The Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), also known as the Biafran War, was far more than an internal conflict; it was a calculated struggle fueled by foreign economic interests, particularly British geopolitical maneuvers and the influence of multinational oil companies. The war resulted in the deaths of over 3 million people, mostly Igbos, through direct combat, aerial bombardment, and a deliberately imposed starvation campaign. Beneath the rhetoric of preserving Nigerian unity lay the undeniable fact that Britain and Western oil companies had a vested interest in ensuring Biafra’s defeat, primarily to safeguard access to the vast oil reserves of the Niger Delta.
Following Nigeria’s independence in 1960, Britain sought to maintain its grip on the newly decolonized nation through economic dominance, particularly in the oil sector. By the mid-1960s, the Eastern Region, home to the Igbo people, had become the focal point of Nigeria’s booming petroleum industry. Shell-BP, a major British multinational, had secured extensive oil exploration rights in the Niger Delta and stood to lose billions if the region seceded under the new Biafran state. The discovery of commercial crude oil in Oloibiri in 1956 had set off a scramble for control, and by 1967, oil production in the Eastern Region was generating significant revenues that the Federal Government of Nigeria was determined to retain.
When Lt. Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu declared the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967, following the pogroms against Igbos in Northern Nigeria, Britain immediately took a hard stance against the secession. The Harold Wilson-led government, under the guise of supporting Nigeria’s territorial integrity, actively facilitated the war effort by supplying the Yakubu Gowon-led Federal Military Government (FMG) with weapons, intelligence, and diplomatic cover. The decision was not driven by a commitment to Nigerian unity but rather by a calculated strategy to prevent Shell-BP and other Western oil interests from negotiating directly with Biafra.
British military support for Nigeria intensified as the war progressed. Arms shipments to the FMG included fighter jets, armored vehicles, and heavy artillery, which were instrumental in the aerial bombardment of Biafran territories, particularly in major cities like Onitsha, Aba, and Enugu. Britain also provided military training and logistical support, ensuring that the Nigerian forces had a strategic advantage over the poorly equipped Biafran army. By 1968, the war had escalated into a humanitarian catastrophe as the FMG imposed a naval blockade, cutting off essential supplies to Biafra. This blockade was backed by Britain, which ensured that no international intervention could challenge Nigeria’s stranglehold on the breakaway region.
Oil companies, especially Shell-BP, played a silent but crucial role in funding the Nigerian war effort. In the early stages of the war, Biafra demanded that oil royalties from Shell-BP be paid directly to the new Biafran government. The oil giant refused, instead channeling funds to the FMG, effectively financing the military campaign against Biafra. In return, the Nigerian government reassured Shell-BP that once Biafra was defeated, oil operations would continue without disruption. The war was thus, in many ways, a battle for resource control disguised as a national unity crisis.
The humanitarian toll of the war was catastrophic. By 1969, over 3 million Biafran civilians, mostly children, had died from starvation due to the blockade. The famine was not an unintended consequence but a deliberate war tactic aimed at forcing Biafra into submission. Global efforts to deliver humanitarian aid were systematically obstructed by Britain and Nigeria. When organizations such as the Red Cross and Joint Church Aid attempted to airlift food supplies, they were met with resistance. Harold Wilson’s government maintained that supporting Biafra would destabilize Nigeria, ensuring that diplomatic pressure kept relief efforts to a minimum. The haunting images of malnourished Biafran children with distended bellies shocked the world, but international outcry did little to alter the course of the war.
On January 15, 1970, Biafra surrendered after nearly three years of relentless assault. Ojukwu had fled into exile a few days prior, leaving his deputy, Major General Philip Effiong, to negotiate the terms of surrender. The war officially ended with Gowon’s declaration of “No Victor, No Vanquished,” yet the economic and political marginalization of the Igbo people persisted long after the guns fell silent. The oil fields of the Niger Delta remained firmly under Nigerian and British control, and Shell-BP resumed operations with renewed access to Nigeria’s vast petroleum reserves.
The legacy of the Nigerian Civil War continues to shape Nigeria’s political and economic landscape. The war reinforced the country’s dependency on oil wealth, deepened ethnic divisions, and established a precedent for the military-industrial complex to suppress dissent. The Niger Delta, which had been a crucial battleground during the war, would later become a hotbed of insurgency as marginalized communities fought against continued exploitation by foreign oil companies and the Nigerian government.
Britain’s role in the war remains one of the most glaring examples of neocolonial interference in Africa. By prioritizing oil interests over human lives, Britain not only facilitated one of the deadliest conflicts in modern African history but also ensured that the scars of war remained embedded in Nigeria’s national consciousness. The war was not merely about unity, it was about power, resources, and the ruthless preservation of Western economic control. The genocide against the Igbo people was not an accident of war but a calculated act, made possible by the complicity of foreign powers that saw an opportunity to consolidate their grip on Africa’s most resource-rich nation.
By Hon. Chimazuru Nnadi – Oforgu
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 
Leave a comment