1968 French Declaration on Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War: A Historical Analysis

Öz

This article examines French declaration on Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War. While it discusses the Nigerian and Biafra’s reactions to French proclamation the study also looks at the media and British responses to the French declaration of 1968. The study adopts a historical narrative approach for data analysis. It utilized primary sources such as archival materials and newspapers obtained from The National Archives (Kew, London) and secondary sources such as books and journal articles for data analysis. On 31 July 1968, the French government made a historic declaration that shaped the geopolitics of the Nigerian Civil War. This statement was very strategic for it was made amid the Addis Ababa peace summit between Nigeria and Biafra. The main thrust of the public announcement was the French affirmation of the resolution of the conflict on the basis of the rights to self-determination rather than principles of Nigerian unity. Hence, domestic public opinion; humanitarian feelings and economic interests were salient factors behind the French declaration during the civil war. This paper argued that French historic statements on Biafra geopolitically shifted her position from that of strict military non-involvement to an act of support for self-determination for Biafra to be decided by multilateral organizations like the United Nations. The French were compelled to put forward the idea of self-determination by both humanitarian consideration and by the feeling that Biafra had earned this right by their resistance. Geopolitically, the French declaration never translated into anything substantial; rather, it only served as a wartime statement of limited effectiveness.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Nigeria
• Biafra
• Nigerian Civil War
• Self-Determination
• Declaration

Kaynakça

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