Topic: Wars and Conflicts in Africa; A case study of Nigerian Civil war 1967-1970.
Presenter: Kadiri Wakili
Institutional Affiliation: Federal Polytechnic Ofa, Nigeria.

The Federation of Nigeria, as it is known today, has never really been one homogeneous country, for it's widely differing peoples and tribes. This obvious fact notwithstanding, the former colonial master decided to keep the country one in order to effectively control her vital resources for their economic interests. Thus, for administrative convenience the Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated in 1914.

Thereafter the only thing this people had in common was the name of their country since each side had different administrative set-up. This alone was an insufficient basis for true unity. Under normal circumstances the amalgamation ought to have brought the various peoples together and provided a firm basis for the arduous task of establishing closer cultural, social, religious, and linguistic ties vital for true unity among the people. There was division, hatred, unhealthy rivalry, and pronounced disparity in development.

The Nigerian Civil War broke out on 6 July 1967. The war was the culmination of an uneasy peace and stability that had plagued the Nation from independence in 1960. This situation had its genesis in the geography, history, culture and demography of Nigeria.

This paper examines the causes, strategies, lessons learnt and the measures to be taken to prevent re-occurrence of such bitter experience not only in Nigeria, but the whole continent of Africa.