Page 110 - 1970S

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federal troops were not the acme of
virtue and decorum, by African stan–
dards they behaved much better than
many outsiders expected.
What atrocities were perpetrated may
be laid to undisciplined troops of
Nigeria's 3rd Marine Commando Divi–
sion. The Nigerian government brought
in the lst Division to replace them.
At a press conference, Nigerian
leader Maj. Gen. Yakubu Gowon
defended his government's attempt to
restore normalcy to the arca. He admit–
ted, "We don't expect miracles ... Is
anyone williog to say there is not
misbehavior in their own armies ?"
Although chaos and confusion were
created by the sudden end of the
war, there were cases of federal Nigerian
soldiers feeding Biafran refugees from
their own rations. Though serious medí–
cal situations existed, federal authorities
were coping with the problem as swiftly
and effi.ciently as they could under the
ci rcumstances.
War is never pleasant. It is ugly,
vindictive, cruel, hard, and evil. And
Biafra is an example of the pitiful
suffering that foJlows in the wakc of
rebell ion and war .
The danger of malnutrition and
starvation will remain serious for many
months, reports a specíal U. N . observer.
Said-Uddin Khan of Pakistan estimated
that a million people in Biafra need
he!p.
What CAUSED the tragedy in Biafra?
And what does it mean to the rest of
Africa, and the world?
Can it happen elsewhere? Can it
happen again?
Background to the Tragedy
The Biafran tragedy began on July
15, 1966, when young officers of the
Nigerian army, mostly Ibos from the
eastern arca of the nation, successfully
overthrew the civil ian government.
Non-Ibo civilian politicians were mur–
dered and an Ibo general was installed
as federal ruler. This caused wide–
spread alarm among the non-Ibo tribes
in Nigeria who feared an Ibo dictator–
ship was in the making.
Six months later non-Ibos made a
counter-coup and overthrew the ruling
Ibos. This ignited a massive slaughter
The PLAIN TRUTH
of 30,000 Ibos in nortl1ern Nigeria.
The massacre caused Ibos throughout
Nigeria to fear for their lives and to
migrate in haste back to their original
homeland in eastern Nigeria. Angry,
terrified, and bitter, the Ibos then led
the eastern regíon of N igeria into se–
cession and rebellion. With General
Odumegwu Ojukwu at the helm, the
Ibos prodaimed the Independent Re–
public of Biafra on May 30, 1967. The
civil war itself began less than six weeks
later- on July 6.
Now that the war is officially over,
what líes abead? There were about
eight millioo Ibos in Nigeria before
the war. How many are left, nobody
knows for sure. Reintegrating the Ibos
into tbe national life of Nigeria is a
formidable task. The government has
promised them full reintegration. But
tribal distrusts and hatreds exist.
Before the civil war started, the
proud, educated Ibos held 60 percent
of the civil service jobs and 80 percent
of the enginering and technical jobs
in the public utilities and telegraph
systems. Although the Ibo's eigbt mil–
lion people numbered far less than the
Hausas or Yorubas, they were hard–
woJ·king, ambitious people aod filled
top posts in civil service, education,
medicine, engineering and commerce.
Philosopher Albert Schweitzer once
said, "The trouble wíth the Ibos is that
they think they are superior. Now they
may well be superior, but they should
have enough sense not to act so
superior."
Now that the war is over, Nígeria
will attempt to bring the Ibos back
into the mainstream of the life of the
nation. Such a massive resettlement is
bound to create hard feelings among
many Nigerians from other tribes who
have since fi.Jled many of the formerly
Ibo-held positions.
Reconstruction and
Reconciliation
The process of reintegration and
reconciliation will be hazardous and
slow. Yet, of all the countries in black
Africa, Nigeria has the most going for
it.
Nigeria is a big producer of oil. Pro–
duction should top one million barreis
Marcb, 1970
a day in the near future. In the coming
years, production should surpass two
million barreis a day, placing it in the
same category with Iraq, Saudi Arabia,
aod Kuwait.
Nigeria leads the world in peanut
production; exports run over $100 mil–
lion yearly. Cocoa, cotton, rubber and
timber are also exported.
Rich mineral resources exist m
Nigeria, induding tin, coa!, iroo,
columbite, and natural gas. Overall,
Nigeria remains - despite the cost of
the Biafran war - the richest and most
populous nation in black Africa, with
nearly 60 million people.
1f the age-old animosities and resent–
ments of tribalism are overcome,
Nigeria could well become a stronger
country than ever, a prosperous, leading
nation in black Africa. But that remains
a mighty big "if."
Tribalism- a BIG Problem
No matter how you slice it, the basic
problem of Nigeria and all black
Afríca is that age-old problem: self–
centered tribalism. It parallels the curse
of self-centered nationalism among
European states.
One hundred years ago there was no
Nigeria. This was not to say the ances–
tors of those people weren't there. But,
in the late Nineteenth Century, the Euro–
pean land-grab in Africa began. Between
1879 and 1914, the British carved a
colonial entity out of the laod of the
Ibo and the Hausa, and areas of the
Fulani and Yoruba tribes. There were
also approximately 250 sub-tribes who
claimed portions of the land. It was
made a single territory representing the
entire British holding between French
Dahomey and Niger, and German
Kameroun. Other Fulani lived in Niger
and other Yorubas in Dahomey but that
dido't matter. The British territory was
given the name "Nigeria" because the
Niger river flows through it.
In 1960, with the cry for indepen–
dence growing, Nigeria, considered one
of the most advanced Afrícao countries
and the most populous, was among the
first to be granted independence.
The Brítish granted independence,
and left política! control in the hands
of a Moslem-oriented political group