Read about our approach to external linking. "I didn't want anybody to disgrace him.". Nigeria became an independent country on October 1, 1960. 19-06-2014 Interview. He commanded the Biafran 58 Brigade at Uyo. In July 1966 northern officers and army units staged a coup. [15], Events leading to war [48]MASSOB says it is a peaceful group and advertises a 25stage plan to achieve its goal peacefully. Federal soldiers were advancing in full force and something had to be done. Corrections? 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". If any meeting lasted more than two hours, he wouldn't be party to it.". Mr Oragwu wishes that the Igbo had paid less attention to the scramble for power at the centre, and instead distinguished their region by advancing the technological gains of the war. Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? "Biafra would have been a technological nation and would have been able to compete with anybody," he said, anger in his voice. As with many other new African states, the borders of the country did not reflect earlier ethnic, cultural, religious, or political boundaries. Soldiers burnt houses and killed civilians the lake was filled with dead bodies, including those of white mercenaries, Adizua said. Widespread reports of fraud tarnished the elections legitimacy. The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel. It mainly operated in the Niger Delta and along the Niger River.[14]. Okororie recalls that she and her seven children had taken refuge in Oguta, a lakeside town near a local airport, which served as Biafras major supply line for arms and relief materials from international charities. [20][21][22], In July1966, northern officers and army units staged a counter-coup. Most of the coup plotters were Igbo. Evelyn Okororie was a trader in Port Harcourt, southeast Nigeria before the civil war broke out. The BAF commander wasPolishWorld War IIaceJan Zumbach. Biafra, named after the Bight at the shores of the Atlantic, in my mind, is one of the greatest nations in black Africa that was destined to be, but unfortunately could only survive for 30 months.. Nobody can fight a war like that.". End of the Nigerian civil war with Biafra. France provided weapons to Biafra, while the U.K. and the Soviet Union sent arms to the federal government. "Nigeria was programmed by the British colonial authorities not to participate in production and manufacture of global technologies," he wrote in the book. It was during one of Okorories trips to the market that her brothers house was bombed. But English was more widely spoken in Biafra, so translators were needed whenever French officials visited Ojukwu. Its territory consisted of theEastern RegionofNigeria. These were people who were doing all sorts of things and the war forced them out of their positions.". Former Nigerian Army Officer and Chief of Staff of the defunct Biafran Army, Alexander Madiebo, is dead. The civil war in Oguta and other areas in Biafra was life-changing. See Madiebo pages 260 to 261. Asked whether she harboured any resentment towards them, the businesswoman shook her head. In 1967, following two coups and turmoil which led to about a million Igbos returning to the south-east of Nigeria, the Republic of Biafra seceded with 33-year-old military officer Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu at the helm. Along with numerous commands, in a letter sent to him by Odumegwu Ojukwu, Kalu was made an officer of the Biafran fourteenth division with strict orders. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 2023 Cable News Network. Officials from different European countries travelled to meet Ojukwu to appeal for their release. [11], During the war, Biafra tried to acquire jets. This administration of the Nigerian federal government was widely perceived to be corrupt. After his release in 1967, he was asked to go into battle on the side of the Biafrans where he was promoted to the rank of a Biafran Lt.colonel but he got killed in an ambush. [19]In January1966, the situation reached a breaking point. He retired as a Lt Col in the Nigerian Army around 1985 and later became chairman of the National Population Commission, Abuja. Nwawo is the most senior officer in the entire people's army of Biafra, , he is also one of the most distinguished and highly decorated military officers in the country who died at 92 years of age. [10], Early modern maps of Africa from the 15th to the 19th centuries, drawn from accounts written by explorers and travellers, show references to Biafra, Biafra,[11][12] and Biafares. