The Nigeria-Biafra War: Genocide and the Politics of Memory By C ...

by the accounts of the major actors and military leaders who conducted the war;⁴ thus although much has been written about the Nigeria-Biafra War, there is little about its genocidal character from the Biafran perspective. Despite evidence demonstrating the meticulously planned and implemented political project of exterminating the Igbo ethnic group in northern Nigeria before the conflict and in other parts of Nigeria during it, the genocide has been mischaracterized as a civil war. In what might be called an invisible genocide, the deliberate action against the Igbo ethnic group was masked by both federal Nigeria’s and major western nations’ attempts to downplay both evidence of genocide and its deeper roots in the pre–civil war period. In addition, little empirical scholarship has been conducted researching the event.Especially missing is documentation of the perspective of ordinary people who experienced the war as combatants or civilians. Moreover, the systematic attempts to “forget” the war at several levels—attempts made by the state for political reasons and by individuals mainly for psychological reasons stemming from the desire to move on—have limited both postwar discussions of the war and the scholarship that could perhaps vindicate those who endured the war’s trauma.

Through carefully analyzing the experiences of those who witnessed the war and evidence from other sources, this book reveals neglected aspects of the Biafran conflict. The book examines the Nigeria-Biafra War in terms of its nonmilitary aspects and in terms of its lingering human costs. It also addresses the Biafran experience within the context and discourse on genocide. The studies here examine the roles of humanitarian, civil, and advocacy groups; the place of international organizations and conflict-resolution efforts; and ways the Cold War and questions of controlling resources (primarily oil) shaped the outcomes of the war. This book speaks to some of the conflict’s causal elements and to the perceived underlying genocidal rather than political motivations for the war. Lastly, the book addresses the postwar conditions the Igbo people face through a historical, political, and ideological lens that forms the basis of much excellent criticism of post–civil war reconstruction, reintegration, and restoration. The critical issues addressed in this book are those of genocidal intent,