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BIAFRA - ~ A CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENTS July 15, 1969-January 12, 1970 19'%

CAROLYN K. COLWELL Analyst in International Relations

Foreign Affairs Division

January 28, 1970

13 197O A CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENTS July 15, 1969-January 12, 1970

Summarv

The Nigerian/Biafran civil war came to a.sudden conclusion with the announcement of the Biaf ran surrender on January 12, 1970. Biafra's capitulation followed the Federal forces' recapture of Owerri and assault against Uli airfield. In the months preceding the Biafran surrender, several attempts had been made to bring both sides together for peace talks; agreement on the preconditions for negotiations remained a stumbling block. Massive food relief shipments had not resumed since the cessation of ICRC deliveries on June 5, 1969; Joint Church Aid and some other groups tried to continue relief flights but the amount of food reaching Biafra was drastically cut. On October 2 the Nigerian

Red Cross officially took over the task of coordinating relief activities in . The United States, meanwhile, continued its efforts to help relief forces find a plan for relief shipments which would be acceptable to both sides.

A. Military

In recent months the Nigerian forces appeared to have redirected their strategy toward the pursuit of a quick military victory. Signs of discontent among front line commanders and civilians anxious to end the war quickly may have prompted such a change. On January 3, 1970, a Federal spokesman announced that Nigerian forces had succeeded in dividing the remaining Biaf ran territory into three parts. This put Federal troops in a position to make a final assault on Uli airstrip. In the final months Biafran strategy appeared to be aimed at crippling the Nigerian oil industry by launching airstrikes against oil installations. Biafran air raids were conducted by the recently acquired "minicon" planes. The Biafran array, with an estimated LRS-2

40,000 men under arms, was vastly outnumbered by the Nigerian force of around 100,000 soldiers. Biafran troops were also reportedly poorly armed and in the final weeks lacking sufficient food supplies.

- B. Political Settlement

Numerous efforts were made to bring Biafran and Nigerian representatives together for peace talks. The Biafrans remained unwilling to meet with the Nigerians as long as the Federal Government maintained that the talks must take place with the context of a united Nigeria. On September 10, the OAU conference in Addis Ababa passed a resolution calling on both sides "...to suspend hostilities immediately and open negotiations with- out delay with a view to preserving the unity of Nigeria..." A final major effort to get talks started was made by Emperor Haile Selassie

in December; the Biafrans, however, withdrew their delegation when they

learned that the talks would be conducted within the context of the OAU

resolution. The Biafran position was that under these conditions that outcome of the negotiations would be predetermined.

-C. Relief

Little change occurred in the disheartening relief situation. ICRC

relief shipments remained suspended and negotiations continued to try to find a mutually acceptable basis for renewed ICRC flights. Reports in-

dicated that by October only 280 tons of food was reaching Biafra nightly;

the need was estimated at approximately 500 tons. Three million persons

in Biafra were believed to be dependent on outside relief. On October 2 the Nigerian Red Cross officially replaced ICRC as the Nigerian relief coordinator; the Nigerian Government had formally relieved ICRC of this

function on June 30. The Nigerian Red Cross soon made an appeal for additional funds and declared that it would have to cut back on relief

operations since it could not fully finance transportation costs. BIAF'A A CHRONOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENTS July 15, 1969-January 12, 1970

1969

July 19: West Africa reported that UNICEF had announced that it would terminate its helicopter relief airlift from Calabar to other areas in the South Eastern State. The contract for these

services was about to expire. (West Africa, July 19, 1969, p. 850.)

July 31: At his Wednesday audience Pope Paul VI answered queries as to

why he would not visit Nigeria during his coming African trip. He stated that: "...when we decided to undertake this unusual

voyage the intention, the desire and the hope of being of help

in some measure in the pacification of that conflict were in

our heart and still are. We have multiplied our efforts,

contacts and attempts on the practical plane to try to open any way to an honorable negotiation." However, "a visit by

us to that tormented region proved to be impossible because of logistical difficulties and because of the political

interpretations that it would arouse and which would render the situation still more grave, cutting off also that bit of

hope that our impartial interest perhaps still can yield." (New York Times, July 31, 1969.) July 31: Secretary-General U Thant called upon the Nigerians and Biafrans to permit the ICRC to begin daytime relief flights.

