BIAFRA WAR: Biafra Nations Youth League( BNYL) Accuses The West Of Misleading Gowon.

The Biafra Nations Youth League, BNYL, have stated that the Biafran war would have been averted if the Federal Government had complied with the Aburi Accord. The BNYL blamed the inability of the former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon to implement the Aburi agreement and his refusal to stop the killing of Easterners as remote cause of the war.

Addressing newsmen today in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, the Chief Press Secretary of BNYL, Richard Odung accused Western elites of misleading Gowon, "the westerners contributed immensely to the war. It would have been averted but they misled Gowon to reject what he accepted before the then Ghanaian Head of State, Lt. General Joe Ankrah, and other world observers.

I think that war would'nt have occured if the Aburi agreement was implemented" He said that "some people of the Niger Delta who were used as instrument to frustrate the Government of the east are today clamouring for what was agreed in Aburi".

Odung was reacting to the 50 years anniversary of the Biafran war which claimed the lives of over 3 million Easterners. He debunked claims that it was the first coup resulted to the war, "I don't believe it because the first coup, yes an Igboman from Delta State was the leader of the coup but there are some other persons in the North and West that were part of that coup as history recorded.

Even though the Easterners controlled the Nigerian Army then, they were not happy with the way the Prime Minister went about his appointments and policy making without consulting the ceremonial President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe". He recalled the Kano riot in 1956 during the constitutional conference. The BNYL Spokesman said that the killing of Easterners did not start immediately after the first coup.

He advised Buhari government not to repeat the mistakes of Gowon by thinking that the use of force will end the demands for a sovereign state of Biafra.

BIAFRA : Biafra: Nnamdi Kanu Roasts British Government In Latest Rant

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, who is championing the agitation for the Republic of Biafra, has once again berated the British government.

Naija News reports that the IPOB leader who doubles as the director of Radio Biafra lampooned the British government in the latest rant on the micro-blogging site, Twitter on Monday night, January 13.

This online news platform understands that the IPOB leader accused the British government of masterminding the killing and starvation of millions of Biafrans to death during the Biafran war.

Naija News reports that the Biafran war otherwise known as the Nigerian civil war was a civil war in Nigeria fought between the government of Nigeria and the secessionist state of Biafra from 6 July 1967 to 15 January 1970.

In a bid to mark “Biafra War 50th Anniversary,” Kanu took to tweet to accuse the British government of masterminding the war 50 years ago.

The IPOB leader who is on exile maintained that the British government forced Biafrans to abandon the war, adding that the actions of the British government did not, however, end the Nigerian civil war at the time.

Kanu also revealed in his tweet that he would be holding a live broadcast on Wednesday, January 15 in order to mark the “Biafra War 50th Anniversary.”

Kanu tweeted: “50 years ago Britain masterminded the killing & starvation of millions of Biafrans to death; we were forced to abandon the war. But did the war end?

“Join us as we mark the Biafra War 50th Anniversary. Date: Wed. 15/01/2020. Time: 7: 00 PM Biafraland Time. On Radio Biafra,” the IPOB leader wrote on Twitter on Monday night.

Meanwhile, Kanu’s accusation is coming at the time Prophet Joshua Iginla, the General Overseer of Champions Royal Assembly, an interdenominational church in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, released 2020 prophecies, stating that the agitation for the Republic of Biafra, will gain international recognition this year.

“I’m not a prophet of doom but I must tell you the truth we have not seen the end of the Biafra agitation. This year it will take another turn and continue to grow like that,” he predicted.

Nnamdi Kanu is leading a group (IPOB) seeking secession from Nigeria. The group has since been proscribed by the Federal Government of Nigeria led by President Muhammadu Buhari.

BIAFRA : Remembering Nigeria's Biafra war that many prefer to forget

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 in the nation's history.

For most Nigerians, the war over the breakaway state of Biafra is generally regarded as an unfortunate episode best forgotten, but for the Igbo people who fought for secession, it remains a life-defining event.

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.

The Nigerian government declared war and after 30 months of fighting, Biafra surrendered. On 15 January 1970, the conflict officially ended.

The government's policy of "no victor, no vanquished" may have led to a lack of official reflection, but many Nigerians of Igbo origin grew up on stories from people who lived through the war.

Three of those who were involved in the secessionist campaign have been sharing their memories.

