The Major Causes Of The Nigerian Civil War

The background of the situation is essential to understand its full impact From the way Nigeria was colonized, it was clear from the start that it would bode ill for the future inhabitants of Nigeria. Beginning in the 19th century, the British started to make their presence felt along the coast. In earlier

War was inevitable: ‘This simple and seemingly innocuous action broke the last thread and split the last institution symbolizing Nigeria's nationhood and cohesion which had been regularly tampered with by the politicians since 1962. The rift between the Eastern Region and the rest of the country was total’ (ibid). In a meeting convened in Aburi, Ghana, by Ghanaian general Gen. Ankrah, leader of the eastern region military Lt. Col. Ojukwu understood the real issues at hand and convinced attendees that the only way for Nigeria to stay together is that it has to break apart, effectively implying secession. After a breakdown in communication, a frustrated federal government passes Decree no. 8 of 17th March 1967, which split Nigeria’s regions into twelve states. This was seen by Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon as a pre-emptive, non-violence weapon against the east. The eastern region was split into 3 states. Lt. Col. Ojukwu unsurprisingly rejected Decree no. 8 and states that the Enugu, (capital of Nigeria’s eastern region) is headed for secession. On the 30th of May 1967, the eastern region of Nigeria declares itself as the independent sovereign state of Biafra. The Federal military fired the first bullet on the 6th of July 1967. Now this essay will turn to providing a background to the development of Realism as an analytical theory of International Relations.

Civil Peace is set in the early 1970's in the country of Nigeria. There had been a civil war in the late 1960's that had had a devastating effect on the country. When the civil war had

Nigeria would soon become a prime example of the issues with arbitrary borders and the long term effects they can create. Nigeria would gain its independence in 1960 and would become a Federal Republic with three regions. This federalist republic would bring out regional rivalries and fears amongst the people. Violence against Igbo would erupt around the North and soon after `the Southeast secedes as Biafra. (Reno, pg. 2) A three year war would follow and illness and hunger within Biafra would prevail. Britain got involved in the issue and would aid Nigeria in pulling Biafra back in as a way to avoid a chain reaction. Eventually, the Southeast region would give in, and return to Nigeria. However, regional distrust remained an issue, and would take on ethnic and religious dimensions for years to come. In addition, there was a deep disregard to many of the institutions and practices that had already been set in place by the people.

The primary cause of civil war is the sectionalism of slavery whether it is legal or illegal and the two sides which the North and South strongly believe in their beliefs and their way of getting money. The North was booming with new inventions and they were steering away from the slavery lifestyle, meanwhile in the south slavery is what southern's value especially since new technology didn’t work in the southern states due cause of weather. Some other events that heavily contribute to the war was the missouri compromise causes a lot of separation with the two sides splitting them up. Evenmore with the election of 1860 definitely was one of the breaking point as well not to long after the election a book later was written called uncle tom’s

Both South Africa and Nigeria were both colonized in the 19th century . Although both places were separate, and their colonizations occurred at different speeds and at slightly different times the colonizations of South Africa and Nigeria share many similarities, such as what country colonized them, and how willing the African places were to accept the new leadership . In South Africa, the British started by trying to take over the Zulu in the year 1816. Because they were more powerful, and had more advanced weapons, the British were very successful in their conquests.

The initial causes of the Civil War have been previously discussed and analyzed by historians, but have remained one of the most controversial debates, due to its numerous causes that created the most devastating war in American history. The country had been avoiding the disputes that would later become the causes of the civil war for decades. The Mexican War is proof that the issue of slavery was put on hold by President James K. Polk, the concept of manifest destiny and the expansion of the U.S. As the topic continues to circulate, the obvious causes that led to one of the bloodiest conflicts in America, are seemingly the economic and cultural differences between

Nigeria was having an internal war that the Muslims started with the Ibos. It started when they gained independence in 1960. They adopted the feudal systems and had to share power with Lagos, and three state governments in the north, east, and west. In 1964, the Ibos seized power and declared a central dictatorship. The Muslims of the north didn’t like the Ibos because they weren’t Muslim. So they sparked a war in 1967. The Ibos, after a group of northern officers obtained the government positions, created their own

The Civil War lasted 4 years, from 1861 to 1865. The Civil was one war that was conflicted but in some sort, it helps create our nation. It’s an estimated 680,000-800,000 people died during this war, Making it deadlier then the Americans than the American Revolution, World War One World War two and Vietnam together. The civil took place mostly on Virginia and Tennessee. According the (Warren W. Hassler 2017) After a 34-hour bombardment, Maj. Robert Anderson surrendered his command of about 85 soldiers to some 5,500 besieging Confederate troops under P.G.T. Beauregard. Within weeks, four more Southern states (Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North

