Biafran War. Source:flashcardmachine.com/

Date: 7 July, 1967

On 7 July 1967 federal troops were sent into Biafra, the oil rich eastern region of Nigeria. The troops were sent to the region one day after the commencement of a three-year civil war in Nigeria, known as the “Biafran war”.

“Nigeria’s 430 different ethnic groups are made up of three main branches: the Islamic Hausa-Fulbe in the north, the Yoruba in the West and the Christian Ibo (Igbo) in the south-eastern part of the country.During the British colonial rule, the Ibo had become an educated élite group and after Nigeria’s independence from the British in 1960 there was much resentment towards them. In 1966 thousands of Ibo living in the north were killed in tribal rioting.  Subsequent to that, many fled their homes and moved to traditional Ibo territory in the south-east of Nigeria.

In 1966, following two successive military governments, power was passed to Lieutenant Col. Yakuba Gowon, who was instantly faced with a move by the lbo-dominated Eastern Region to break away.In 30 May 1967, the military governor of the Eastern Region, Lieutenant Col. Odumegwu Ojukwa, declared an independent state of Biafra, after which the Biafran army went on the offensive in a push towards Lagos. In response to this manoeuvre, Gowon's federal troops stemmed an advance and counter-attacked”.

This marked the beginning of the “Biafran war”.

References:

Anon, (n.d), ‘Nigerian civil war’from Answers.com [online] Available at www.answers.com[Accessed: 9 June 2011]

Boddy-Evans A. (2011), 'This day in African History: 07 July’from African History [online] Available at www.africanhistory.about.com[Accessed: 09 June 2011]