Primary Sources Used for this Unit
Organized According to their Order of Appearance within Each Major Section of the Project

I. Introduction

Read by all students in class

Joseph Okpaku, "The Myth of Western Objectivity, Expertise, and Scholarship" in Joseph Okpaku, (ed.), Nigeria: Dilemma of Nationhood An African Analysis of the Biafran Conflict (Westport, Connecticut, 1972). Excerpt. This reading, on the line between primary and secondary source, expresses scorn at outsiders who, though they possessed little knowledge of the region or the issues, were regarded as experts during the Nigerian Civil War. It is a warning to students that their first impressions are often wrong and that others have a stake in these events.

The Republic of Biafra

Readings for all students in class on the continuing echoes of Biafra

Four letter-editorials, USAfrica The Newspaper, 1999

"Igbos do not need any more apologies"
"Why we demand apology for killing of Biafrans"
"Apology is vital but trust is the issue"
"Is Biafra war too sensitive to discuss?"

Readings divided up among team members:

Biafran Goals
The Biafran Declaration of Independence (May 27, 1967)

Nigerian Goals
General Gowon’s victory message to Nigeria, (1/15/70), "The Dawn of National Reconciliation"

Global Concerns [Public Statements]:

Charles DeGaulle, September 9, 1968 (press conference statement)
Margery Perham, a European researcher who regards herself as a friend of Nigeria [Radio broadcast to General Ojukwu, leader of Biafra, September 7, 1968]
The Church of England on arms supplies, August 18, 1967 (official statement)
Joint Statement of theWorld Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, March 20, 1968
"Thirty-Nine Accusations" a propaganda pamphlet issued in 1968 from Enugu, Biafra

Statement of Causes
Chinua Achebe, "The African Writer and the Biafran Cause," 1968 (speech)

The Formation and Operation of the First Nigerian Republic

Readings for all students in class on general African aspirations for independence

"Manifesto for Presentation to the United Nations Conference, San Francisco, April, 1945"

U. S. Declaration of Independence

Readings divided up among team members:

Creating Identity in a Colonial World--the role of literature
Ogali E. Ogali, "Veronica Makes Up Her Mind" excerpt from a play to exemplify Igbo market Literature
Anticipation of Independence
Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, speech in Nigeria’s colonial parliament, September, 1957

Denouncing Europe’s Role in Africa

Speeches in England by Nnamdi Azikwe, 1947, 1948, 1949
Criticisms of the Role of Northern Nigeria in the creation of Nigeria
Arthur Nwankwo and Samuel Ifejik, Biafra: The Making of a Nation, 1969 (excerpts)

The Colonial Era in Nigeria

Readings for all students in class on general African aspirations for independence

G. T. Basden, Among the Ibos of Nigeria, 1921 (excerpts from a travel account)

Readings divided up among team members:

Indirect Rule in West Africa

Lord Malcolm Hailey, Native Administration and Political Development in British West Africa (London, 1943). Excerpt.
Robert Delavignette, Freedom and Authority in French West Africa (London, 1940).

Excerpts for comparison.

Early Political Organization
Obafemi Awolowo on the organization of the Nigerian Youth Movement from Awo:The Autobiography of Chief Obafemi Awolowo (1960). Excerpt

Riot or Rebellion: The Women’s Market Rebellion of 1929

Margery Perham, Native Administration in Nigeria (London, 1937). Excerpt

Early Impressions of Igbo and European

Herman Koler, German doctor, observations of Igbo life, 1840 (excerpt)

E. N. Okechukwu, Igbo Village Democracy, (oral history excerpt)

Nkwonto Nwuduaku, Memories of Slave Trade, 1974 (oral history excerpt)

Uwaga Okeanya, View of Europeans, 1972 (oral history excerpt)