Posted by Chester Morton / Friday, 24 February 2017 / No comments
The positive consequences of the Nigerian Civil War of 1967 - 1970
Introduction
In
1967, the people of Igbo land in the eastern parts of Nigeria decided to secede
from the Nigerian federation and form their own country called Biafra.
In a
federal system of government, secession was a taboo so the central government
of Nigeria tried to stop the easterners from seceding. This attempt to stop
them from breaking away and the resolve of the easterners to secede culminated
in the 6th July, 1967 to 15th January, 1970 Civil
War.
POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES
Consolidation of Nigeria’s
territorial integrity
One of the positive sides of the Nigerian Civil War was that
it helped the Nigerian government to strengthen the territorial integrity of
the nation. By the time the war ended, the entire geographical land mass of the
nation of Nigeria was remained intact. This could not have been achieved if the
central government had not put its foot on the ground.
Possibility of another secession attempt is remote
Another of the positive sides of the Nigerian Civil War is
that a clear signal was sent to every section of the Nigerian populace that no
secession from the federation would ever be countenanced. It is also apparent
that any such attempt in the future would be brutally crashed. This has reduced
drastically the chances of any such attempt.
Consolidation of federal authority
Another positive effect of the Nigerian Civil War was the way
it strengthened the authority of the federal government as against that of the
federating units. No unit of the federation can ever be stronger than the
federation itself.
Unified the nation
The Civil War also brought the nation together. The Biafran
soldiers had to contend with the entire Nigerian army who were solidly
supported by the rest of Nigeria to stop the secessionists from plunging the
nation into a dangerous abyss.
Creation of more states
The federal government, in the course of the Civil War,
created twelve more states which was carved out of the existing ones. This move
reduced the size of the individual federating units. This may have been an
administrative move to make the administration of the country more manageable
than it used to be but it could also have been a ploy to further reduce the
chances of a section of the country seceding, based purely on its mere size.
Technological development
The war, which had devastated the economic system affected
imports of finished goods from outside and machinery to produce locally. This
had compelled the people to look inward to satisfy their needs for goods and
services. After the war therefore, many Nigerians now have the penchant to
create things locally.
SAMPLE QUESTION
1. Highlight six positive consequences of the Nigerian Civil
War of 1967 – 1970.