Nigeria would be of a seed if there was any Nigeria before 1914. Britain was so ambitious to change our way of life; hence Biafra problem started. Maybe Biafra would be beautiful and civilized if there was no Fredrick Lugard in 1914. Lugard tampered with what was organic that has led to early graves over 5 million Biafrans, that was when Biafrans rejected fact of being unjust. The death of the over five million Biafrans cannot be in vain. Then read the New York Times report of 1966, 1968, 1969 and 1970 about the persecution of the Biafran people. We must agree that Nigeria was created as a trap to destroy Biafran people and to serves the interest of Britain. Radio Biafra (Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB) has made it clear that Biafrans do not understand what Nigeria

In this paper I will discuss Nigeria, a country that was created by European imperialism. Nigeria is located on the Atlantic Coast in West Africa and is border by Benin, Chad, and Cameroon. It is the largest country in Africa. Nigeria has three main tribes which are the Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo and other tribes as well. The official language of Nigeria is English although, the Yoruba, Ibo, and Hausa tribes represent the principal native language. Dance and music are a focal point in the Nigerian livelihood. The traditional Nigerian uses dance at births and deaths, on happy and sad occasions, and in worship. Nigerian music consists of many instruments. They are the trumpets, brass, vocals, percussion frame drums, kettle drums, double bass, flutes, and the electric guitar. Drums are considered very important to the Nigerian music and dances. In the Nigerian culture, art serves as a social or religious purpose. Nigeria is a celebratory country. Many holidays and festivities are observed by the Nigerian community to preserve their cultural heritage. Two of the most common are the National Day and The New Yam Festival. Traditional Nigerians have

Pogroms according to OED, is an organized massacre of a particular ethnic group. Additionally, pogrom is a word Russian which basically means to wreak havoc, to demolish violently.[iv] Therefore, it can easily inferred from the definition of Pogroms how the Igbo people began to feel insecure and unsafe in Nigeria after the counter-coup and government sponsored pogroms. For instance, Achebe in his book, There was a Country writes that the July 1966 counter coup and the pogroms against the Igbo people, “killed over thirty thousand civilian men, women and children were slaughtered, hundreds of thousands were wounded, maimed and violates, their homes and property looted and burned- and no one asked any questions.”[v]This statement of Achebe clearly illustrates how because of the horrific counter-coup and the government implemented pogrom policy against the Igbo people have generated doubts in Igbo people’s mind on their stand whether one united and peaceful Nigeria can actually exist or not. Also, this statement again emphasizes the fact that how the mass violence and murders of Igbo people escalated the tensions between the Igbos and other Nigerians groups and tribes, which eventually led to emergence in the Biafra’s liberation movement among the Igbo people. Moreover, Achebe writes, “ethnic riots happens everywhere in the world. But in this particular case a detailed plan for mass killing was implemented by the government-the army, the police-the very people who were there to protect life and property.”[vi] This statement of Achebe further indicates how when the Igbo people began to see that their own government is planning on exterminate them, the anti-Nigerian feelings began to emerge in the Igbo people. It can be even said that at that point the Igbo

The first was the weak sense of nationalism caused by all the ethnic groups where religion played a major part of the division. The main three ethnicities in Nigeria are Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo; the former is Muslim while the two latter are Christians. The second cause mentioned was the “divide and rule” which was a British tactic to employ ethnic groups against one another, and thus “helped ensure that ethnicity would be the main line of political cleavage after Nigeria became an independent country.” The third cause is the personal rule system based on “big men” and what this means is that Nigerian’s who worked for the British used their personal relationships to gain power and wealth, and in a certain way it is still used today in the Nigerian government. The fourth devastating cause was the “creation of an increasingly active and interventionist state during WWII and after until its independence in 1960, but that opened the doors to patronage, which would be used to gain political power and wealth. The past reveals the problems Nigeria has had for several decades, some of which have not disappeared but seem to get progressively worse. (CITATION)

Before we begin, let’s take a look at the country and its environs. Nigeria a former British Colony, located in the western part of Africa, it shares borders with Benin, Cameroun, and Niger. A growing population of 150million, labour force of 51million (70% Agriculture, 10% industry and 20% service), urbanisation is less than 40%, GDP is over $300billion, Per capita income is $2300. Nigeria is blessed with different cultures, languages and ethnic groups (252 in total); this was due to the colonization of the British in the early 19th century (Columbia Encyclopaedia). The British amalgamated its protectorates in 1914 to enable stable control and governance which made them create one Nation of Nigeria formed from all the groups, community and empires around the Niger area under their control. Nigeria had her independence on the 1st of October 1960 and since then various civil wars, political and religious unrest in the country to share power and resources amicably.

     Nigeria has been a country in political turmoil for a long time. The country was created in 1914 under British colonial rule and at that time it was considered a protectorate. It was not until 1960 that Nigeria received independence from the United Kingdom. One of Nigeria's problems politically is that it has over three hundred different ethnic groups. The three largest of these are the Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba. At the time of the independence of Nigeria it was split up into three states with each state being under the control of one of the major ethnic groups. The natural resources of the other 297 ethnic groups were exploited for the major three groups,