The nigerian civil war of the late 1960s was one of the first occasions when western consciences were awakened and deeply affronted by the level of the suffering. The history and legacy of the secessionist republic of biafra during the nigerian civil war to be interesting. Between 1525 and 1859, the slave trade from the bight of biafra accounted for over twothirds of slaves exported to the new world. Both are extremely wellwritten books by accomplished journalists with a mastery of the written word. I recommend those earlier works primarily on historical merit.
This is arguably the greatest invention of igbo land, made by the biafran research and production group rap headed dr. The nigerian civil war, popularly known as the nigeriabiafra war which lasted from 6th july 1967 15th january 1970 almost destroyed the unity of nigeria. That military activity, otherwise described as a police action by the nigerian government was the beginning of a war which sent over a million nigerians to. The genesis of the nigerian civil war and the theory of fear author. Remembering nigerias biafra war that many prefer to forget bbc. There are only two real choices when looking for a decent history of this conflict this book and forsyths biafra story. Furious, he resigned and returned to nigeria as a freelance reporter, eventually writing the biafra story and later, emeka, a biography of the rebel leader chukwuemeka odumegwuojukwu.
The inhabitants were mostly the igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions among the various peoples of nigeria. Michigan state university press, 1971 book cover nigeria. Biafra ceased to exist as an independent state in january 1970. The innermost bay of the gulf of guinea, it is bounded by southeastern nigeria, cameroon, equatorial. The nigerian civil war and the italian oil workers. Biafra was formally recognised by gabon, haiti, ivory coast, tanzania and zambia. With few memories of biafra war, young nigerians renew calls for independence. Ethnic minorities in the nigeriabiafra war, 19671970 cover page footnote acknowledgment i wish to thank j. The nigerian civil war, also known as the biafran war which started on the 6 th of july 1967 and ended on 15th of january 1970, was a war fought by nigeria against biafra to counter the secession of biafra from the republic of nigeria. The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra.
It was a result of the nigerian governments efforts to counter the struggle by igbo people of the eastern region to. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Biafra, secessionist western african state that unilaterally declared its independence from nigeria in may 1967. In may, 2016, on the 49 th anniversary of the nigeriabiafra war, a facebook friend posted a tribute to his mother who had been an orphan living. Ebook the biafra story as pdf download portable document. The history and legacy of the secessionist republic of. It is the biafra story, and it is told from the biafran standpoint. The kingdom of biafra existed 500 years before nigeria. Destination biafra fontana african fiction by emecheta, buchi and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. A personal history of biafra by chinua achebe 17 times the biafra story.
Forsythe book and other material on the subject of the nigerian civil war. The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra the slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra dissects and explains the structure, dramatic expansion, and manifold effects of the slave trade in the bight of biafra. Buy a cheap copy of the biafra story book by frederick forsyth. On behalf of the madiebo family, i hereby state that the book the nigerian revolution and the biafran war. It took its name from the bight of biafra, the atlantic bay to its south. Books set in the nigerian civil war biafran war the following list contains poetry, prose fiction and memoirs written by literary authors. The making of an african legend and over 8 million other books are available for amazon kindle.
It constituted the former eastern region of nigeria and was inhabited principally by igbo ibo people. Books written about nigerian civil war aloko adewale peter 11. Memoir and history are brought together by a master storyteller, writes noo sarowiwa. It was made up of the states in the eastern region of nigeria biafras declaration of independence from nigeria resulted in civil war between biafra and nigeria. Manuscript, archives, and rare book library, emory university.
The slave trade and culture in the bight of biafra dissects and explains the structure, dramatic expansion, and manifold effects of the slave trade in the bight of biafra. The nigeriabiafra war, 19671970, had significant international. In 1777, portugal transferred control of fernando poo and annobon to spanish suzerainty thus introducing spain into the early colonial history of the bight of biafra. Americanah by chimamanda ngozi adichie, things fall apart by chinua achebe, half of a yellow sun by chimamanda ngozi adichie, p. History, memory and the politics of national unity in. The book however is exceptional in the sense that it ranks among the finest memoirs to be written on the nigerianbiafran fratricidal conflict, a mustread for every human being on earth. A biafran doctor hands out cups containing the daily ration of powdered milk to a line of children at a refugee camp in anwa, biafra, aug.
