Before the January 15, 1966 coup, it has been mentioned earlier that Awolowo and his other Yoruba politicians were imprisoned by Tafawa Balewa regime for treason with the massacre of Easterners and the death of Ironsi. The Yoruba leaders apparently decided that if the East secedes, so will the West. This was why the…
CONCLUSION “The Secession of Biafra is no ordinary act of rebellion. The Ibo people have been forced (our italics) out of the Federation by the terrible massacre of 30,000 of their people in the North and by the uncertainty as to whether this overcrowded and vigorous people can in the future find secure…
AFTER ABURI It had been agreed at Aburi that all previous decrees assuming over-centralisation and detracting from Regional autonomy should be repealed and a decree enacted before 21st January restoring the regions to their position before the military takeover on the 15th January, 1966. Eventually a draft decree was issued by the Lagos…
ABURI — 4th/5th JANUARY, 1967 In an attempt to find a solution to Nigeria’s problem, yet nevertheless preserve Nigerian unity, the Supreme Military Council met at Aburi, Ghana, on 4th and 5th January, 1967. The principal objects of this meeting were threefold: firstly to review questions concerning the organisation of the Nigerian…
POGROM— 29th SEPTEMBER, 1966 On 29th September, as the Constitutional Conference was still sitting in Lagos, events occurred which will always rank as of the utmost significance in the social and political history of Nigeria, events which made fundamental changes in the structure and pattern of Nigerian society and government. On that day…
THE AD HOC CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE On 12th September, 1966, the proposed Constitutional Conference began its sittings. Gowon called upon the Conference to discover a form of political association best suited to Nigeria in the light of recent developments. A Unitary form of Government and a complete break-up were expressly ruled out. He suggested…
29th JULY, 1966 As a result of the strong opposition which had manifested t itself to the “unification” decree, Gen. Ironsi undertook a series of tours of the Nigerian provinces to seek the advice of the traditional rulers. In the early hours of 29th July while staying in Ibadan with the Military Governor…
BIAFRA The case for INDEPENDENCE GEOFFREY BIRCH DOMINIC ST. GEORGE BRITAIN-BIAFRA ASSOCIATION 46 Tytherton Road, London, N.19 Tel: 01 272 2931 © February 1968 Reprinted March 1968 Second reprint June 1968 FOREWORD My experience in several ex-British colonies has convinced me that in far…
August 2, 1968 U.S. Urged to Undertake Immediate Biafran Airlift with or without Nigeria’s Permission In a “Letter to the Editor” of New York Times, Edward S. Morse, an American, urges the United States to undertake a massive military relief airlift to Biafra. {Reports published in the New York Times of…
July 29, 1968 Famine Conditions Worsen in Biafra Statistics of food crisis in the Republic of Biafra is a scene of the everyday reality of death. Death strikes everywhere: in hospitals, in mission stations, even by the roadside. At the Okpala Mission 80 miles west of Obinze, the Rev. Ken Doheny is…