(Before ICRC flights stopped in June, all relief flights were at night to prevent interdiction by the Nigerian Air Force and Nigerian air raids on the Biafran landstrip.)

August 14: Reuters reported that a second Biafran airstrip had begun operations. Located at Uga, fifteen miles from Uli, the air-

strip reportedly was kept in reserve for use in case the Uli strip was put out of operation by air raids. 1969 August 16: West Africa reported that Sierra Leone's House of Representatives had called upon the Government to use its good offices in the Nigerian conflict. In ad-}tion, eight MPs reportedly requested that the government recognize Biafra. (_st Africa, August 16, 1969, p. 945.) August 19: Biafra was reported to have accepted a compromise ICRC plan to begin daylight relief flights. Biafran acceptance of the plan, however, was conditional; Uli airstrip must be kept open to receive other flights in addition to the relief

shipments. The ICRC plan called for international inspection

of relief shipments with observers from either side flying

with the cargo. Biaf ran's acceptance of the plan was a departure from its previous position of refusing to agree

to any plan which included Nigerian inspection of the cargo. Nigeria did not accept the proposed compromise.

August 19: Liberian President William Tubman and Nigerian leader General

Gowoa concluded two days of private talks. The joint

comhiunique issued by the two statesmen indicated that the had been among the issues discussed.

August 22: Biaf ran Chief Justice Sir Louis Mbanefo dismissed reports of extensive French aid to Biafra as "Anglo-American propaganda."

August 23: West Africa reported that two chartered DC-7's are now

delivering arms to Biafra. The arms, primarily of South

African origin, are supposedly being procured by the

Biafrans on the black market. (West Africa, August 23, 1969, p. 1069.)

August 26: Informed sources reported that the Nigerian air force had cut back on its harassment of relief flights. As a result, relief shipments have recently increased. Though ICRC flights have not resumed since June 5, Joint Church Aid and other groups have tried to continue their relief shipments. LRS-5

1969

August 26: Consequently, only about 130'tons of food is reaching Biafra (cont.) nightly; the need is estimated at 500-600 tons. The Biafran death rate has now reportedly reach 1,000 per day, a 50

percent increase since the cessation of the ICRC airlift. Joint Church Aid officials have also attributed the rising mortality rate to the weakness of the civilian population:

"...After another year of semistarvation and malnutrition, the deterioration is now much more rapid than it was when the airlifts started one year ago." August 28: Former Nigerian President Nnamdi kzikiwe, a prominent Ibo, announced that he was withdrawing his support for Biafra's secession. Azikiwe expressed his desire to "help heal old wounds." (See following entries in earlier issues of this chronology: February 15, 1969 [F-358]; and November 16, 1967 [F-337]).

The following day the Federal.Government welcomed the former President's support. In an official statement, the Govern-

ment said that "it feels gratified that a man of Dr. Azikiwe's

national and international stature and prestige has now

become convinced that there is no plan to exterminate any

section of the Nigerian community, that there is urgency in terminating the conflict and accelerating the pace of re- conciliation, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development." The Government reemphasized "...its determination to re-

integrate and care for all Nigerians, irrespective of their

ethnic origin or what may have been their roles in the present conflict." (New York Times, August 31, 1969.)

