THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR AND HISTORICAL ANALYSIS 1967-1970

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THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR AND HISTORICAL ANALYSIS 1967-1970

ABSTRACT
The paper seeks to cast the Nigerian civil war of 1967 to 1970 within the mould of a revolution. In achieving this aim, the paper necessarily explores the theory of revolution and at the same time carriesout a comparative analysis of civil wars that later morphed into revolutions within the international political system. The Nigerian civil war has never been referred to as a revolution. Rather, the military coup d’état of January 15, 1966, a first in Nigeria’s history, has been erroneously referred to as the closest thing to a revolution in Nigeria. This paper will not only correct the misrepresentation, it will also establish the theoretical line that separate a revolution from a coup d’état. Thus, the central thrust of the paper is that as a revolution, the Nigerian civil war was meant to be a means to an end for Nigeria; the end being the attainment of nationhood for Nigeria. This conclusion is arrived at after careful and critical evaluation of the significant role revolution played in the formative years of some of the most successful nations within the international environment .The countries used in the course of the analyzes include the United States of America, France and Spain. Some of the theories of revolution that readily capture the essence of the Nigerian conflict are also highlighted.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The history of Nigeria since 1914 is deeply rooted in major political issues which are violently contested along the lines of ethnic, religious and regional boundaries in the country.
Webster, Boahen and Tidy (1979) noted that Nigeria inherited a constitution from the British government which gave absolute majority to one region thereby promoting regional politics and political division in the country. Thus the events that led to the Nigerian civil war (1967-1970) cannot be separated from ethnic and religious distrust between the three major groups: Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa/Fulani.
Thus, the Nigeria civil war can be regarded as a war that was fought out of necessity because the factors and causes that led to the war was sowed in the political structures and institutions in colonial times and also in emergence of the nation called Nigeria. It carried along with it the seed. According to Madiebo (1980, pg 3-14) “ On the seed of destruction the federation of Nigeria has never really been one homogeneous country due to the divergence of the people in terms of culture, ethnicity, religion , historical and political antecedent”. Despite these obvious facts that exist, the former colonial masters for selfish economic interest decided to forcefully amalgamate the various ethnic groups together in 1914 and for administrative convenience decided to adopt a policy of divide and rule between the various regions.

It is worthy of note that it was in this pattern of rule that Nigeria’s political institution developed from which was to have a bearing effect later after independence which eventually led to the civil war. The growth of nationalism in the society and subsequent emergence of political parties were based on ethnic/tribal rather than national interest, and therefore had no unifying effect on the people against the colonial master, Abubakar, (1992). Rather than being the victim (colonial master), it was the people themselves who were the victim of the political struggles which were supposed to be directed at removing foreign dominance. Soon after independence the battle to consolidate political and military power and dominance by one section of the country became very intense among the ethnic group. This led to the January coup of 1966 and the counter coup that followed and eventually a bloody civil war.
The devastating effect of the war was of high impact on the populace as an estimated 1 million people died and equally the refugees’ crisis that followed with infrastructural damage cannot be quantified. The major impact was felt in the eastern of Nigeria which tried to break away to form the Republic of Biafra under leader called Odumegwu Ojukwu. With the fall of Biafra to Federal troops and the surrendering of her troops, the next phase was a post-war peace building effort to reconcile, rehabilitate and reconstruct as a result of the Federal Government “no victor, no vanquished”.
From the above captured facts, many facts seem to account for the genesis of Nigerian Civil war. Thus Nigeria’s political history seems not to be an isolated event or single crisis that constituted it. In the same vein, on the genesis of the Nigerian civil war. That is why Kirk-Green stated that in seeking the genesis of the Nigerian civil war, it is possible to locate in it a variety of different sources and levels. The origins may for instance, be explained in terms of political competition, of inter-personal economic rivalry, of elitist in fighting; more arguably, of class or religious struggle, of military anomaly and ambition; of personal, ethnic and personal conflict or in terms of social malaise and disenchantment with the golden age that never materialized in the aftermath of colonialism itself, the outcome of fifty years of divine and rule in brief, a diagnosis of a series of expectations, aroused, frustrated and finally sinking into a slough of despondent and cut-throat competitiveness (Green, 1975). With the facts in mind the attention of the research is to draw analysis of the key events that took place in Nigeria’s civil war paying attentions account of that between 1976 to 1979.

1.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study will make use of findings from both primary and secondary sources. The primary sources include written documents such as Government publications, letters, correspondence, documentaries and newspapers. Added to these are descriptive accounts of some Nigerians who experienced the civil war. Interviews will also be conducted with those considered authorities in the field, Political Science and International Relations to complement the other sources. Furthermore, this research work depends largely on archival materials both online and offline-visiting embassies of countries that were regarded as actors during the civil war to gather relevant materials on the study. Official publications published on the websites will also be used in interpreting the events and actions of countries that were involved. Books, journal articles, conference proceedings, seminar papers and other related publications will be used in gathering secondary information for this research.

THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR AND HISTORICAL ANALYSIS 1967-1970

THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR AND HISTORICAL ANALYSIS 1967-1970