”This was truly the worst thing that has happened in all of Africa…Ever !”
The Nigerian Civil War, commonly known as the as the Biafran War, was a period of struggle that began not long after Nigeria’s independence. Following the United Kingdom’s decolonization of Nigeria from 1960-1963, tensions of political, ethnic, cultural and religious forms grew around the nation. Different views on how the country should operate and be governed led to the civil war fought between Nigeria and the then called Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state aiming to become its own independent nation. The war lasted almost three years (6 July 1967-15 January 1970), and it had many effects but the most important was the effects it had on the people; the war resulted in the deaths around a 100,000 military personnel and millions of civilian, mostly from starvation. Starvation was a weapon used by both sides to gain an advantage on one another which led to an astronomical death toll of civilians. The war had a devastating impacts on Nigeria, damaging its economy, disrupting production, trade, and leading to a series of military coups during and even after the end of the war. Nigeria won the war on January 15, 1970 when Biafra agreed to a ceasefire, Biafra was reintegrated into the country and split into various states.
The war created a period of famine and struggle for the civilians, My grandma who is currently 68 experienced this firsthand and is the subject of my interview. I do not share the same ability to speak in my native language having grown up in a more English speaking community than my parents and grandparents so this interview was conducted in English. Mrs. Princess Osula (my grandmother) recalls being a young teenager, she was 13 years old at the time, she lived in a village called Uromi in Edo state during this period.
What was your lifestyle and community like before the war ?
“Before the war, life was very peaceful. I lived in Uromi, a village in Central Edo state, i lived with or close to most of my family, the community all that supported one another. I worked at market selling clothes and accessories for in a family owned shop at the time, most people were focused on farming and other things. There was a sense of unity and prosperity before the war started.”
How did you learn or hear about the war, and what was your reaction when you heard about it ?
“I heard news of a war through gossip and the radio, I was so shocked, most of us (family members) didn’t believe it was actually happening, a lot of tension was going on around the nation but where I lived, it was distant from all that. For a long time I denied the seriousness of the situation, But as the news became clearer, we started to feel the war was coming. Fear was what I felt at the time, you could hear the panic of the people on the radio saying what is to come, it was frightening.”
As the ware broke out, what was your experience and how did your community respond?
“There was confusion and disbelief, my parents didn’t know what was going to happen next. As the fighting broke out, as it spread across the nation people began leaving their homes, and there was no food, it was crazy.”
How did your family cope with the struggles of the war?
“We were forced to stop working and stop going to school as the fighting spread and got close to home, there were soldiers everywhere you looked. My family had to move from place to place. There was barely any food, we had to ration the little we had. Neighbors and family supported us the best they could and we did the same for them, but there were times when we didn’t know how we would survive. Communication was lost with some of my family members, I remember we couldn’t reach my cousins and aunt, we tried any means we could to stay I contact whenever possible but not knowing their fate for so long cause a lot of stress.”
Do you have any specific memories of the fighting or the sounds of the war ? Are there any lingering memories from your experience of that time ?
“I remember the sound of gunfire, the loud explosions I could see in the distance, sometimes we could see smoke rising from villages around us. It was very scary. At time we would hear planes flying over us and we’d have to run and find shelter immediately to avoid them. The scarcity of food, the constant fear of air strikes or attacks made life very difficult. I remember the times we were separated from loved ones, the wounded who couldn’t get help, the other children who were starving. Those images still haunt me to this day.”
How did the war change the relationship between different ethnic groups in Nigeria?
“The war created division between different groups. The Igbo people in the East, who declared for Biafra, felt alienated/abandoned from the rest of the country. There was lot of tension, especially between the Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba people. Even after the war ended it took years for some communities to rebuild trust in one another.”
How did the war end for you and what did you do after the conflict ended ?
“The violence had finally ended but everyone was devastated, the country was devastated, so many people were hurt, so many died, people I knew were killed. After the constant moving we had to go through we settled down in Lagos for a while, then we returned back to Uromi to reconcile with people we lost during the war, those that weren’t killed. As a community, together we buried the dead and rebuilt the village over the next years.”
Do you think the war taught Nigeria anything ? Were they lessons learnt from the Civil War ?
“I don’t think lesson have been fully learned because we still see ethnic division in many parts of the country. The war showed us the consequences of division and the importance of unity, it taught us that when we allow hatred to grow, it can destroy everything we have. We must have unity, we must understand one another and forgive each other because with unity, the nation will flourish.”
by Dean Osagie
Refrences
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nigerian-civil-war
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Civil_War