We thought we were magicians'

Christopher Ejike Ago, soldier

He had just finished grammar school and started training as a veterinary assistant at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), in south-eastern Nigeria, when the civil war began.

Almost every student he knew became part of the war effort.

He joined the Biafran army and was assigned to the signal unit, whose responsibilities included "active intelligence and eavesdropping on the Nigerian military".

The Nigerians who were pursuing us were trained soldiers... We were drafted into the war, given two days' training."

Christopher Ejike Ago
Soldier in the Biafran war

"We thought we were magicians," said 76-year-old Mr Ago.

"The Nigerians who were pursuing us were trained soldiers. We were not. We were drafted into the war, given two days' training.

"Plus the fact that we were hungry. Some of us, our skin was getting rotten. Nobody can fight a war like that."

In January 1966, some senior Nigerian army officers, mostly of the Igbo ethnic group, assassinated key politicians during a coup in the West African state.

Those killed included Ahmadu Bello, a revered leader in the north.

This led to months of massacres against the Igbo living in the north. Tens of thousands were killed while about a million fled to what was then known as the Eastern Region.

These events sparked the Igbo's decision to secede, spearheaded by Ojukwu, who was then the military governor of the Eastern Region.

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.

Mr Ago looked forward to these visits, and joined the crowd who gathered at the university's Freedom Square.

"Once his helicopter touched down, everybody went there and, practically, school shut down.

"He had this incredible sense of humour. He spiked everybody up and we formed songs and were singing and enjoying ourselves."

In the first year of the war, the Nigerian government captured the coastal city of Port Harcourt and imposed a blockade, which cut food supplies to Biafra.

Mr Ago remembers the overpowering hunger that often forced Biafran soldiers to catch and eat mice. He also remembers the last year of the war when his unit was continuously on the move, fleeing the advancing Nigerian army.

"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."

By late 1969, all hope was lost.

BIAFRA : Biafra group reveals those who actually caused civil war, warns Buhari

The Biafra Nations Youth League, BNYL, has stated that the Biafran war would have been averted if the Federal Government of Nigeria had complied with the Aburi Accord.

The BNYL blamed the inability of the former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, to implement the Aburi agreement and his refusal to stop the killing of Easterners as the remote cause of the war.

The group stated this in a statement to DAILY POST on Tuesday signed by its Chief Press Secretary, Richard Odung.

They accused western elites of misleading Gowon, adding, “the westerners contributed immensely to the war, it would have been averted but they misled Gowon to reject what he accepted before Kwame Nkrumah and other world observers.

“The war wouldn’t have occurred if the Aburi was implemented.”

The group added that “some people of the Niger Delta who were used as an instrument to frustrate the Government of the East are today clamoring for what was agreed in Aburi.”

BNYL said it was reacting to the 50 years anniversary of the Biafran war which claimed the lives of 1.2 million Nigerians.

It debunked claims that the first coup resulted to the war, adding, “[We] don’t believe it was because of the first coup, yes an Igboman from Delta State was the leader of the coup but there are some other persons in the North and West who were part of that coup as history recorded.

“Even at that, the Easterners controlled the Nigerian Army as of then, and they were not happy with the way the Prime Minister was going about his appointments and policymaking without consulting the ceremonial President, Nnamdi Azikiwe.”

The group recalled the Kano riot in 1956 during the constitutional conference, the killing of easterners did not start immediately after the first coup.

BNYL advised the Buhari government not to repeat the mistakes of Gowon by thinking that the use of force will end the demands for a sovereign state of Biafra.

Biafra biafra : Fifty Years After

Tony Ademiluyi

January 15, which is in about 24 hours’ time, will mark the 50th year anniversary of the Nigerian Civil War which was fought between Nigerian forces and the secessionist Biafran side led by Lt-Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. The war was a very bloody one as about three million people reportedly lost their lives. The images of starving children which were beamed all over the world left a heart-wrenching image in the mind of Steve Jobs that he vowed never to be a Christian again as he questioned the logic of a good God who allowed his creatures to suffer in the most horrifying manner.

The subject of this war is a very controversial one as it brings back tragic memories and tears from even the stone-hearted. There have been different accounts about the war as a copious number of books have been written on the subject.

