IDENTITY ISSUES IN THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR: THE MIDWEST EPISODE

Abstract

The Nigerian civil war fought between July 1967 and January 1970 has been significantly investigated by scholars. However, in its historiography, due emphasis has not been given to inherent identity issues in the war. Historical evidence abounds that in the war, there were problems of group's interests and identity. Consequent upon the Biafran invasion of the Midwest on August 9, 1967, the difficulty in identifying groups that were strongly opposed and as well loyal to the Biafran and the Nigerian government began to brew. This paper is a curious attempt to unravel identity problems in the Midwest following the Biafran invasion of the region. Gleaning on primary and secondary evidences, the paper contends that the Biafran invasion of the Midwest triggered tension between the loyalists and the antagonists of Biafra and the federal forces respectively. It finds and argued that the tension invariably created identity issues as the Biafran and Federal forces were caught in-between the challenges of identifying and isolating the loyalists from the rival groups. Against the background of this diffused problem of identity, the paper concludes that while some group elements were rightly identified, others were identified wrongly and subjected to inhuman treatment and others still, were summarily killed.