Nigerian History In Context: Ojukwu's Perspective

Born in Zungeru, British Nigeria to Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, a wealthy Igbo businessman, Ojukwu was educated at King's College, Lagos and Epsom College in Surrey, England. He proceeded to Lincoln College, Oxford University where he obtained a master's degree in Modern History in 1955. He returned to Nigeria to serve as an administrative officer and would later join the Nigerian army. Following the independence of Nigeria in 1960, a group of military officers overthrew Nigeria's civilian government in the 1966 Nigerian coup d'état and Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi became the head of state. Ironsi appointed Ojukwu as military governor of the Eastern Region mostly dominated by the Igbo tribe.[a]

In response to Igbo demands for secession, Ojukwu reorganised the Eastern Region as the Republic of Biafra, and he declared independence from Nigeria. Nigeria invaded Biafra, sparking the Nigerian Civil War. The Nigerian military, with support from the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, blockaded Biafra and cut food supplies, which created a mass famine. Ojukwu made use of foreign media to highlight the plight of Biafran civilians and depict the war as genocide against Igbos.[1] The shocking images of starving Biafran civilians turned the war into an international media sensation, as this was one of the first globally televised wars alongside the Vietnam War.[2] Biafra received international humanitarian relief during the Biafran airlift.