Sense and Senselessness of War: Aggregating the Causes, Gains and Losses of the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-1970

Abstract

This study is a post-mortem interrogation of the causes and impact of the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970. It was conducted to ascertain whether the war was sensible or not, and to what extent. The paper notes that despite the great losses and agonies suffered by the nation during the ‘war of unity’, Nigeria is still far from being united, forty-seven years after the end of hostilities. This is clearer judging by the recent altercations between the Northern youths and their Igbo counterparts calling for the exit of the ‘alien’ groups from their domains latest by 1 October, 2017. The paper notes that the current scenario of inter-ethnic conflagrations is a replica of the events that precipitated the 1966 pogroms suffered by people of Eastern Nigeria origin in various Northern Nigerian cities which was one of the major factors that accounted for the outbreak of war in 1967. The paper submits that the Nigerian civil war presents a mixed record. It could be regarded as sensible given the continued unity and sustenance of territorial integrity of the country since then till date, even though by force. It could also be regarded as senseless and wasteful in view of the unending agitations for the balkanisation of the country by most ethnic nationalities since the 1990s. Data for this study was sourced extensively from secondary sources. Data was analysed using descriptive and narrative methods of inquiry.