Reflections on the Nigerian Civil War

About the Book

The military collapse of Biafra on 12th January, 1970, prompted Raph Uwechue to update his internationally acclaimed account of Nigeria's civil war. In this new, revised and expanded edition, Mr. Uwechue has added a series of epilogues and an appendix in which he (a) analyses the causes of Biafra's failure, (b) takes a penetrating look into the future shape of Nigeria and elaborates on his proposals for an elastic federal union and, (c) provides informative portraits of the principal figures involved in Nigeria's civil war.

After providing the reader with introductory material on the background of Nigeria, Uwechue examines the roots of the civil war, the revolution of 1966, political and military failures, secession and minority problems. To ensure that none of Nigeria's many ethnic groups is in a position to dominate the entire country, he suggests the formation of an elastic federation founded on a triangular base: a popularly elected executive President who, as the national umpire takes charge of the country's security; a Senate which represents the interests of the states, which should have increased autonomy; a National Assembly which represents as well as accommodates the interests and conflicts of ideological and party politics at the national level.

"I commend this book to those who are interested in resolving the Nigerian crisis with realism. The brevity of the chapters and its lucid style of presentation make it a must reading..."

"What he proposes to us, after presenting us with a series of verifiable facts, is more than just a solution. It is a method of finding solutions that are at once just and effective. Herein lies his double merit."

About the Author

Raphael Chukwu Uwechue is a former Nigerian career diplomat who served in various capacities in Cameroun, Pakistan and Mali. In 1966, he came to Paris as charge d'affaires to open Nigeria's embassy in France. Strongly disagreeing with the federal government's handling of the situation produced by the massacres of September 1966, he decided to quit the federal service to help present the case of the Ibos to the french world. This he did with remarkable effect in his capacity as Biafra's representative in France. when peace talks collapsed one after the other, he resigned that appointment in December 1968 in protest against the Biafran leaderships inflexible attitude towards absolute sovereignty.

Mr. Uwechue, who has since worked for two years as a UNESCO consultant on the "General History of Africa" project, has just been appointed (January 1971) editor-in chief of the new Paris-based international magazine "AFRICA". He is a member of the editorial committee of the Paris review "PRESENCE AFRICAINE" and is a regular contributor to the paris weekly "JEUNE AFRIQUE". Many of his articles have also appeared in a variety of scholarly periodicals as well as major newspapers. He is the co-author of a new book in French: "Les assassinats politiques en Afrique".

An Ibo from the Midwest, Uwechue attended primary school in Sokoto and secondary school at St. John's College, Kaduna. Later, he went to the university College of Ibadan where he took an honours degree in modern history. He studied French and international law at the Geneva Africa Institute, Switzerland. He is married with five children.