History of Biafra | Republic of Biafra proclaimed on may 30th 1967
History of Biafra | Republic of Biafra proclaimed on may 30th 1967
After suffering through years of suppression under Nigeria’s military government, the breakaway state of Biafra proclaims its independence from Nigeria.
In 1960, Nigeria gained independence from Britain. Six years later, the Muslim Hausas in northern Nigeria began massacring the Christian Igbos in the region, prompting tens of thousands of Igbos to flee to the east, where their people were the dominant ethnic group.
The Igbos are hoping that the oppressive military government of Nigeria will allow them to develop or even survive. On May 30, 1967, lieutenant-colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu and other Non-Igbo representatives of the region established the Republic of Biafra, including several states in Nigeria.
After diplomatic efforts by Nigeria failed to reunite the country, war between Nigeria and Biafra broke out in July 1967. Ojukwu’s forces made some initial advances, but Nigeria’s superior military strength gradually reduced Biafran territory.
The state lost its oil fields–its main source of revenue–and without the funds to import food, an estimated one million of its civilians died as a result of severe malnutrition.
On January 11, 1970, Nigerian forces captured the provincial capital of Owerri, one of the last Biafran strongholds, and Ojukwu was forced to flee to the Ivory Coast. Four days later, Biafra surrendered to Nigeria.
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