An Examination of Secession and the Nigerian Civil War, 1966-2017: Lessons for the Church in Nigeria
- August 25, 2019
- Posted by: RSIS
- Category: Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue VIII, August 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186
An Examination of Secession and the Nigerian Civil War, 1966-2017: Lessons for the Church in Nigeria
Joseph Audu Reni
Baptist Theological Seminary, Kaduna, Nigeria
Globally, attempts at secession are not new. Neither are the calls and agitations for secession new in Nigeria. The first actual instance of secession was in 1967 which led to the Nigerian civil war. There has been sustained quest for secession in our most recent history. However, such calls and agitations are seen by some as a monumental threat to the unity of Nigeria. The reason the Federal Military Government under General Gowon executed the civil war was to keep Nigeria one. Despite the unrelenting efforts of successive governments to keep Nigeria going as one, united and indivisible country, the calls and agitations for secession have been unrelenting too. There are others who hail such calls and agitations as grounded in legitimate concerns and express the hope that the leaders of Nigeria would incline their ears to critical and objective listening to such calls and agitations. And yet, the issue of secession has never been seriously considered, nor has it been adequately given scholarly investigation although much has been written on the Nigerian civil war from different perspectives.
A personal motivation to understand the issues involved in the Nigerian civil war and the quest for secession as they affect Nigeria and Nigerians has led to this effort. The period under study in this paper is from 1966 to 2017. The choice of this period is informed by the following significant factors: the period under study saw the sack of the First Republic. This period also saw the resurgence of threats of secession. The years between 1967 and 1970 especially give a clear attempt at secession and the ensued civil war, and help to reinforce the query whether a particular section of Nigeria has a right to secede or not. I employ historical-descriptive method in this study in attempt to understand the civil war which lasted over three years and situating it within the context of continued quest for secession. The aricle takes on also the period between 1980 and 2017 within which other important issues relating to secession are examined. The study presents lessons for the church in Nigeria from which to learn and gives an opportunity for theological reflection on the issues raised.
