Biafra 50 Years On
The civil war that resulted from the division of Nigeria was a major human disaster that should not be forgotten.
In the early hours of 30 May 1967, a hand-picked audience arrived at a government building, known as State House, in the town of Enugu in south-east Nigeria.
The man who appeared before them was a 33-year old bearded army officer with a gentlemanly bearing, unmistakable gravitas and an earnest expression. In his baritone voice, at a slow, emphatic pace, Lt-Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu made a declaration that was to change the course of his country’s history. ‘The territory and region known as Eastern Nigeria’, he proclaimed, ‘shall henceforth be an independent sovereign state of the name “Biafra”.’
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