The remote cause of the war was the first military coup in the country which occurred on January 15, 1966 spearheaded by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu of the famous Five Majors. The then Premier of the Northern Region, Alhaji (Sir) Ahmadu Bello, was murdered in his residence. The likes of Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the then Prime Minister, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, the Premier of the Western region, and Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, the finance minister, were killed in the most gruesome manner. Some top military officers were also sent to meet their Creator on that fateful day. Brigadier General Samuel Adesujo Ademulegun, the Commander of the First Brigade in Kaduna, was killed alongside his pregnant wife; his deputy, Col. Shodeinde, was also murdered. Brigadier General Zakari Maimalari, the most senior northerner in the armed forces, was killed in Lagos. The only Igbo who lost his life was the then Quarter-Master General, Lt-Col Arthur Chinyelu Unegbe, who was dispatched to his ancestors because he refused to hand over the keys of the armoury to the coup plotters.

With the exception of Major Wale Ademoyega, the rest of the coup plotters were of Igbo extraction which made it to be tagged as an Igbo coup. This made anti-Igbo sentiments very high especially in the north as they lost their two major leaders in the persons of Bello and Balewa and many of the top brass of their military officers.

When Major General Thomas Johnson Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi came to power, many Nigerians especially the northerners, expected him to decisively punish the coup plotters for their heinous crimes. He didn’t do much and he further provoked Nigerians by making the nation a unitary one. There was the fear of Igbo domination as they commanded high heights in the army.

These fears led to the counter coup on July 29, 1966 when Ironsi and the then military governor of the western region, Lt-Col Francis Adekunle Fajuyi were killed. The coup was said to have been masterminded by the then Captain Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma.

The pogroms in the north began and the then Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, Lt-Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu asked all Igbos living in the north to return home and he could no longer guarantee their safety there.

There was the personality and ego clash between Ojukwu and Gowon. The former said that the military hierarchy should be respected as Babafemi Ogundipe was the most senior military officer and as such should have been the Head of State and not Gowon. He therefore wouldn’t recognise him as his boss. Things came to a head and the then Ghanaian military Head of State, General Joseph Ankrah, invited both men to Aburi, Ghana for a peace meeting. In that historic meeting, Ojukwu canvassed that the best form of government for the country was a confederation which Gowon agreed to while there. When they returned to Nigeria, Gowon changed his mind and broke up the four regions into 12 states to weaken the powers of Ojukwu. This didn’t deter the son of Nigeria’s former wealthiest man from declaring a independent state of Biafra which led to the brutal 30-month war.

Ojukwu disappointed many of those who believed in his cause as he left them in the lurch when he and his family went into exile in Cote d’Ivoire leaving the rank and file who viewed him as a liberator to their fate.

The war was prosecuted without a single borrowing due to the sagacity of the then Federal Commissioner of Finance and Vice-Chairman of the Federal Executive Council, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He was quoted to have said that ‘starvation is a legitimate weapon of warfare.’ There were blockades which prevented food and essential supplies from entering the war zone.

The war ended with a ‘No victors, no vanquished’ slogan by Gowon but it was all on paper as only 20 pounds was given to each bank account holder irrespective of the amount that they had in the bank.

The tribe lost out in the military and civil service and they only had commerce to take refuge in. There is hardly any government presence in the states as their roads are one of the worst in the country. Their cry of marginalisation is legitimate as they are agitating a better deal from the Nigerian state.

The Igbo presidency is the current hot potato which is dominating the discourse as the nation marches towards the 2023 elections. There is an unwritten rule of power rotation between the North and the South. The South-West and South-South have produced presidents and so in the interest of justice and fair play, the South-East should be supported to have a son or daughter of theirs to sit in Aso Rock. They have never produced a civilian president and so it is high time they were backed by the other zones to power.

Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, a proud son of theirs, was a key proponent for a United Nigeria. He ensured that the secession clause wasn’t inserted in the 1960 Independence Constitution and gave up his ambition to be the nation’s first Prime Minister for peace to reign. Also during the civil war, he later defected to the Nigerian side where he still preached his never changing gospel of a One Nigeria.

It is high time the Igbo were compensated for Azikiwe’s selflessness just like the Yoruba were compensated for Abiola’s political loss when democracy returned to the country in 1999.

Anything short of this will see their agitations spiral out of control which will be highly detrimental to national interest.

BIAFRA: 50 YEARS AFTER BLESS LAND

January 15 will mark the 50th year anniversary of the Nigerian civil war which was fought between the federal government and the secessionist Biafran side led by Lt-Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. The war was a very bloody one as about one million people lost their lives. The images of starving children which was beamed all over the world left a heart-wrenching image in the mind of Steve Jobs that he vowed never to be a Christian again as he questioned the logic of a good God who allowed his creatures to suffer in the most horrifying manner.