August 30: Biafran military spokesmen reported that both Nigerian and

Biafran forces were using gunboats on the Orashi River. The gunboats were being used as floating artillery platforms in operations aimed at controlling the banks of the river in this oil-rich area. LRS-6

1969

September 6: In his message of greetings to the OAU meeting in Addis Ababa, President Richard Nixon noted that "For the third year you meet in the shadow of tragic civil war in Nigeria. The past weeks again have brought an impasse in relief arrangements

and still more suffering and death to innocent civilians, many of them women and children. The United States offers

you as in the past, our fullest support in your steadfast efforts to bring the parties to the peace table. And we

remain pledged to respond generously to humanitarian needs on both sides of the battleline. For we all recognize

that the agony of Nigeria haunts the conscience of Africa's friends everywhere." (State Department Bulletin, September 29, 1969, p. 280.)

September 7: At the opening of the OAU conference in Addis Ababa, Secretary General U Thant called for an end to "that dreaded cycle of starvation, disease, and death" in Nigeria. He said that only OAU and other African initiatives could end the war. Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere also commented on the Nigerian situation. He said: "Africa is learning the wrong lesson from the Nigeria tragedy. We are saying if Biafra is allowed to secede, every country in Africa will have its own Biafra. That is nonsense. The only thing the people of Nigeria have in common is that they are all Africans and have been under the same British rule for a few decades, and Britain governed them virtually separately. It would be infinitely easier for the peoples of Scandinavia to form one nation than for the peoples of Nigeria. Those who do not

see this do not understand Nigeria's problem." (New York Times, September 8, 1969.) LRS-7

September 8: Biafran sources indicated that two million Biafrans have died as a result of the war---500,000 in combat zones and 1.5 million as a result of starvation. September 8: New York Times correspondent Eric Pace reported that Biafran officers had privately told him that France was supplying the Biafran military forces with pistols, rifles, light and heavy machine guns, and other equipment. However, former army commander Brigadier E. U. Okun has stated that more than 40 percent of the arms being used by the Biafrans have been

captured from Nigerian troops. Okun contended that other weapons were purchased primarily from the black market. (New York Times, September 22, 1969.) September 8: Biafran sources reported that Biafra had received five additional Swedish "minicon" planes. Supposedly, the Biafran air force now has 19 minicons in its service. Swedish pilots are reported to be training Biafrans to fly them. September 8: Biafran Finance Secretary T. C. M. Eneli disclosed that inflation had caused prices to rise 400 percent since the beginning of the Biafran secession. Commodity shortages, Mr. Eneli asserted, had been partially alleviated by commercial imports brought in by air and financed by private creditors in the United States, France and Britain. According to Eneli, foreign relief operations provided Biafra with about $100,000 monthly in hard currencies. (New York Times, September 25, 1969.) September 9: Nigerian leader General Gowon rejected the call by President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania for a two to three month cease- fire as a prelude to negotiations. Gowon charged that such a cease-fire would only give the Biafrans an opportunity to rearm. Chief Enahoro, Nigerian Information Minister, re- iterated that Nigeria would not agree to a cease-fire until Biafra renounced its secession.

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1969

I September 9: The Christian Science Monitor announced that Biafran leader Colonel Ojukwu had proposed a new peace plan to the Chairman of the British Committee for Peace in Nigeria, Lord "enner Brockway. The proposal called for a meeting between sympathizers of both sides, followed by talks between both sides while the fighting continued. This would lead to an eventual meeting between the leaders of the two opposing sides. This plan departs from previous Biafran proposals

in that it did not call for a cease-fire before negotiations. (Christian Science Monitor, October 9, 1969.)

September 10: A draft resolution on the Nigerian civil war was presented to the OAU summit conference. (See entry for September 15, 1968

F 337.) The resolution called on "...the two parties in-

volved in the civil war to preserve the unity of Nigeria in the name of the higher interests of Africa, and to suspend

hostilities immediately and open negotiations without delay with a view to preserving the unity of Nigeria, restoring

peace and harmony, and assuring the population of all

guarantees for security and equality of rights, obligations, and prerogatives." The resolution also included a call upon the Consultative Committee to offer its good offices. The final vote on the resolution was 36 yeas and 5 abstentions

(Tanzania, Zambia, Gabon, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone). September 10: Returning from the OAU conference in AddisAbaba, General

Gowon reportedly called for negotiations "without prior conditions." When asked if this meant Nigeria would not

require Biafra to renounce secession before coming to the talks, Gowon, said, "Let them come and lay their cards on the table." Two days later Biafra accepted Gowon's offer for talks. The Biafrans asked Federal officials to name a

third country to help arrange a time and place for the talks.

