Nigerians mark 50 years of end of bloody civil war

Nigerians mark 50 years of end

of bloody civil war

Five decades since the end of Biafran war, the

scars are yet to heal for many as some still

agitate for breakaway state.

FEATURE / NIGERIA

Fidelis Mbah

@ fidelismbah

Africa Nigeria Humanitarian crises

War

Most people died from disease and starvation

during the 30-month Biafra civil war [File: Getty

Images]

Abuja, Nigeria - Fifty years ago, a

devastating civil war that killed more than

one million people in Nigeria came to an end.

Most of those who lost their lives in what

became known as the Biafran war died from

fighting, disease and starvation during the

two-and-a-half-year conflict.

In 1967, Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the

military governor of Nigeria's then-Eastern

Region inhabited mainly by Igbo people,

accused the federal government of

marginalising and killing thousands of ethnic

Igbos living in the north.

On May 30 of that year, Odumegwu-Ojukwu

declared the former Eastern Region a

sovereign and independent republic under

the name of Biafra - a unilateral move

rejected by the federal authorities.

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A bloody civil war ensued, with federal

troops deployed to stop the secessionist

movement.

The Nigerian forces cut off aid and access to

the area throughout the war, which ended

with the surrender of Biafra in January 1970.

The Republic of Biafra ceased to exist and

General Yakubu Gowon, the leader of the

federal government, famously declared that

there was "no victor, no vanquished" in the

war.

A supporter of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)

holds a Biafra flag during a rally [File: Reuters/

Afolabi Sotunde]

Fifty years on, the scars are yet to heal for

many, including former fighters who suffered

injuries and others who lost their loved ones

and suffered huge economic losses.

On Monday, at a "Never Again" conference

held in Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos,

Igbo leaders from the southeast urged the

government to step up development efforts

in the region and called for increased political

inclusion and economic support to end fresh

calls for a breakaway Biafra state.

In 2017, a regional court ordered the Nigerian

government to pay 50 billion nairas ($138m,

today's prices) in damages to civil war

victims. The Economic Community of West

African States Court of Justice also ruled that

38 billion nairas ($105m, today's prices)

should be put towards evacuating abandoned

lethal weapons which deprived southeast

communities of farmland since the civil war

ended.

But for Canada-based Igbo leader Benjamin

Allison, financial reparation is not enough.

"You cannot compensate anyone for past

injuries without an acknowledgement that a

damage or harm had been done to them.

Nonetheless, the only true compensation the

Igbos seek from Nigeria at this point is a

government based on fairness, equity and

justice," Allison said.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in

2017 approved the payment of pensions of

former police officers who served in Biafra

during the civil war. The officers were

granted a presidential pardon in 2000 by

former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The Nigerian government has repeatedly said

it is committed to developing the region and

recently undertook a series of road projects.

IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu is not backing down

from his call for a breakaway Republic of Biafra

[Chika Oduah/Al Jazeera]

But Vincent Nnanna, who was barely 10 years

old when the civil war broke out and was

recruited to assist the Biafran soldiers with

clerical work in Abia state, is not convinced

by the government's efforts so far.

"The clamour for equity and respect for

fundamental human rights by the Igbos in

particular and the southeast at large has

continued to fall on deaf ears," he said.

'Continued agitation'

Separatist sentiment has not been wished

away, and in recent years the pro-Biafra

movement has seen some resurgence. The

red, black and green flag of Biafra with a

rising golden sun still dots the frontage of

some commercial buildings and houses in the

southeast region.

Rights group Amnesty

International accused the country's security

forces of killing at least 150 Biafra

separatists at peaceful rallies between August

2015 and August 2016 and detaining hundreds

demonstrating in support of a breakaway

state. The military and police denied the

allegations.

Nnamdi Kanu, a leader of the Indigenous

People of Biafra (IPOB) group, is the most

visible face of the movement. He was held

for nearly two years for treasonable felony

charges before being granted bail on health

grounds in April 2017.

Kanu fled Nigeria under controversial

circumstances in 2018 but still coordinates

the group's activities from his base in the

United Kingdom.

In 2017, following a number of IPOB-

organised protests across Nigeria over a

period of years, the government banned the

group and declared it a "terrorist

organisation".

"They masquerade as a separatist movement,

yet they endanger the very people they claim

to represent," Information Minister Lai

Mohammed said in a 2017 statement about

the government's move to outlaw the group.

"In reality, IPOB cares about IPOB and

nothing more."

The government's pronouncement, however,

has not stopped the group's activities -

especially overseas where it enjoys the

support of millions of Igbos in the diaspora.

"Continued agitation for Biafra is impelled

and spurred by state-sponsored or supported

injustice which left most Igbo youth with a

sense of hopelessness and lack of outlets to

express their ... talents, potentials and

ambitions," Allison said.

He alleged that no real effort has been made

to develop the region, support business,

create jobs and ensure adequate security.

Nnanna, however, said he is not happy with

the approach of those leading the calls for

a new Biafra.

"The regrets I have over Biafra is that since

after the death of the forebears, some

mercenaries have emerged on the scene

purporting to have the spiritual mandate to

champion the Biafran cause to a positive

conclusion - only for them to herd the ...

crowd onto a blind alley, leaving the agitators

confused and almost disillusioned," Nnanna

said.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Sarki, a public affairs

analyst, called for more efforts towards

reconciliation.

"The continued discussions about the Biafra

war won't help the country to move forward.

Our leaders already declared that no side won

the war. We need to forget the past and focus

on how to fix Nigeria," Sarki said.

"The civil war was not a pleasant experience

for many people, not just Igbos. We are

better as a united country."