4 - Heroes and Villains: Ijaw Nationalist Narratives of the Nigerian Civil War
Corresponding Author(s) : Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou
Africa Development,
Vol. 34 No. 1 (2009): Africa Development: Special Issue on Legacies of Biafra: Violence, Identity and Citizenship in Nigeria
Abstract
Numerous explanations of the failure of the Biafran enterprise highlight the absence of legitimacy and support for the Biafran effort among the Niger Delta ‘minorities’. In the aftermath of the Civil War, popular narratives among the Ijaw, arguably Nigeria’s fourth largest ethnic group, tended to tie them closely to the Federal side. In this paper, we examine the transformations of the relationship between Southern minorities and the Biafran cause, with a particular focus on the Ijaw. The fiscal centralization of oil resources that followed the war and the persistence of minority exclusion within the Nigerian polity have encouraged Ijaw elites, and other southern minorities, to review their commitment to Nige- rian federalism. Conflicting tales of the Ijaw nationalist hero Isaac Boro testify to a growing ‘revisionism’ in interpretations of the Biafran War. Today the resur- gence of militant forms of Ijaw ethnic nationalism, against the backdrop of oil community protests which have been taking place since the early 1990s, has given rise to new interpretations of the war, and the creation of new political linkages between Ijaw nationalists, other Niger Delta minorities and Igbo pro- Biafra movements. While resistance to Biafra catalyzed Ijaw nationalism in the fighting and aftermath of the Civil War, Biafra has now become a symbol of contemporary Ijaw nationalism. By drawing on new ‘revisionist’ histories of Biafra, this paper considers the complex interaction of ethnic nationalism, oil and secessionist conflict in Nigeria.
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- Adichie, C. N., 2007, Half of A Yellow Sun, London: HarperCollins.
- Amadi, E., 1973, Sunset in Biafra: A Civil War Diary, London: Heinemann.
- Amaize, E., 2005, ‘Arrest of Alamieyeseigha, Dokubo: Security Alert in Niger Delta Creeks’, Vanguard, 24 September.
- de St Jorre, J., 1972, The Nigerian Civil War, London: Hodder & Stoughton.
- Eboreime, O. J., 1992, Group Identities and the Changing Patterns of Alliances among the Epie-Atissa People of Nigeria 1890–1991, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Emmanuel, H. (n.d.) ‘Who Killed Adaka Boro?’, online at http://www.unitedijawstates.com/boro.htm.
- Jones, G. I., 1963, The Trading States of the Oil Rivers: A Study of Political Development in Eastern Nigeria, London: Oxford University Press.
- Luckham, R., 1971, The Nigerian Military: 1960–1967, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Madiebo, A. A., 1980, The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War, Enugu: Fourth Dimension.
- Nwajiaku, K., 2006, ‘La mémoire et l’oubli: Isaac Boro et les tendances du nationalisme Ijaw contemporain’, Politique Africaine 103 (October).
- Obasanjo, O., 1980, My Command, London: Heinemann.
- Oguoko, B., 1999, Ijo Story: The History of the Ijo People: documentation and Notes, Izon Historical Documentation, London.
- Okara, R. P. G., 1970, [rpt 2001]) ‘The Rivers People and the History of the Nigerian Crisis in Rivers State’, in Mofia T. Okobo, ed., The Rivers State, One Nigeria, Port Harcourt: Seanas Press.
- Okonta, I., 2002, ‘The Struggle of the Ogoni for Self-Determination’, unpublished D.Phil. thesis, University of Oxford.
- Okonta, I., 2007, When Citizens Revolt: Nigerian Elites, Big Oil and the Ogoni Struggle for Self Determination, Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
- Saro-Wiwa, K., 1989, On a Darkling Plain: An Account of the Nigerian Civil War, Port Harcourt: Saros.
- Tamuno, T. N., 1972, ‘Patriotism and Statism in Rivers State, Nigeria’, African Affairs 71(284), July.
- Tebekaemi, T., ed., 1982, The Twelve Day Revolution, Benin City: Ethiope Publishing Company, Benin City: Umeh Publishers.
- Weli-Wegbe, W., 2001, ‘Atrocities and Genocide’ in M.T. Akobo (ed.), The Rivers State in One Nigeria, Seanas Press, Port Harcourt, [1970], pp. 23-36.
- Williams, E., 2000, ‘Interview with Chief Harold Dappa Biriye’, The Comet, October.
- Williams, G., 1982, The Nigerian Civil War, Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
References
Adichie, C. N., 2007, Half of A Yellow Sun, London: HarperCollins.
Amadi, E., 1973, Sunset in Biafra: A Civil War Diary, London: Heinemann.
Amaize, E., 2005, ‘Arrest of Alamieyeseigha, Dokubo: Security Alert in Niger Delta Creeks’, Vanguard, 24 September.
de St Jorre, J., 1972, The Nigerian Civil War, London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Eboreime, O. J., 1992, Group Identities and the Changing Patterns of Alliances among the Epie-Atissa People of Nigeria 1890–1991, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Emmanuel, H. (n.d.) ‘Who Killed Adaka Boro?’, online at http://www.unitedijawstates.com/boro.htm.
Jones, G. I., 1963, The Trading States of the Oil Rivers: A Study of Political Development in Eastern Nigeria, London: Oxford University Press.
Luckham, R., 1971, The Nigerian Military: 1960–1967, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Madiebo, A. A., 1980, The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War, Enugu: Fourth Dimension.
Nwajiaku, K., 2006, ‘La mémoire et l’oubli: Isaac Boro et les tendances du nationalisme Ijaw contemporain’, Politique Africaine 103 (October).
Obasanjo, O., 1980, My Command, London: Heinemann.
Oguoko, B., 1999, Ijo Story: The History of the Ijo People: documentation and Notes, Izon Historical Documentation, London.
Okara, R. P. G., 1970, [rpt 2001]) ‘The Rivers People and the History of the Nigerian Crisis in Rivers State’, in Mofia T. Okobo, ed., The Rivers State, One Nigeria, Port Harcourt: Seanas Press.
Okonta, I., 2002, ‘The Struggle of the Ogoni for Self-Determination’, unpublished D.Phil. thesis, University of Oxford.
Okonta, I., 2007, When Citizens Revolt: Nigerian Elites, Big Oil and the Ogoni Struggle for Self Determination, Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
Saro-Wiwa, K., 1989, On a Darkling Plain: An Account of the Nigerian Civil War, Port Harcourt: Saros.
Tamuno, T. N., 1972, ‘Patriotism and Statism in Rivers State, Nigeria’, African Affairs 71(284), July.
Tebekaemi, T., ed., 1982, The Twelve Day Revolution, Benin City: Ethiope Publishing Company, Benin City: Umeh Publishers.
Weli-Wegbe, W., 2001, ‘Atrocities and Genocide’ in M.T. Akobo (ed.), The Rivers State in One Nigeria, Seanas Press, Port Harcourt, [1970], pp. 23-36.
Williams, E., 2000, ‘Interview with Chief Harold Dappa Biriye’, The Comet, October.
Williams, G., 1982, The Nigerian Civil War, Milton Keynes: Open University Press.