambert Ihenacho, is known as a brilliant and resourceful officer in the Nigerian Army. [39]In 1968 theSwedishpilotCarl Gustaf von Rosensuggested the MiniCOIN project to General Ojukwu. In September 1966,approximately 30,000 Igbo were killed in the north, and some Northerners were killed in backlashes in eastern cities.
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