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1969

September 10: On September 13 Federal Information Commissioner Enaharo stated Kcont.) that negotiations could take place only -n "the context of one

Nigcria." In a later radio broadcast General Ojukwu said that there could be peace talks only without prior conditions.

September 13: ICRC announced that Nigeria had agreed to a new relief plan. Details of the plan included daylight flights originating

from Cotonou, Dahomey, with the option open to Federal authorities to summon any planes to for inspection

of their relief cargoes before allowing them to continue on to Uli airstrip in Biafra. The plan was to be implemented

for an experimental period of three weeks. The following

day the Biafran Radio announced that it was rejecting the plan because Biafra feared that Nigeria would use the relief

flights as a cover for air raids. Biafra demanded that an acceptable third party guarantee that the relief flights

would not be used for such a purpose. The Nigerians refused to accept the Biafran demand.

September 16: Agence France-Presse reported that General Gowon had requested

that Gabon approach Biafra to arrange a meeting between himself

and General Ojukwu. Gabon is one of the five states which have recognized Biafra. (New York Times, September 17, 1969.) Officials in Lagos later denied the report, although Gabonese

President Albert-Bernard Bongo confirmed the story. (New Ycrk Times, September 18, 1969.)

In Ibadan, the capital of the Western state, hundreds of farmers

attacked the prison and freed the leaders of last summer's tax

riots and about 400 other prisoners. (See entry for July 3, 1969--69-174 F.) Rioting occurred in Ibadan and its sur- rounding villages during the following week. Newspaper

accounts attributed the discontent to dissatisfaction with the present military government and local officials and the belief

that there is extensive war profiteering in Lagos. At least 130 rioters were arrested and 50 persons were killed. L 1-0

1969

September 20: For the fifth month in a row, Nigerian oil production declined in August. According to the Financial Times, the August daily average was 470,000 barrels per day as compared to 594,000 in April. The drop in production was attributed to both Biafran air raids and technical difficulties such as a leak in the offshore pipeline. (West Africa, September 20, 1969, p. 1123.) Biaf ran reports claimed that Nigerian oil production had been

diminished by the minicon air raids to less than 300,000 barrels daily. September 20: Federal Information Commissioner Chief Enaharo had a private

audience with Pope Paul VI at his summer residence at Castle

Gandolfo. After the meeting Chief Enaharo announced that

Nigeria was proposing that a constitutional conference be called as a means of ending the war. With all tribes

represented a new constitution could be worked out.

September 25: Approximately 700,000 people in former Biafran territory now controlled by Nigeria are reportedly receiving food relief.

September 27: West Africa reported that ex-President Nnamdi Azikiwe in a

television address in Ibadan had recommended that a pro-

visional government of 12 civilian ministers and 12 army officers be formed to rule the country when the war ended.

However, he suggested that final authority should rest with an elected parliament. He said that the military should play a role in the government until the country had achieved stability. (West Africa, September 27, 1969, p. 1166.)

September 29: Reports on the military situation in the Nigerian/Biafran civil war indicated that the Federal forces had approximately 100,000

men under arms, all volunteers. Federal recruiters reportedly

were accepting only one in four volunteers. Biafra is

believed to have a 40,000-man army. Informed sources have

indicated that Nigeria has recently obtained 24 Soviet-made field artillery guns which have a 13-mile range. These guns are believed to be capable of knocking out Uli airstrip, LRS-il

1969

September 29: Biafra's decisive link with the outside world. (cont.)