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was its first federal prime ministerhe had held that position since 1957and Nnamdi Azikiwe became its president of the Senate, which was a largely ceremonial role. They have three children, Andrew, Yvette and Chukwuma who are all married with children. "I think now that Ojukwu thought he was Jesus Christ. I wont subscribe to war today, because I saw war, he said. Mr Ago left the army and went in search of his family, whom he had not heard from in more than two years. May Ezes soul rest in peace. "Even the Vatican sent representatives.". Okororie said she sold food and other household items during the war in exchange for Nigerian pounds, which she then used to buy cigarettes, potash, salt, and marijuana since Biafran currency was not recognized beyond its borders. 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. 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. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. 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. He also remembers the last year of the war when his unit was continuously on the move, fleeing the advancing Nigerian army. At the outbreak of hostilities in July 1967 that marked the beginning of the Nigerian Biafran war, Aghanya was commissioned into the Biafran Army with the rank of Colonel and appointed Commanding Officer of the 44th Electrical and Mechanical Engineer Battalion Biafran Army by the then Chief of Staff Biafran Army, Brigadier Hillary Njoku. These events sparked the decision to secede, spearheaded by Ojukwu, who was then the military governor of the Eastern Region. Now in his 80s, he says the war was a harrowing experience, and should never be repeated. By October1967, the FMG had regained the land after intense fighting. Mr Ago remembers the overpowering hunger that often forced Biafran soldiers to catch and eat mice. The territory of the Republic of Biafra is covered nowadays by the reorganizedNigerian statesofCross River,Ebonyi,Enugu,Anambra,Imo,Bayelsa,Rivers,Abia, andAkwa Ibom. They undertook this dangerous task without carrying weapons. The Biafran Navy was made up of captured craft, converted tugs, and armor-reinforced civilian vessels armed with machine guns or captured6-pounder guns. The blockade against Biafra made essential commodities scarce, forcing women to make the treacherous two-day journey on foot to Afia Attack, a trading post behind enemy lines in Midwestern Nigeria. Fighting broke out in early July. 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. I wasnt angry towards the Nigerian soldiers. She enjoyed working directly with the Biafran leader, whom she and her colleagues fondly referred to as "Brother OJ". CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. 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. He was military administrator of Bornu state and retired as a Colonel of the Nigerian Army in 1999. They were coloured green, were able to carry six 68mm anti-armour rockets under each wing using simple sights. At the start of the war, they also became officers in Biafra. In 1945 an ethnic riot[17]flared up inJosin which Hausa-Fulani people targeted Igbo people and left many dead and wounded. 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. Copyright 2020. In February 1956, he joined the Officer Cadet Training at R.O.S.T.S., Teshie, Accra, Ghana till September 1956. Though peaceful, the protesters have been routinely attacked by the Nigerian police and army, with large numbers of people reportedly killed. [39]In 1968 theSwedishpilotCarl Gustaf von Rosensuggested the MiniCOIN project to General Ojukwu. Professor Boniface Obinna Okere lectures on international humanitarian law and other subjects at the University of Nigeria in Enugu. Biafra was formally recognised by Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Zambia. "I think we would have done better if we had handled it with a little bit more intelligence," said Mr Ago. [2] No official support for the Biafran Army came from any other nation, although arms were clandestinely acquired. Three major rivers flow from Biafra into the Gulf of Guinea: theImo River, theCross Riverand theNiger River.[30]. See Madiebo page 195. Despite this division, the country still was segmented into three large geographic regions, each of which was essentially controlled by an ethnic group: the west by the Yoruba people, the east by the Igbo people, and the north by the Hausa-Fulani people. [3] 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. The coup eventually took place in July, 1966. [73][74][75], The Incorporated Trustees of Bilie Human Rights Initiative, representing the Indigenous People of Biafra, have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government of Nigeria and Attorney General of the Federation, seeking the actualization of the sovereign state of Biafra by legal means. 2023 The Sun Nigeria All Right Reserved. Nigeria led multiple. We were drafted into the war, given two days' training. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! By this time, we would have been competing with at least South Korea.". Her most memorable assignment occurred after the Biafran military captured six Italian oil workers employed by the Nigerian government.
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