Emeagwali

ALHAJI ABUBAKAR TAFAWA BALEWA Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the first prime minister of Nigeria, was assassinated during the January 1966 military coup. NNAMDI AZIKIWE 1/16/1966-Dorking, England- Nigerian President Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe tells the press here on January 16 that he will return to his troubled country as soon as arrangements can be made. Dr. Azikiwe, convalescing in this country following an illness, said that on his return he would appeal for law and order to be restored in Nigeria, which has been the scene of a revolt against the government of Prime Minister Balewa January 15. YAKUBU GOWON General Yakubu Gowon commanded the Nigerian troops that defeated the Biafran army. BIAFRAN FLAG Biafra (old eastern Nigeria) adopted a new flag, national anthem and Odumegwu Ojukwu was promoted to a General and Head of State. ODUMEGWU OJUKWU Ojukwu at Owerri, Biafra Lt. Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Oxford-trained leader of secessionist Biafra, announces introduction of new currency and postage stamps, officially issued on January 29th, at a meeting of his consultative assembly in Owerri. It was reported January 30, 1968 that, in an interview earlier in the same week, Ojukwu told United Press International that he would welcome U.S. intervention to end the bitter six-month old civil war caused by Biafra's breakaway from Nigeria. COLONEL OJUKWU BIAFRAN THREE PENCE BIAFRAN GUNNER WING Biafran Gunner Wing Cloth Patch. The Biafran Air Force consisted of about four coverted Cessna Aircrafts. The Nigerian Air Force, which consisted of Russian MIGS manned by Egyptian pilots, was far superior but mostly used to drop bombs on refugee camps, hospitals, churches and market places. I had a close encounter with one of those MIGS in late 1967 when it bombed a house next door to ours in Onitsha. BIAFRAN AIRFORCE PILOTS Pilots of the Biafran Air Force. One of the casualties and war heroes is Biafran Air Force officer, Major Chude Sokei (from my hometown of Onitsha). Another key player pilot Count Von Rosen BIAFRAN PILOTS Artur Alves Pereira with pilots of the Biafran Air Force Uga airport, 1969 BIAFRAN PILOT WING Biafran Pilot Wing. One of the casualties and war heroes is Biafran Air Force officer, Major Chude Sokei (from my hometown of Onitsha). Another key player in the Biafran Air Force is Count Von Rosen BIAFRAN POSTAGE STAMP Nigerian stamp that was hastily converted into Biafran stamp. As far as I know, mail were not delivered to our refugee camp. We communicated by sending oral messages to our relatives in other refugee camps. BIAFRAN FOUR PENCE STAMP Biafran postage stamp BIAFRAN FIRST ANNIVERSARY POSTAGE STAMP Biafran postage stamp celebrating its first anniversary, May 30, 1968. BIAFRAN POSTAGE STAMPS Biafran postage stamp BIAFRAN 1969 CHRISTMAS POSTAGE STAMP Biafran postage stamp celebrating the christmas of 1969 BIAFRAN POSTAGE STAMP Nigerian stamp that was hastily converted into Biafran stamp. BIAFRAN SOLDIER A Biafran soldier (1968) The morale of the Biafran soldiers was high when Biafrans captured mid-western Nigeria and were sixty miles from Lagos. DEAD NIGERIAN SOLDIER Many of my friends in the Biafran army proudly wore the clothes and shoes of dead Nigerian soldiers. My mentor at the refugee camp (I have forgotten his name but called him "teacher") was forcefully conscripted into the Biafran army. After three days of military training, he was posted to the war front. Teacher never returned from the war front. He was the only child of his mother. NIGERIAN TROOPS Nigerian troops watched by Biafran civilians. Most of the time, Nigerian soldiers killed captured Biafran civilians. My teenage cousins Patrick and John Okwuosa were captured and killed in Onitsha. STARVING CHILDREN A Biafran child with a malnutrition disease called Kwashiorkor. My personal observation was that children look like this will likely die in a few months. We unceremoniously buried dead children (and adults) at the bushes behind our refugee camp. My niece "Baby" Okwuosa and my paternal step-grandmother were buried without a funeral. STARVING WOMAN July 31, 1968-Aba, BIAFRA - An elderly, starving Biafran woman lies on a mat in General Hospital. By the end of the 30-month war, as many as 400,000 Biafrans died as a result of critical food shortages. Biafra's leader, Lieutenant Colonel Odumegwo Ojukwu, forbade the necessary food to reach the country through a neutral corridor for fear Nigerian troops will poison it. STARVING CHILDREN Many children in our refugee camp (St. Joseph's Primary School, Awka-Etiti) suffered from the malnutrition disease called Kwashiorkor. We stood in line for warm milk, dried stock fish (okporoko), and corn meal. REBUILT NIGER BRIDGE April 25, 1970 - Onitsha, Nigeria- Soldiers and civilians mingle as they cross the Niger Bridge at Onitsha following its re-opening. The bridge was destroyed by retreating Biafran army during the Civil War. In early 1970, my family and I lived in the Fegge section of Onitsha. Each morning, we will go near this bridge to fetch water or trade. OJUKWU & EMEAGWALI Click on emeagwali.com for more information.