The Indifferent Attitude of the Ibibio to the Biafran Enterprise in the Context of the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-1970 (Published)

The Nigerian civil war (6th July, 1967 – 15th January, 1970) that plunged the entire nation into chaos and devastation involved various ethnic nationalities. The conventional wisdom has been that the Ibibio fought on the side of the Biafra. This study examined the role the Ibibio played in the civil war. The study revealed that a larger proportion of the Ibibio population participated in the war on the side of the federal troops. Few that supported Biafra were former federal military officers and some in the civil service. The support to the federal troops by the Ibibio was as a result of their marginalization and oppression by the Igbo in the Eastern Region of Nigeria. The Ibibio played a significant role in the collapse of the Republic of Biafra. The study had corrected the persistent misconception that the Ibibio fought on the side of Biafra. The study made use of primary and secondary sources, the primary sources included oral interview, archival materials and government publications while the secondary sources were mainly books, articles in journals and unpublished thesis.

Citation: Godwin Stephen Emah and  Oluwaseun Samuel Osadola (2021) The Indifferent Attitude of the Ibibio to the Biafran Enterprise in the Context of the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-1970, International Journal of History and Philosophical Research, Vol.9, No.3, pp.1-8,

Keywords: Biafra, Civil War, Ibibio, Nigeria, apathy

Creative Indices of Indigenous Governance in Ibibioland since 1900 (Published)

The creative indices of Ibibio indigenous governmental system has not been the subject of serious social historical scholarship. Indigenous governmental system in Ibibioland has been subjected to various generalisation, misrepresentation, misinterpretation and distortion, especially from a Eurocentric (outside-in) filter. Under such filter and bias, Ibibio indigenous governance has often been viewed as lacking creativity. Various aspects of exceptional governance in Ibibioland have been considered as extic. While an Afrocentric (inside-out) filter accepts that organised political and governmental structures prevailed in Ibibioland, prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the study of indigenous creativity in governance and administration has not been given adequate attention. The use of Ekpo Anyokho, Ekpe, Ekpo Ekoong, Abon, Ekang and Akata represented creative elements employed for local governance, law, order, and social justice, across a wide representation of levels and institutions of government in Ibibioland. With the imposition of colonial rule in Ibibioland from 1885 onward, the Europeans retained aspects of such indices of governance consequent upon its effectiveness, efficiency and reliability. The paper argues that the indigenous creative indices of governance were reflected in the reliance of colonial agents on some machinery of indigenous governance. Consequently, change and continuity defined the indigenous governmental space in Ibibioland. The paper submits that while the changes were externally driven and almost unavoidable, aspects of continuity explain the creativity that percolated such indigenous governmental elements.

Keywords: Ibibio, Land, creative indices, indigenous governance