It analyses the ideological struggles and conflict in biafra during the war with nigeria from 19671970, the impact of the war and the relevance of those struggles to the current agitations for a new. The nigerianbiafran war african studies centre leiden. Africa, nigeria civil war, biafra, at the front line, young officer ordering. With few memories of biafra war, young nigerians renew. Biafra, officially the republic of biafra, was a state in west africa that existed from may 1967 to january 1970. The nigeriabiafra war lasted from 6 july 1966 to 15 january 1970, during which time the postcolonial nigerian state fought to bring the southeastern region, which had seceded as the state or republic of biafra, back into the newly independent but ideol. Ahazuem of the university of nigeria, nsukka, for granting me interviews and permitting me to use some transcripts of the oral interviews his team conducted on the nigeriabiafra war. The making of an african legend forsyth, frederick on. Books written about nigerian civil war good books africa. Bight of biafra king greets european visitors, cape lopez gabon, late 16th cent. The genocide represented a holocaust of unprecedented proportions in recent african history that has been described by the author of this study as the foundational genocide of post conquest, europeanoccupied africa. To historian max siollun, events like the biafra protests are evidence of why nigeria should place more value on the study of its past. The biafran war top results of your surfing the biafran war start download portable document format pdf and ebooks electronic books free online rating news 20162017 is books that can provide inspiration, insight, knowledge to the reader. The untold story of the biafran ogbunigwe igbere tv.
By showing that the rise of the aro merchant group was. The igbos felt they could no longer relate smoothly with the northern dominated federal government and saw secession as the only way to survive or avoid extinction. The politics of biafra and the future of nigeria is a reflection on the importance of history in addressing present realities and the future of coexistance of nigerias multi ethnic society. The making of an african legend by frederick forsyth 10 times a song from dead lips by william shaw 3 times airlift to biafra.
In the whole of africa, biafra is now the fourth largest in population, exceeded only by nigeria, the u. The genesis of the nigerian civil war and the theory of fear. Bight of biafra, bay of the atlantic ocean on the western coast of africa, extending east, then south, for 370 miles 600 km from the nun outlet of the niger river nigeria to cape lopez gabon. Some writers have classified the nigeriabiafra war as a genocidal response by the. The most immediate contribution of this ambitious and incisive book is to distill into a single, accessible volume the sprawling history of the nigeriabiafra war nigerian civil war. However in my opinion, surviving in biafra is the most heartfelt story telling perhaps because the innocence depicted heightens the senselessness of the nearly 2 million lives lost. Biafra, officially the republic of biafra, was a state in west africa that existed from may 1967 to. As he learned more about the conflict, he became sympathetic to the rebel cause. For 29 years after the 30month nigeriabiafra war that ended in january 1970, after claiming about.
The civil war was fought to reintegrate and reunify the country. To date that history has been fragmented across dozens of memoirs, journalistic accounts, and narrowly focused monographs. The biafra story top results of your surfing the biafra story start download portable document format pdf and ebooks electronic books free online rating news 20162017 is books that can provide inspiration, insight, knowledge to the reader. The present population of biafra, therefore, equals the total number of people inhibiting the west african states of togo, dahomey, ghana, liberia, sierra leone and gambia put together. The chronicle of its saboteurs and their fate a lesson for nnia nwodo.
During a period of less than three years, some three million igbo were annihilated. I am very sad to say i was growing up when the years of this biafra history were happening. By showing that the rise of the aro merchant group was the key factor in trade expansion, g. He was pulled from nigeria and reassigned to london when he reported this viewpoint. My message to nnia nwodo is that no one can be wiser than history and so, those who toe the footsteps of failed people in history, will also go down as failed people.
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