Biafra War Causes

Investigate the causes and consequences of Biafra war in the modern state Nigeria.
The Biafran war was a civil war that rocked the emergent Nigerian state from 1967 to 1970. The 30-month civil war was preceded by a configuration of pro-independence and post-independence crises (Thomas, 2010). The Origins of the civil war could be located in a complexity of factors which includes the military coups of January 15, and July 29, 1966, the regional election crisis in Western Nigeria in 1965; the Federal Elections of 1964; the killing of the Igbos living in Northern Nigeria from May to September 1966, the structural imbalance of the Nigerian federation; and, most importantly, the distribution of power among the various ethnic and geopolitical groups.

Britain’s imperialistic motivations caused her to piece together the colony of Nigeria out of the many diverse ethnic groups populating the region. Later in 1946, Britain again drew boundaries, this time dividing Nigeria into three separate regions North, West, and East. Great Britain hoped that dividing the colony into regions would strengthen and streamline her control while appeasing the Nigerian demand for representation. Each region had an assembly made up of both Nigerian and British members which acted as advisory boards to the central government in Lagos. However, according to Benjamin, (2015) this territorial division increased already existing tensions within the colony. Each region was largely comprised of one of three major ethnic groups, and all desired representation and political power in the central government. Benjamin, (2015) states that after Nigeria gained independence from Britain a power struggle ensued between the three regions continued. Regional desires for political power were one of the major underlying causes of the Biafran War. The conflict was the result of serious tensions, both ethnic and religious, between the different peoples of Nigeria (Benjamin, 2015). Like most modern African nations, Nigeria was an artificial construct, put together by agreement between European powers, paying little regard to historical African boundaries or population groups. The

The ethnicity of Nigeria is so varied that there is no definition of a Nigerian beyond that of someone who lives within the borders of the country (Karyth (2012). Nigeria consists of between 250 to 300 ethnic groups forced to co-exist within the artificial boundaries constructed by Great Britain. However, only three ethnic groups have attained ethnic majority status in their respective regions. the Hausa-Fulani in the north, the Ibo in the southeast, and the Yoruba in the southwest (Karyth 2012). These groups make up about three-fifths of the total population of Nigeria. The Hausa-Fulani are mostly Muslim, while many of the Ibo and Yoruba are Christian. Religious and ethnic distinctions within Nigeria have literally torn the country apart. Their different religions and political ideologies created increasing tension among the three ethnic groups. A growing demand for self-determination contributed greatly to the secessionist Republic of