An Honest Explanation of the Nigerian Civil War | The Biafran Story

With the second highest death-toll of all African conflicts, the Nigerian Civil war (also known as the Biafran war) is perhaps the single most significant event in Nigerian history.

This video is our attempt to shed light on this 3 year conflict, which claimed the lives of over 100,000 soldiers and an estimated 2 million civilians as the Nigerian government led by General Yakubu Gowon fought to prevent the secession of the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra which was led by General Chuckwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.

#Nigeria #Biafra #History

[NewAfrica]

*The Nigerian civil war is infinitely more complex than can be explained in a 45 minute video. What we've tried to do here is to give the "bare bones" of the conflict and also leave viewers with some food for thought about Nigeria's future. We would have loved to make the video much longer and explain all the intricacies but we were financially constrained. We hope you can all appreciate the effort that has gone into this work and use this as a springboard into further research about the Biafran War.*

[princesseetoilesadeeq]

My husband is from the Biafra region, at times I can see the sadness in his eyes, he lost his mother, father and two brothers during the war. It’s sad, but no one talks about it. Thank you for sharing this video.

[micci]

I remembered what my parents told me about how they survived the war.
My father said that, there was a day when Biafran soldiers entered communities to get young boys from 15 and above to train. He was picked as he was 16 going to 17 at that time. They'll train them for 3 weeks (a month as most) and send them off to the battle field. They ate in very small quantity twice a day, sometimes, they will give them a small bowl for certain number of persons to eat. When it was time to send them off, they lined them up and painted their body black as camouflage. He said he remembered feeling soo scared because he hasn't perfected the act of the gun and that because he was the first son, he wondered if he will ever see his family again (his younger brother was like 6 years). In the border between Nigeria and Biafra, they would set a camp (not typical tents with fire though but with grasses and woods to hide them and wait for an opportune time to strike. It was that night that my father made a decision that he couldn't leave his family behind. He was like a provider to them, because he was not only young but the eldest child, he could easily get food from different camp sites and take it home to feed to his sick mother and little siblings as well as to anybody. So he made a decision to go check on his family that night and with hope of returning back to the camp very early in the morning. And with that, my father narrowly escaped death as that place was ambushed by the Nigerian soldiers after he left cause he said from afar, he saw corpses he could recognize right away and ran back home.
My mother said that when ever they heard that the Nigerian soldiers were coming, people will see themselves running to the Oji River (a river in Enugu State) to cross over and go hide in an area saturated with thick bushes away around the water. That she remembered crying because she hated it. She was around 7 to 10 years old at that time. The water would be too deep that the older ones would have to carry the younger ones on their shoulders if they want to cross the river to the other side (that was bushy as well) and carry them on their arms if they are hiding in the water grasses. Her family were always among the first to hide cause Nigerian Soldiers entering means deaths. That sometimes, you won't be able to sleep well at night cause you will be looking out for jet sounds. If they hear it, everyone will run out with fear of being bombed and Igbos lost important documents. There are times that they ended up sleeping in bushes with Mosquitoes and other insects biting you uncontrollably. sometimes, if you are unlucky scorpions and snakes. The only person that saved her family was her 2 eldest sisters, one worked with the army while the other one worked in a monetary bank. They always send relief like food, medications, money, clothes etc from their place of work to the family. Her eldest sister even initiated the plan to sneak her family members to Ibadan to stay as she said, was quite peaceful if you compare it to Biafra and after she successfully brought her family to Ibadan, the family lost her (the soldier) when the war was coming to an end. They still don't know if she is dead or alive. And that was where they lived until the war was over.
They told me so many things about how they survived, and the crazy things that happened. They literally saw many dead bodies both on road and in bushes that my parents lost count. Villages were safer than the Urban areas cause that was where the fight took place mostly but that doesn't mean villages were left out in the war. That when the war finished, Nigeria refused to send anything like funds and materials, thereby making the Igbos leave their region to look for a better place to get money and go to their land to invest what they could earn from their businesses.
It is even my culture that "if an Igbo man does not build his own house in his land, he is not yet a man"
Sorry if this is long and thanks for read it till this point 🤗.

[smrt]

As a historian I must say that this is one of the best channels that I found on YouTube

[dynamicstruth]

My dad, a Brafian soldier told me stories about the war. It was heart breaking and a cry for justice.

[oghenetegaoruade]

My Pain is that, this would never enter the history classroom in Nigeria. Many Nigerian's growing up may never know anything about the civil war! but would be taught about world war

[nasiruhamza]

I'm an Hausa Man. But I'm so sorry for I had accused Igbo's people wrongly. Indeed you people are warriors. I Salutes my Able Igbo's brother and sisters. Love you all

[creativityu]

Finally someone did this! Finally Someone did a historical dissection of the civil war in Nigeria and did it in such a way that everyone should get the basic idea of what happened. Thank you so much.

[The.Renovator]

This is why colonialism genuinely left Africa in a worst state than it was "found" in. Imagine stuffing Americans, Chinese, and Pakistanis in one country and expecting them to unite and put aside their differences, it's not going to happen. People often view black people and Africans as a monolith, blatantly ignoring the staunch cultural, religious, and political differences of each ethnic group and it ends up making Africans look less capable of running a country than anywhere else in the world, but no where else in the world were entire nations carved up haphazardly with no respect to the people actually native to the region, especially Nigeria.

[diabetesdocke]

Watching from Kenya. This is a great documentary, has made me understand the Biafran war. The British knew exactly what they were doing when they divided the country from the beginning. Am I the only one appreciating the beard on General Ojukwu?

[mmesomaokeke]

My late dad served in the Biafran Army at 21. He died in 2018. Salute you my hero!

[saltaenutrof]

Wow, just wow. Nothing's changed at all. This should be taught in Nigerian secondary schools. The Igbos deserved better.

[teammcintyre]

🇯🇲 Jamaica is with our Igbo brothers 💯 ✊🏿

[hotcake]

honestly, bro, this is so well put together. I would pay for content like this. well done man.

[ben_kas]

an African telling us about an African story fairly. This was great !

[trommelbiel]

I was one of those malnourished kids who nearly died of kwashiorkor in the Biafran heartland. Almost 60 now and living in London I cannot wait to fight for Biafra.

[joemcfatter]

I am an American man, who served in the military. I still recall the horror of seeing the starving children of the war, which even prompted me to write a letter to our President pleading he do something. This documentary is excellent and I have learned a great deal. I just pray present matters can somehow be resolved peacefully.

[ritzig]

WELL DONE

I'm from Kenya and I've understood this Issue CLEARLY for the first time in 20 years. Thank you

[juliusfolakemi]

I am not even Igbo but if Nigeria has allowed Biafra go that country would be one of the best in Africa...

[oxdhaoxt]

There’s absolutely no reason these groups should have been forced to coexist. It was a disaster from the beginning