October 1: In his independence day address General Gowon announced that

"...in the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation I have

instructed the police to release from detention as soon as practicable all persons who have been detained during the

current crisis and who are no longer considered to constitute a great security risk to the country. It is up to those

affected to prove their loyalty and faith in the country and in our efforts to build a healthy society where no man is oppressed."

October 1: On the 20th anniversary of the Chinese People's Republic, Biafran leader General Ojukwu was reported to have sent a message to Chairman Mao Tse-tung. He reportedly compared

China's war for independence to the Biafran struggle and

said that the Biaf ran people continued to find inspiration

in China's example and were confident of ultimate victory. (West Africa, October 18, 1969, p. 1261.) October 2: The Nigerian Red Cross officially assumed control of relief operations in Nigeria. (See entry for June 30, 1969-- 69-174 F.) At the same time the President of the Nigerian

Red Cross Society, Sir , made an appeal for funds. The operating costs of the relief operations in Federal territory are about $600,000 monthly. The League of

Red Cross Societies is expected to help the Nigerian Red Cross raise additional funds. (Later, on October 28, the Nigerian

Red Cross announced that it was cutting back emergency food distribution because it lacked the funds to pay transportation

costs. Relief experts estimated that approximately 350,000

persons would have to be dropped from relief rolls. In June 1969 approximately 800,000 people in Federally controlled

areas were receiving food relief; in late October only 500,000 were being aided.)

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1969

October 4: The Committee for Nigeria-Biafra Relief recommended that heli-

copters flying off aircraft carriers be used to ferry relief

to Biafra. Several prominent Americans, ::,cluding former

Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, Mrs. Martin Luther Ling, Jr., and Lieutenant General William H. Tunner, are members

of the Committee. A spokesman for the Committee indicated

that there were two main advantages of the use of helicopters:

(1) a configuration of helicopters could easily be identified

as relief flights and their cargos guaranteed by international

inspectors stationed on the aircraft carriers, and (2) if based

on carriers 50 miles off the Biaf ran coast, the helicopters could make seven round trips daily; using 10 helicopters relief forces could thus deliver 490 tons of food per day as compared with the 280 tons which present relief efforts are able to deliver. October 15: After an emergency meeting, the Executive Council of the Western state announced that it was reducing.the head tax paid by low-income citizens from $9.10 to $5.60 per year.

The tax had been a source of discontent in the Western state

(see entries for September 16, 1969,above,and November 26, 1968, in F-358) since it was raised in 1968 to help pay the

costs of the civil war. The Council also promised to release imprisoned anti-tax rioters and take additional steps to try

to ease discontent. A council of chiefs recently recommended that the Western state be divided into two new states in

order to separate the disputing Yoruba clans.

October 16: Recent news reports have indicated that there is a growing impatience in Nigeria with the pace of the war. In Nigerian

newspapers letters to the editor have recently urged a quick

end to the war through battlefield victory. Today a student

association in Ibadan issued a statement calling for an all-

F out fight against the secessionists and appealing to the x Western state government for protection from Biafran air raids. x-13

October 16: The Mid-western branch of the Nigerian Trade Union Congress

(cont.) also released a statement: which declared: "There is no

justification for not allowing a total war to be launched

in order to have permanent peace in the country." (New York Times, October 17, 1969.) An earlier report by a London Times

correspondent related that there had been a series of meetings

among Nigerian frontline commanders in July. As a result of

their discussions this group submitted a recommendation to the supreme headquarters in Lagos that military policy be changed to a "quick kill" strategy. They also supposedly requested

more arms, men and ammunition. (The Times, London, August 29, 1969.)

October 22: in a radio broadcast Biafra recommended that nighttime relief flights be resumed by agencies willing to brave the risks of

Nigerian anti-aircraft fire.

October 29: Informed sources reported that Biafran leader General Ojukwu had offered to negotiate without prior conditions through

channels acceptable to Nigeria. The next day an unnamed

African diplomat was said to have stated that Nigeria had

agreed to negotiate. This report was unconfirmed by Nigerian officials.

