Republic of Biafra | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967–1970 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms
| |||||||||
| Motto: "Peace, Unity, and Freedom" | |||||||||
| Anthem: "Land of the Rising Sun" | |||||||||
 The Republic of Biafra in red, with its puppet state of the Republic of Benin in striped red, and Nigeria in dark gray. | |||||||||
 Republic of Biafra in May 1967 | |||||||||
| Status | Partially recognised state | ||||||||
| Capital | |||||||||
| Largest city | Onitsha | ||||||||
| Common languages | PredominantlyMinority languages | ||||||||
| Ethnic groups | |||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Biafran | ||||||||
| Government | Republic | ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
• 1967–1970 | C. Odumegwu Ojukwu | ||||||||
• 1970 | Philip Effiong | ||||||||
| Vice President | |||||||||
• 1967–1970 | Philip Effiong | ||||||||
| Council of Chiefs | |||||||||
| Consultative Assembly | |||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
• Independence declared | 30 May 1967 | ||||||||
• Rejoins Federal Nigeria | 15 January 1970 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 1967 | 77,306[3] km2 (29,848 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1967 | 13,500,000[3] | ||||||||
| GDP (PPP) | estimate | ||||||||
• Total | $40.750 million | ||||||||
| Currency | Biafran pound | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Biafra (/biˈæfrə/ bee-AF-rə),[4] officially the Republic of Biafra,[5] was a partially recognised state in West Africa[6][7] that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970.[8] Its territory consisted of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria, predominantly inhabited by the Igbo ethnic group.[1] Biafra was established on 30 May 1967 by Igbo military officer and Eastern Region governor Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu under his presidency, following a series of ethnic tensions and military coups after Nigerian independence in 1960 that culminated in the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom.[9] The Nigerian military proceeded in an attempt to reclaim the territory of Biafra, resulting in the start of the Nigerian Civil War. Biafra was officially recognised by Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Zambia while receiving de facto recognition and covert military support from France, Portugal, Israel, South Africa and Rhodesia.[10][11] After nearly three years of war, during which around two million Biafran civilians died, president Ojukwu fled into exile in Ivory Coast as the Nigerian military approached the capital of Biafra. Philip Effiong became the second president of Biafra, and he oversaw the surrender of Biafran forces to Nigeria.[12]
Igbo nationalism became a strong political and social force after the civil war. It has grown more militant since the 1990s, calling for the revival of Biafra as an entity.[13] Various Biafran secessionist groups have emerged, such as the Indigenous People of Biafra, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, and the Biafra Zionist Front.
- ^ a b Smith, Daniel Jordan (3 March 2011). "Legacies of Biafra: Marriage, 'Home People' and Reproduction Among the Igbo of Nigeria". Africa. 75 (1): 30–45. doi:10.3366/afr.2005.75.1.30. S2CID 144755434.
In 1967, following a succession of military coups and interethnic violence, the predominantly Igbo-speaking region of south-eastern Nigeria attempted to secede, declaring the independent state of Biafra
- ^ Nwaka, Jacinta Chiamaka; Osuji, Obiomachukwu Winifred (27 September 2022). "They do not belong: adoption and resilience of the Igbo traditional culture". African Identities. 22 (3): 828–845. doi:10.1080/14725843.2022.2126346. ISSN 1472-5843. S2CID 252583369.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
landwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "biafra". CollinsDictionary.com. HarperCollins.
- ^ "The Republic of Biafra | AHA". www.historians.org. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ "Republic of Biafra (1967–1970)". 21 June 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
- ^ Anglin, Douglas G. (1971). "Zambia and the Recognition of Biafra". The African Review: A Journal of African Politics, Development and International Affairs. 1 (2): 102–136. ISSN 0856-0056. JSTOR 45341498.
- ^ Daly, Samuel Fury Childs (2020). A History of the Republic of Biafra: Law, Crime, and the Nigerian Civil War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108887748. ISBN 978-1-108-84076-7. S2CID 225266768.
- ^ Lewis, Peter (2007). Oil, Politics, and Economic Change in Indonesia and Nigeria. University of Michigan Press. p. 78. ISBN 9780472024742.
setting in motion a chain of social conflicts that culminated in the attempted secession of Igbo nationalists in 1967
- ^ Ijalaye, David A. (July 1971). "Was 'Biafra' at Any Time a State in International Law?". American Journal of International Law. 65 (3): 553–554. doi:10.1017/S0002930000147311. JSTOR 2198977. S2CID 152122313. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- ^ Hurst, Ryan (21 June 2009). "Republic of Biafra (1967–1970)". Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ "Nigeria-Biafra Civil War". Archived from the original on 4 August 2004. Retrieved 18 August 2004.
- ^ Nwangwu, Chikodiri; Onuoha, Freedom C; Nwosu, Bernard U; Ezeibe, Christian (11 December 2020). "The political economy of Biafra separatism and post-war Igbo nationalism in Nigeria". African Affairs. 119 (477): 526–551. doi:10.1093/afraf/adaa025.