This article is focused on the following UN Sustainable Development Goal:
The Nigerian Civil War was around a three-year conflict with more than a million deaths. After only seven years since Nigeria gained independence from Britain, its civil war began in the southeastern region around May 30th 1967. During colonial Britain the three major ethnic groups Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba had some tension always present with themselves. Through the lens of a child, these were tough times going through this war. Children were directly affected by the loss of family members, malnutrition and witnesses of a divided nation, their lenses were able to “look” at this war in a very unique way and was essential to understand the importance of the unity of the country. So what was this view?
On January 15, 1966, the Igbo launched a coup d’état under the command of Major-General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi in an attempt to save the country from what Igbo leaders feared would be political disintegration. After this coup, there was thought of Igbo domination, which scared especially the Hausa who majorly favoured the British. This situation led to a massacre amongst these two groups. With this persecution a movement was started by Igbo separatists leading to the creation of their own nation of Biafra. Furthermore to unite the nation, the civil war occurred in order to unite the Biafra nation with the Nigerian nation to create Nigeria.
Children were mainly affected by the tremendous war that had occurred during this phenomena in 1968, it was evidently seen that Biafran's were dying daily, most of them were starving children. An example of the suffering of children was the case of Evelyn Okorie she recalls that “me and my seven children had taken refuge in Oguta, a lakeside town near a local airport, which served as Biafra’s major supply line for arms and relief materials from international charities. But tragedy struck when Nigerian combatants launched an airstrike.” She states on the missile that missed its target, an adjacent military encampment. “The bomb fell on my older brother’s house.' 'My mother died with three of my children, two boys, and a girl” (CNN).
Suffering seemed to be the key aspect of these children’s lives. Due to the lack of food, malnutrition hit these children the most. There was no fish, no meat. If you did not eat when you were supposed to, you would miss the chance for another day or so. The Hausa-Igbo tension arouse, bombing and war started to become a natural aspect in the daily lives of these children and their families . This land, once British territory that together fought for independence, was now being divided due to political interest. Children were separated due to their ethnicity, they were displaced from food, shelter and safe water, they were the first victims of food/supply loss of crops and livestock. As many studies show us, when children are exposed to situations of terror and horror, like the ones we just showed, during war, not rarely they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, the many losses and disturbance in their lives lead to high rates of anxiety and depression in war-affected children. Undoubtedly, civil conflict limited the future prospects of Nigerian Children and the economic growth.
In conclusion, it is important to recognise the pressing issues that face the children today due to this issue. The only way we can solve this problem is by action. We, as the Youth Impact Change, continue to spread awareness among our readers to show the power that awareness can do. Donations, funded by organisations such as Unicef and United Nations are some of the options you can help to victims of this war and present day children, affected by this pressing issue.
Remember, change starts with you.
Howell, E., Waidmann, T., Birdsall, N., Holla, N., & Jiang, K. (2020, July). The impact of civil conflict on infant and child malnutrition, Nigeria, 2013. Maternal & child nutrition. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7296780/
Hurst, contributed by: R. (2019, May 9). Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) •. •. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/nigerian-civil-war-1967-1970/
Nwachukwu, E. (2019, July 10). Nigerian Civil War through the eyes of a child. The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from https://guardian.ng/life/nigerian-civil-war-through-the-eyes-of-a-child/
Dark, S. (2020, January 16). 'I looked for death but I couldn't find it,' a Nigerian town relives the brutal Civil War, 50 years after it ended. CNN. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/15/africa/biafra-nigeria-civil-war/index.html
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