November 3: Markpress, a public relations firm representing Biafra in

Geneva, issued a statement quoting a Biafran spokesman in Owerri as having said that "...since our attachment to

sovereignty is functional and not sentimental, Biafra will

be prepared to accept, at the suggestion of no matter whom, any alternative arrangement that can guarantee a nonrecurrence

of the massacres of the last 25 years." (New York Times, November 4, 1969.) This is the first time that the Biafrans have indicated that they would be willing to compromise on the LRS-I4

1969

November 3: issue of sovereignty; the renunciation of secession has been (cont.) a precondition for negotiations according to the Nigerian government. Nigerian government officials in Lagos declared that they did not take the Markpress statement seriously. On the same day, Biafran Radio broadcast a message which declared that "...Our sovereignty is the only answer to the

problem of security posed to us by Nigeria. In sovereignty, and in sovereignty alone, lies the security of life and property of all of us Biafrans...We in Biafra have no sentimental attach- ment to the word sovereignty. Our interest in that word is purely functional. We do not define sovereignty in terms of philosophical rationalization, or worse still in such romantic terms as territorial integrity. As far as the 14 million people of Biafra are concerned, sovereignty means security. We in Biafra are in love with sovereignty only insofar as it is the foundation of our security. Beyond this we have no use for sovereignty."

November 4: Peace prospects appeared to be heightened by a statement by General Ojukwu at a press conference in Owerri. He is reported to have said: "Nigeria insists that Biafra is part of Nigeria. Let Nigeria go to the conference table with that thought in mind. We say we are separate. Allow us to go to the conference table thinking we are separate. Then, in the give-and-take of discussion, whatever emerges might present a solution." (See entry for November 3, 1969, above.) At the same time Ojukwu condemned both Britain and the United States for their actions in Nigeria. He implied that Britain was most concerned about protecting her oil investments when he said that Britain is "...very keen on a cease-fire now, along the present (military) lines because they have gained all the economic advantage they can from the war." Ojukwu also declared that "The entire confusion over relief has been to a large extent d L the nan-uvering of the United ' s LRS--15

19&9 4: November Ojukwu is further reported to have criticized the United States for having "...made many proposals on relief, but somehow

again and again it has fallen into line with the Lagos view point.." In another interview Sir Louis Mbanefo, Biafran Chief Justice, expressed what is believed to be a growing

bitterness in Biafra toward the United States. He said, "If

we are condemned to die, all right, we will die. But at least let the world and the United States be honest about it." November 6: At a news conference in Owerri, General Ojukwu predicted that

if Biafra could hold out another six months Nigeria would be defeated. November 8: West Africa reported that Sierra Leone Foreign Minister Cyril Foray had remarked in Bonn that his country might recognize

Biafra if peace negotiations are not started before the end of the year. He also indicated that since Sierra Leone was

now a member of the United Nations Security Council it would consider bringing the Biafran question before that body. (West Africa, November 8, 1969, p. 1353.)

November 12: Four Biafran planes made a successful raid upon Port Harcourt

airport and another landing field at Escravos in the Niger Delta, according to Biaf ran sources.

November 14: Latest news accounts place four to six million people remaining

in Biafra. Two million persons are believed to be in refugee camps; three million in all are dependent upon outside food

relief. The estimated death rate is between 400 and 2,000 persons per day.

November 17: Britain has increased its arms aid to Nigeria by 20 percent,

according to Foreign Minister Maurice Foley. Foley said that

"...those who say Britain's arms are dripping with blood

misunderstand Britain's residual colonial responsibility."

In answer to Parliamentary criticismForeign and Commonwealth

Secretary Michael Stewart contended that the increase was a result of the growth in the size of the Nic;erian arv. He LRS-16

1969

November 17: maintained that Britain was still contributing only 15 percent (cont.) of the total military supplies Nigeria received from outside sources. (See entry for December 4, 1969, below.)