The remote cause of the war was the first military coup in the country which occurred on January 15, 1966 spearheaded by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu of the famous five majors. The then Premier of the Northern Region, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello was murdered in cold blood in his residence. The likes of Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the then Prime Minister, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, the Premier of the Western region, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, the finance minister were killed in the most gruesome manner.

Some top military officers were also killed on that fateful day. Brigadier-General Samuel Adesujo Ademulegun, the Commander of the first Brigade in Kaduna was killed alongside his pregnant wife, his deputy Colonel Shodeinde was also murdered. Brigadier-General Zakari Maimalari, the most senior northerner in the armed forces was killed in Lagos. The only Igbo military officer who lost his life was the then Quarter-Master General, Lt-Col Arthur Chinyelu Unegbe because he refused to hand over the keys of the armoury to the coup plotters.

With the exception of Major Wale Ademoyega, the rest of the coup plotters were Igbos which made it to be tagged an Igbo coup. This made anti-Igbo sentiments very high especially in the north.

When Major-General Thomas Johnson Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi came to power, many Nigerians especially the northerners expected him to decisively punish the coup plotters for their heinous crimes. He didn’t do

much and he further provoked Nigerians by making the nation a unitary state. There was the fear of Igbo domination. These fears led to the counter-coup on July 29, 1966 when Ironsi and the then military governor of the western region, Lt-Col Francis Adekunle Fajuyi were killed.

The pogroms in the north began and the then Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, Lt-Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu asked all Igbos living in the north to return home as he could not guarantee their safety there.

There was the personality and ego clash between Ojukwu and Gowon. The former said that the military hierarchy should be respected as Babafemi Ogundipe was the most senior military officer and as such should have been the Head of State and not Gowon. He therefore wouldn’t recognize him as his boss. Things came to a head and the then Ghanaian Military Head of State, General Joseph Ankrah invited both men to Aburi, Ghana for a peace meeting.

In that historic meeting, Ojukwu canvassed that the best form of government for the country was a Confederation which Gowon agreed to while there. When they returned home, Gowon changed his mind and broke up the four regions into 12 states to weaken the powers of Ojukwu. Ojukwu declared a Sovereign state of Biafra which led to the brutal 30 months war.

Ojukwu disappointed many of those who believed in his cause as he left them in the lurch when he and his family ran into exile in Cote d’Ivoire leaving the rank and file who viewed him as a demi-god to their fate.

The war was prosecuted without a single borrowing due to the sagacity of the then Federal Commissioner and Vice-Chairman of the Federal Executive Council, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He was quoted to have said that ‘starvation is a legitimate weapon of warfare.’ There were blockades which prevented food and essential supplies from entering the east.

The war ended with a ‘No victors, no vanquished’ slogan by Gowon but it was all on paper as only 20 pounds was given to them irrespective of the amount that they had in the bank.

They are the loudest voice in the cry for secession through the formation of the Movement for the Actualization for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) led by Ralph Uwazurike and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Nnamdi Kanu. The tribe lost out in the military and civil service and they only had commerce to take refuge in. There is hardly any government presence in their area. Their cry is legitimate as they are agitating for a better deal from the government.

Tony Ademiluyi, Lagos

BIAFRA : The long shadow of Biafra lingers over Nigeria

The Biafra War led to the deaths of at least 1-2 million people in just 30 months — many of them children. January 15 marks 50 years since the end of the brutal conflict. The consequences can still be felt today.



Uchenna Chikwendu rarely speaks about the Biafra War. The 67-year-old lives in Enugu, the provincial capital of the state of the same name in eastern Nigeria. She was a teenager during the civil war, which began in July 1967 and ended on January 15, 1970. But there's one thing she can't forget: "We had to trek so much because there were no vehicles then. If you had a car you had to [hide] it otherwise the army would take it from you." Any errands had to be done on foot: "We had to walk through narrow paths in the bush to go to the market. We left at around 3 a.m. so by around 5 a.m. we were in the markets. So we would shop quickly and then come back, hiding, so that they wouldn't see us."

