Biafra: A Military History

The Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970), also known as the Biafran War, remains one of the most politically charged and divisive issues in contemporary Nigerian politics. During its three years of violence, the war resulted in an astonishing number of deaths. This included civilians who suffered starvation due to the siege, which ultimately ended with no victors.

Biafra discusses the major political, military, and diplomatic factors that came to play in the war, as well as the matters of genocide, humanitarian relief, and the memory of Biafra. Author Roy Doron delineates the war’s operational history, from its origins to its military engagements, failures in leadership, international reactions, and its resolution and legacy. Biafra also examines how the country was affected after the war, when Nigeria’s military government imposed a ＂no victors, no vanquished＂ policy in order to minimize further conflict and promote national unity.

Providing the first comprehensive narrative history of the Nigerian Civil War in more than 50 years, Biafra offers a new basis for scholars and readers to understand one of postcolonial Africa’s most devastating and consequential conflicts.

Roy Doron is the CD Spangler Distinguished Professor of African and African American History at Winston-Salem State University. His is coauthor, with Toyin Falola, of Ken Saro-Wiwa and coeditor, with Falola and Okpeh Ochayi Okpeh) of Warfare, Ethnicity and National Identity in Nigeria.