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Concept
Biafra
Summary
Biafra (/biˈɑfɹə/), officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria, predominantly inhabited by the Igbo ethnic group. Biafra was established on 30 May 1967 by Igbo military officer and Eastern Region governor C. Odumegwu Ojukwu under his presidency, following a series of ethnic tensions and military coups after Nigerian independence in 1960 that culminated in the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom. The military of Nigeria proceeded to invade the country shortly after its declaration of independence, resulting in the start of the Nigerian Civil War. After nearly three years of war, during which around two million Biafran civilians died, second president of Biafra Philip Effiong oversaw the surrender of Biafran forces to Nigeria. Biafra was formally recognised by Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Igbo nationalism became a strong political and social force after the civil war and it became more militant since the 1990s, calling for the revival of Biafra. Various Biafran secessionist groups have emerged such as the Indigenous People of Biafra, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, and the Biafra Zionist Front.
Early modern maps of Africa from the 15th to the 19th centuries, drawn from accounts written by explorers and travellers, show references to Biafar, Biafara, Biafra, and Biafares. According to the maps, the European travellers used the word Biafara to describe the region of today's West Cameroon, including an area around today's Equatorial Guinea. The German publisher Johann Heinrich Zedler, in his encyclopedia of 1731, published the exact geographical location of the capital of Biafara, namely alongside the river Rio dos Camaroes in today's Cameroon, underneath 6 degrees 10 min latitude. The words Biafara and Biafares also appear on maps from the 18th century in the area around Senegal and Gambia.
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