Uchenna Chikwendu rarely speaks about her experiences during the Biafra War

Nigeria, a country made up of more than 250 ethnic groups, became independent of Great Britain in 1960. Even then, it had a population of more than 45 million, predominantly Hausa and Fulani in the north, Yoruba in the west and Igbos in the east. It wasn't long before the groups started to engage in a struggle for power and resources and other disagreements. Two coups took place in 1966: First, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi seized power after Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a Hausa, was killed by mutinous soldiers. Six months later, a counter-coup — often called the "July Rematch" — took place, involving mostly generals from the north. On May 30, 1967, the military governor of Nigeria's eastern region, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Okukwu, declared the region to be independent following violent ethnic riots.

Throughout Africa, the Igbos are known as traders

Nigeria remains a divided state

According to Eghosa Osahgae, a professor of comparative politics at the University of Ibadan, the reasons behind the war — between 500,000 and 3 million people are estimated to have been killed — have not changed to this day.

"People still think that the southeast continues to be to most marginalized, or the most powerless in that sense," Osahgae told DW when speaking about the consequences of Nigeria's internal divisions. In this sense, a clear identity and feeling of belonging can be established along this line. Uchenna Chikwendu, for example, feels no connection with the state of Nigeria. "I don't feel Nigerian at all," she told DW. "I feel happy I'm an Igbo. But as a Nigerian, no. There is no Nigeria, to me. I have nothing to be proud of as a Nigerian."

At the same time, millions of people remain extremely mobile. This is largely due to the need for trade, which the war failed to stop. Many Hausa people live around Ogui Road in Enugu. Their sarki — their king — is Abubakar Yussuf Sambo — whose family arrived in Enugu from Adamawa about a hundred years ago.

"After the war, many people came back quickly from the north, just as the Igbos went back north," he said. Even on a personal level, he never experienced resentment because he was Hausa: "All my life I've been in Enugu state here. This is my community, this is where I grew up, this is where I got my education. I have more of the Igbo community as friends than I know in my state of Adamawa. I feel comfortable here."

The struggle for access to resources

Domestic politics in Nigeria also remain sensitive." Among other things, it was the question of the balance of power which led to the civil war," said Osaghaw. "Right now, this has intensified. The civil war has continued to shape relations within Nigeria."

This is most clear when it comes to certain authority figures being awarded high political positions. Last year, President Muhammadu Buhariwas accused of favoring the north. The major parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) usually make sure to select presidential candidates so that the two options represent both the north and the south — and therefore also Islam and Christianity.

In Nigeria, the question of identity and belonging is still a common one — even when it comes to beer

And yet, some elements of Nigerian society have still been left out. In the former region of Biafra, for example, many have criticized the fact that the country has still never had an Igbo president. Many people here still feel marginalized, giving a boost to independence advocates. Movements such as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), for example, are able to find supporters more easily — although their agitation for action has waned ever since a court in Abuja declared the IPOB a terrorist movement in September 2017.

Read more: Biafra: Dreaming of a new state

Perception versus reality

But the statistics paint a different picture: In the 2015 national development index for example — the latest available edition — the geopolitical eastern and southern parts of the country are further ahead in terms of education, gender equality and poverty reduction compared to the north. Osaghae says this is often where perception and reality drift apart: "Many people from the southeast do not know the north at all. In their opinion, the north still gets the lion's share of the resources." The main point of contention — as it was before the war — is the oil which comes from the southeast.

The war has only has a limited influence on Nigeria's foreign policy today. Biafra has only been recognized by a handful of countries, including Tanzania, Gabon and Ivory Coast. The Vatican also lent its support. Numerous Christian aid organizations, including Caritas International and the Germany-based Diakonisches Werk, carried out airlifts to deliver supplies to the starving population of Biafra at the height of the conflict.

An aircraft used in the Biafra war is on display in the war museum in Umuahia

"The American government was trying to mediate between Nigeria and the pope at the end of the war in January 1970," Nicholas Omenka, a Catholic priest and history professor at the University of Abia State, told DW. "So, the antagonism lasted just briefly. The Vatican and the Church were the very first people who helped rebuild Nigeria."

New allies

Nevertheless, the Biafra crisis also led to new international alliances. During the Cold War, Great Britain and the Soviet Union jointly supported Nigeria. "The civil war made it possible for Nigeria to look towards Russia and the Eastern Block for arms," says Osaghae. An alliance which has lasted to this day: "When Boko Haram came and it was getting difficult to get arms from the usual allies, a repeat of the civil war was about to happen."