Biafra
Republic of Biafra Bìá fá rá | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967–1970 | |||||||||
| Motto: "Peace, Unity, and Freedom" | |||||||||
| Anthem: "Land of the Rising Sun" | |||||||||
The Republic of Biafra in red, with its puppet state of the Republic of Benin in striped red, and Nigeria in dark gray. | |||||||||
Republic of Biafra in May 1967 | |||||||||
| Status | Partially recognised state | ||||||||
| Capital | 6°27′N 7°30′E / 6.450°N 7.500°E | ||||||||
| Largest city | Onitsha | ||||||||
| Common languages | PredominantlyMinority languages | ||||||||
| Ethnic groups | |||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Biafran | ||||||||
| Government | Republic | ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
• 1967–1970 | C. Odumegwu Ojukwu | ||||||||
• 1970 | Philip Effiong | ||||||||
| Vice President | |||||||||
• 1967–1970 | Philip Effiong | ||||||||
| Council of Chiefs | |||||||||
| Consultative Assembly | |||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
• Independence declared | 30 May 1967 | ||||||||
• Rejoins Federal Nigeria | 15 January 1970 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 1967 | 77,306 km2 (29,848 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1967 | 13,500,000 | ||||||||
| GDP (PPP) | estimate | ||||||||
• Total | $40.750 million | ||||||||
| Currency | Biafran pound | ||||||||
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Biafara anglicized as Biafra (/biˈæfərə/ /ˌbiːə-ˈfɑː-rə/), officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 to 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 Chukwuemeka 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 Nigerian military attempted to reclaim the territory of Biafra, resulting in the start of the Nigerian Civil War. Biafra was officially recognised by Gabon, Haiti, Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, and Zambia while receiving de facto recognition and covert military support from France, Portugal, Israel, South Africa and Rhodesia. After nearly three years of war, during which around two million Biafran civilians died, president Ojukwu fled into exile in Ivory Coast as the Nigerian military approached the capital of Biafra. Philip Effiong became the second president of Biafra, and he oversaw the surrender of Biafran forces to Nigeria.
Igbo nationalism became a strong political and social force after the civil war. It has grown more militant since the 1990s, calling for the independence of the Biafran people and the establishment of their state. 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.