Essay on The Nigerian Civil War

Nigeria is a country with abundant resources and the potential to be a very powerful nation, but it is hampered by many problems. These problems are caused by Nigeria’s colonization by England. Because of this intrusion on their way of life, their future was altered dramatically. The nation of Nigeria as a whole has suffered greatly as a country because of this colonization, its problem is rooted in the way it was colonized and ruled.

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.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Europeans had raced to colonize the country Africa. Great Britain was the leaders at this time in colonizing the land filled with rich natural recourses. These recourses were considered a necessity to the industrialization of the world, specifically Nigeria. During this colonization that Great Britain was doing in their new land, you could imagine that the locals were not too happy about this. The British had no respect for the culture or Nigerian traditions. The longer they stayed the more that they adopted for each other's cultures. However even with the cultural exchanges between the two countries, there was much conflict for the people of a dark colored skin

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.

Abraham Lincoln once stated, "A House divided against itself cannot stand. I Believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the house to fall. But I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other". More than anything else, differing interpretations about the Civil War drove the debate over the meaning of the Constitution and of the Union.

40% of sub-Saharan countries have experienced civil war largely because of differences in cultural and political beliefs. On prominent African civil war existed in Nigeria where after gaining their independence, cultural differences led the Ibo people to rebel against the government and declare independence as the Republic of Biafra. “A 3 year war ensued that left hundreds of thousands dead” (Ellis and Esler 1030). Similar wars existed in countries throughout the continent, greatly hurting Africa’s economic

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 was the caused by Khartoum’s failure to respond to the economic needs of a large region of Sudan, called Darfur. Thus, through neglect, a people were left economically marginalized and with a lack of political representation. Eventually, through desperation, a rebellion led mainly by non-Arab Muslim tribes was brought against the mainly

As a result, although both the South and the West were agricultural, the West allied itself with the Northern, rather than the Southern, point of view. Economic needs sharpened sectional differences, and adding to the hostility.

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

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” A statement from Pericles who says that imperialism has a great effect on countries. During the Age of Imperialism, many nations began to imperialize smaller countries for raw materials and land. With conquering land came the influence of education and religion, which shaped the country as it is today. European nations, Great Britain in particular, are not guilty of abuse of power as seen in the imperialized countries of Nigeria, India, and Singapore.

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,