November 17: The two World War II landing craft which had been brou:.ht to Lagos to transport relief supplies up the Cross River are leaving Nigeria. The boats have been in Lagos since June

waiting for an agreement to be reached between the Biafrans

and Nigerians which would allow the International Red Cross to transport food supplies up the Cross River. (See entry for June 29, 1969, in 69-174 F.)

November 20: Violent clashes between soldiers and civilians in a suburb of Lagos killed 13. Mushin, the suburb, is a densely populated Muslim area nine miles northwest of Lagos.

November 26: In Geneva the Swiss Government reported that it was considering

a Biafran request for its mediation services. Reportedly, a member of the Swiss National Assembly had returned from Biafra with similar requests to be transmitted also the Austrian, Swedish, and Yugoslav governments. (New York Times, November 27, 1969.)

December 4: One hundred and twenty-five members of the British Parliament

presented a motion calling for a change in government policy in

Nigeria. Following debate, the final vote on the motion saw

government supporters win a majority with a vote of 254 to 86. However, observers saw the vote as a significant indication of the breakdown of complete bipartisan support for the govern- ment's present Nigerian policies. Only six Conservatives

supported the government's policy. In the past the strongest criticism of Britain's stance in Nigeria has come from left- wing MPs.

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1969

December 9: Emperor Haile Selassie announced that he hoped to bring together Nigerian and Biafran leaders to discuss the possibility of a peace settlement. The talks were scheduled to begin in Addis Ababa on December 16. However, the Nigerians delayed sending a representative in order to clarify whether or not the talks would be based on the September OAU resolution which declared negotiations should be held within the context of a reunited Nigeria. The Biafrans declared that they had sent their delegates to Addis Ababa with the understanding that Haile Selassie was convening the talks in a personal capacity and not as head of the OAU Consultative Committee. They withdrew their representatives on December 18 when the Ethiopian government assured the Nigerians that the talks would be held within the framework of the OAU resolution. December 17: General Gowon is reported to have commented at a dinner in Ibadan that in the future the idea of increasing the number of states may have to be examined. He indicated that if findings demonstrated that the creation of additional states would bring about greater unity in Nigeria the Federal Military Government would not oppose it. (Ibadan, the capital of the Western state, has been the site of anti-government tax riots. There is also believed to be a strong sentiment in the West 'in favor of splitting the state in two in order to separate rival Yoruba clans.) December 19: General Gowon warned that if the Biafrans would not agree to negotiations on the basis of the OAU resolution, his government would have no alternative but to pursue a quick military victory.

1970

January 3: A Federal Nigerian spokesman in Lagos announced that after months of fighting Federal forces had succeeded in dividing the remaining Biafran territory into three parts. Nigeria now controls the area which it believes essential to launching an offensive on Uli airstrip. LRS-18

1970

January 4: During a visit to Dakar, Senegal, one stop in his tour of 10 African nations, United Nations Secretary General U Thant called on Biafran leader General Ojukwu to "show enough magnanimity and vision to conform to the resolution of the OAU heads of state." January As 12: acting head of state, Biafran Army Chief of Staff Brigadier broadcast a message to the Biaf ran people in- forming them that he had instructed his troops to surrender

to Federal forces and that he was sending a pe;ce delegation

to negotiate an armistice with the Federal Nigerian Government. In his message he repudiated the idea of a government in exile and appealed to the Federal Military Government to bring urgent relief. A formal ceremony of surrender was held in Lagos on January 15.

The Biafran surrender followed the recapture of Owerri and

the destruction of the Uli airstrip by Federal forces.

Biafran leader General Ojukwu turned over the reins of

government to Brigadier Effiong on January 10 and left the country. , Worldwide concern was immediately expressed for the welfare

of the Biafrans dependent upon outside food relief. The United States immediately allocated an additional $10 million

in foodstuffs and medicine for Biafra. Eight United States Air Force C-130 cargo planes were also readied to assist

relief efforts. The United States has contributed more than $80 million in aid to the Nigerian/Biafran relief effort.

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