The Nigeria-Biafra War (also known as the Nigerian Civil War), fought between 6 July 1967 and 15 January 1970, was a war fought between the government of Nigeria (led by General Yakubu Gowon) and the Republic of Biafra (led by Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu). The war, which lasted for about 30 months, made a momentous landmark on the socio-political history of Nigeria. Over fifty years after the war, numerous books and articles have been written about different aspects of the war, ranging from humanitarian interventions, peace efforts, to political and socio-economic impacts of the war.
In this article, I do not intend to write the history of the Nigeria Civil War but only to provide a list of books that have been written over the last fifty years about different facets of the war. The list is by no means exhaustive neither is it written in the order of importance. I have also included the links where you can download some of these books. While some are available to download freely, (I donโt know if it is legal though), you may have to pay for others. Feel free to include others you think we should read in the comment section:
- Achebe, Chinua. There was a country: A memoir. Penguin, 2012. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/2193013/f4c2ae
- Forsyth, Frederick. The Biafra story: The making of an African legend. Casemate Publishers, 2001. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/2729469/68c806
- Venter, Al J. Biafra’s War 1967-1970: A tribal conflict in Nigeria that left a million dead. Helion and Company, 2016. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/5225595/074342
- Moses, A. Dirk, and Lasse Heerten, eds. Postcolonial Conflict and the Question of Genocide: The Nigeria-Biafra War, 1967โ1970. Taylor & Francis, 2017. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/3500031/f444fc
- Alabi-Isama, Godwin. The tragedy of victory: on-the-spot account of the Nigeria-Biafra War in the Atlantic theatre, 2013. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/5662742/4e881f
- Ezeani, Emefiena. In Biafra Africa died: the diplomatic plot. Veritas Lumen Publishers, 2013. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/5648669/976c7b
- Baxter, Peter. Biafra: The Nigerian Civil War 1967-1970. Vol. 16. Helion and Company, 2015. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/5818851/9e185c
- Draper, Michael I. Shadows: airlift and airwar in Biafra and Nigeria 1967-1970, 1999. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/1217684/fb7a69
- Daly, Samuel Fury Childs. A History of the Republic of Biafra: Law, Crime, and the Nigerian Civil War. Cambridge University Press, 2020. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/6036832/1b8351
- Venter, Al.J & Dinsdale, S. Biafra Genocide, 2018. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/16882536/5c99c0
- Jowett, Philip, S. Modern African Wars (5): The Nigerian-Biafra War 1967-70, 2016. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/11293489/eea84b
- Bird, S. Elizabeth, and Rosina Umelo. Surviving Biafra: A Nigerwife’s Story. Oxford University Press, 2018. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/17453582/8af079
- Bird, S. Elizabeth, and Fraser M. Ottanelli. The Asaba massacre: trauma, memory, and the Nigerian civil war. Cambridge University Press, 2017. Available at: https://ng1lib.org/book/17556798/53ab2e
Other books you can check out include:
- De St, Jorre, John. The Nigerian Civil War. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1972. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Nigerian-Civil-War-John-Jorre/dp/034012640X
- Offodile, Chudi. The politics of Biafra and the future of Nigeria. Ibadan: Safari Books Ltd, 2016. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Politics-Biafra-Future-Nigeria/dp/1483461432
- Uzokwe, Alfred. Surviving in Biafra: The story of the Nigerian Civil War. iUniverse, 2003. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Biafra-Story-Nigerian-Civil/dp/0595263666
- Madiebo, Alexander. The Nigerian revolution and the Biafran War, Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers, 2000. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/9781561173?tag=uuid10-20
- Ignatius, Onianwa. O. British women and the Nigerian Civil War. Academica Press, 2020. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680532073?tag=uuid10-20
- Heerten, Lasse. The Biafran war and postcolonial humanitarianism: Spectacles of suffering. Cambridge University Press, 2017. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1107111803?tag=uuid10-20
- Streamlau, John J. The international politics of the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-1970. Princeton University Press, 1977. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691602328?tag=uuid10-20
How many of these books on the list have you read? Let me know in the comment section.
Thank you for sharing this. It will go a long way in bridging the gap of history education for us as Nigerians. This is informative and timely.
Worth reading again and again.
I strongly recommend this blog for scholars, independent researchers and students who want to interrogate Nigeria Military History and Conflicts and Peace Times in Nigeria.This is a masterpiece as it regards books for intellectual engagement for these studies.
That’s interesting, how can I get copy? I read none of the aforementioned texts.
You can click on the link contained within each text.
Please note a typo error in your first paragraph of introduction to the books. I think you meant to say… “and the Republic of Biafra (led by Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu),” which was inadvertently captured… and the Republic of Biafra (led by Col. Yakubu Gowon). As you know Gowon was the then Head of State and he led the federal troops.
Thanks so much for the observation. It is well appreciated.