What if Biafra Had Succeeded?
The demise of the Ikemba of Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegu Ojukwu, once again gives us the opportunity to reflect on the Biafran fight for independence which led to the Nigerian Civil War. A war that led to deaths the number of which no one can really say precisely, though we have figures between running 100,000 and 2,000,000.
That war was fought and lost, but I will like to try and figure out what things could have looked like if the rag tag army of Biafra had prevailed and Gen. Philip Effiong read a victory speech and not that of surrender.
War broke out because of the lingering sense of insecurity and a feeling of not being wanted that the Igbos felt after the many riots in the North that led to truck and train-loads of bodies being shipped back to the East. The Igbos felt it was time to hit it out on their own in a country of their own where they will be full entitled citizens.
In all of these, the main aggrieved party (at least as largely captured by historians) were the members of the Igbo speaking tribes of Eastern Nigeria. I can’t remember any accounts of the other tribes that existed in the old Eastern Region getting the treatment the Igbos got. Some of these minority tribes (let me call them that) are those that now form what is known in present day Nigeria as the Niger Delta. This was where the wealth of Nigeria then (and even now) was situated. This I also suspect was why Nigeria fought so hard to make sure Biafra didn’t come to fruition. This was where we hard the oilfields.
If the agitation for self actualisation and independence by Biafra had happened in the present day, I have a strong feeling it would have succeeded, look at South Sudan, and to a small extent Benghazi in Libya (before Ghaddafi’s elimination). If Biafra had succeeded, what in the long run would have become the fate of this new country? Let me guess.
- The minority tribes, especially the Niger Delta, might have remained minority and they probably may have still been subjected to the degradation they are having to grapple with today due to oil exploration and exploitation
- The core Igbos might probably have felt they were more entitled because they were the ones who suffered originally from the hands of the North, and they were the valiant ones who spearheaded the war and lost more people. Other regions might have become marginalized.
- Biafra might not have been any different from what Nigeria is today, the powerful ethnic groups subjecting the less powerful ones. In the end, the minority groups might have began agitations for more recognition, and respect, just like we have in present day Nigeria.
- Considering accounts from books written about the war, Major General Alex Madiebo’s story for example, Biafra might probably have become mis-governed and mismanaged, probably governed by an iron fist by a leader who might eventually have become a despot, another sit tight African leader.
On the flip side, Could Biafra have become a glowing example of prosperity? A country so successful at commerce and industry, a rich country in black Africa, that former masters like Nigeria might have come to it to borrow shamelessly? The exploits of Aba, Onitsha, Ariria and ASPAMDA in Lagos come to mind. The genetic (I think) make up of the average Igbo person to go into commerce and Industry might probably have made Biafra an African Tiger ( in the same light as the Asian Tigers). Biafra might probably have developed to the point where they make friends with successful countries like the United Arab Emirates, and most likely have turned Tinapa into a Dubai, or at least a Sun City like in South Africa.
But we will never know….or let me just say we might never know.
Odimegu Ojukwu and the Igbo nation took a bold step of courage, an attribute that has become alien to us as a people in the face of unrelenting tyranny from the ruling class (at least since June 12, 1993). I, at this point, join the millions, who believe in justice, equity, and fair play, in mourning the death of this iconic Nigerian. May his soul rest in peace….finally.
A Monk's Words 