ABSTRACT
This chapter is based on a retrospective exploration of the failed attempt at secession from Nigeria by the Igbo ethnic group-dominated Eastern region, which declared its territory the Republic of Biafra, fought a three-year war for self-determination, but suffered defeat by federal forces. The quest for self-determination received new impetus following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of state socialism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The Cold War era witnessed the emergence of ethno-nationalist claims in various parts of post-colonial Africa, but these were rendered inconspicuous by the East-West ideological face-off, and the repressive policies of one-party or military regimes that held sway in most African states. The Western region, foreseeing the possibility of a break-up of the Nigerian federation, warned that, 'if any region secedes, the federation shall cease to exist and Western Nigeria shall automatically become independent and sovereign'.
