Biafra and the Staircase Theory
Biafra was a short-lived state in eastern Nigeria that existed from 1967 to 1970. The name "Biafra" was derived from the Bight of Biafra, a bay in the Atlantic Ocean that forms the coastline of southeastern Nigeria. The secessionist movement that led to the creation of Biafra was sparked by the perceived marginalization and discrimination of the Igbo people, who are the largest ethnic group in southeastern Nigeria. The Igbo had been politically and economically marginalized by the Nigerian government and were subjected to discrimination and violence by other ethnic groups in Nigeria. In May 1967, the military governor of the Eastern Region of Nigeria, Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, declared the secession of the region from Nigeria, and the formation of the Republic of Biafra. The Nigerian government rejected the declaration and launched a military offensive against Biafra, triggering a civil war that lasted for three years. The Biafran forces were initial...