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Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria, predominantly inhabited by the Igbo ethnic group. 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. 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. 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.
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967. Nigeria was led by General Yakubu Gowon, and Biafra by Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Odumegwu Ojukwu. The conflict resulted from political, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded the United Kingdom's formal decolonisation of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963. Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup, a counter-coup, and anti-Igbo pogroms in the Northern Region. The pogroms and the exodus of surviving Igbos from the Northern Region to the Igbo homelands in the Eastern Region led the leadership of the Eastern Region to conclude that the Nigerian federal government would not protect them and that they must protect themselves in an independent Biafra.
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The flag of Biafra, used by the Republic of Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), consists of a horizontal tricolour of red, black, and green, charged with a golden rising sun over a golden bar. The eleven rays of the sun represent the eleven former provinces of Biafra. The rays are typically long and slender with the lowest rays being nearly horizontal and the remaining rays spread evenly between.
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Igbo Americans, or Americans of Igbo ancestry, or Igbo Black Americans are residents of the United States who identify as having Igbo ancestry from modern day Bight of Biafra, which includes Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe & Nigeria. There are primarily two classes of people with Igbo ancestry in the United States, those whose ancestors were taken from Igboland as a result of the transatlantic slave trade before the 20th century and those who immigrated from the 20th century onwards partly as a result of the Nigerian Civil War in the late 1960s and economic instability in Nigeria. Igbo people prior to the American Civil War were brought to the United States by force from their hinterland homes on the Bight of Biafra and shipped by Europeans to North America between the 17th and 19th centuries.
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References
- ↑ Seun Opejobi, "Biafra: Nnamdi Kanu deceitful, a blackmailer – IPOB's ex-deputy leader, Uche Mefor". dailypost.ng. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ↑ "Civil war heroes deserve to be celebrated – Igbo movement". punchng.com. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ↑ "Alphonsus Uche Okafor-Mefor: The Dual Identity of a Pro-Biafra Activist". fundlylive.com. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ↑ Chiagozie Nwonwu, "Biafra quest fuels Nigeria conflict: Too scared to marry and bury bodies". bbc.com. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ↑ Ihesiulo Grace, "Nnamdi Kanu deceitful, a blackmailer – Uche Mefor". dailytimesng.com. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ↑ "IPOB: Why Nnamdi Kanu, Uche Mefor are at war". pmnewsnigeria.com. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ↑ "Uche Mefor: "Agaghị m Dubai ka ọ fọdụzie ịda n'ala nke ibu m gawa ụlọọgwụ"". bbc.com. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ↑ "Uche Mefor: Mpaghara Ipob nke m nọ na ya so hibe 'Biafra De facto Customary Government'". bbc.com. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ↑ Chinonso Alozie, "South East with 5 states, a case of marginalization, says Igbo-Biafra nationalists". vanguardngr.com. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ↑ Stanley Uzoaru, "Igbo maginalisation : pro – Biafra group, IPINS opt for restructuring". sunnewsonline.com. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.