History of Biafra (The People)

  The People

INTER-GROUP RELATIONSHIP

According to the last census conducted in November 1963 the population of the Republic of Biafra is 12.4 million, The figure has risen by the date of this publication to over 14 million following the crisis of 1966 in the

former Federation of Nigeria and Which, as has already been mentioned, forced Biafrans in other parts of the Federation to take refuge in their home region. The present population of Biafra, therefore, equals the total number of people inhibiting the West African states of Togo, Dahomey, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Gambia put together. In the whole of Africa, Biafra is now the fourth largest in population, exceeded only by Nigeria, the U.A.R. and Ethiopia, and equaling Congo Kinshasa. However, her population density of about 500 persons per square mile is the highest in the whole of Africa. The significance of this factor in terms of economic development arid potentialities is obvious.

A tradition that has become generally accepted divides the population of Biafra into four main "tribes"; a division which accounts for ninety-eight per cent of the total population inhabiting the country, namely, the Ibos, the Ibibio-Efiks, the Ijaws and the Ogojas. But, in fact this is an over-simplification introduced by people foreign to Biafra. Until the above classification, the people of the territory did not live or regard themselves as homogenous "tribes" differing one from another; rather, they lived in towns and villages each of which regarded itself as distinct although in many cases linked to its neighbours by a mythical or real ancestor. Thus the people now known as Ibos thought of themselves as Awka, Bende, Aro, Ngwa, etc.; the Ibibio-Efiks as Uyo, Itu, etc.; the Ijaw as Okrika, Ibani, Kalabari, Nembe etc.; and the Ogojas as Ekoi, Akunakuna, Boki, etc.

In other words, the present Ibos, Ibibio-Efiks, Ogojas and Ijaws did not regard themselves as such until they were so classified by foreigners. For example, the word "Ibo" was probably derived from "Heebo" which, according to some European trader of the 19th century, was the name given by Biafran traders on the coast to the hinterland area where they traded. Subsequent European traders slightly changed the word to "Eboe" from which "Ibo" was derived. It should be noted, also, that the same Biafran traders on the coast differentiated between the "Ibo" in the hinterland and the "Kwa Ibo", that is, Ibos living on the Kwa river. The latter are now known as Ibibios. The traders, of course, were merely using the word "Ibo" as a general term for people living in the hinterland rather than for a tribe in the modern sense of the word. The term "Ibo" was applied by all the inhabitants of the Eastern Delta to those of the Western Delta and never to themselves. It is interesting to note also that the riverine groups on the banks of the lower Niger, Onitsha, Osomari, Oguta etc., refer to their hinterland neighbours as "Igbo", a term which they do not apply to themselves. Thus it would seem that modern tribal consciousness, represented by the application of the term Ibo, Ibibio, Ijo or Ogoja in Biafra, was fostered not by the people themselves but by foreigners who were ignorant of the intricate bonds which held the country together and who classified Biafrans according to their own linguistic and other criteria.

These bonds were woven from the earliest times when the territory was peopled. Archaeological evidence reveals that Biafra has been under continuous human occupation for at least 3,000 years and, as is now being discovered, that her people developed an ancient civilisation a thousand years ago, that is about half a millennium before the emergence of the Kingdom of Benin. Linguistic data also confirm the antiquity of the main languages spoken in the area. It seems, therefore, that the main groups of Biafra were indigenous to the territory and that contact among them has existed since primeval-times. This does not mean, of course, that the area was not touched, even in early times, by external influences. Naturally, populations on both sides of the Biafran borders have had cultural and other exchanges over the centuries. Thus the Delta city-states of Kalabari, Bonny, Brass, etc., have traditions which reveal an early Benin influence, while the riverine city-states of Onitsha and Osomari have some cultural affinities with Benin and Igala. More recently, of course, the entire area his come under the influence of Western civilisation. But while these external influences are significant, what is of paramount importance is the acculturation and inter-dependence which have taken place among the various indigenous groups within the area, and which have welded them together over the centuries.

One cause of the acculturation could be ascribed to the periodic movement of population from one area to another within the territory. Sometimes the movement was slow, took many years and involved very long distances. In some cases, however, it was fast and comparatively short. In either case the consequence was to bring new peoples into new areas and to open opportunities for cultural interaction and diffusion.

Another cause of the acculturation was the economic nexus which developed in the territory from very early times. Because the communities were interdependent economically, trade tended to flow in all directions and the constant meeting of people from various communities enabled each to learn, and sometimes to emulate, the customs or borrow the vocabulary of the other. For example, two of the most important articles of trade, salt and dried fish, were provided by the Delta communities who then received in exchange some of the farm products of the hinterland. As might be expected, the constant movement of traders through contiguous areas further encouraged mutual understanding.

The growth of the oversea trade in slaves intensified commercial relations within the territory and also fostered the integration of Biafra. The Delta, from where the slaves were exported, became a melting pot in which the "Ibos", "Ibibios", and "Ijaws" virtually lost their separate identities. New families and new ruling houses emerged from the admixture and modified the existing order. For example, among the Delta communities Ibo-speaking men rose to the exalted position of paramount ruler. An English trading captain, H. Crow, who visited the Delta in the late eighteen twenties, recorded that "the King of New Calabar (modern Kalabari) ..., and Pepple King of Bonny, were both of Ibo descent". At the same time liberated slaves who returned to their original homes in the hinterland to trade, introduced new ideas and practices. When the palm oil trade superseded the slave trade a further step was taken towards inter-community diffusion. The nature of the palm oil trade necessitated the establishment of colonies of people not indigenous to the locality, and their culture influenced and was influenced by the surrounding population.

It was not only trade that contributed towards the evolution of a homogenous Biafra in the precolonial era; there was also the contribution of the prevalent division of labour within the territory. Individual communities were noted and relied upon for specific skills. This encouraged their movement from one place to another during which the inter-dependence of all the communities was enhanced and emphasized. For example, the people of Awka were famed throughout the centre and north of Biafra as wood-carvers, while the Nri people supplied the priestly class so essential for the religious welfare of the surrounding communities. Southwards, there were the blacksmiths, of Nkwerre, the wood-carvers of Annang, the Item and Ibibio doctors, the warriors or mercenaries of Ohafia and Abam and the priests of Arochukwu. Thus it came to be generally accepted that one community supplied the wants of another and the tradition of mutual reliance and support, now characteristic of Biafrans, became established.

Mobility over the centuries depended on the intricate system of road and water communications which linked the whole territory together. Along these traveled the traders, the craftsmen, the itinerant priests, the medicinemen and the emissaries of the various communities. The most important markets in Biafra were held at specific, well-known intervals and were so sited that traders had to move from one part of Biafra to another.

It is probable that if a strong military power had arisen within the territory capable of subjugating the city-states and villages, a powerful nation under one political direction would have emerged before the advent of British rule as happened in other parts of the African continent. Such a political authority, however, was not necessary given the Biafran way of life. As will be seen below, relationships among Biafrans was moderated by matrilineal connections, and attitude to warfare was mild to the extent that combatants readily yielded to arbitration by third parties, or by the Long Juju Oracle of Arochukwu which was recognised as a final court of appeal by virtually all the inhabitants of Biafra.

One consequence of the process of acculturation was that groups emerged in the region which, although possessing certain dissimilarities in language, custom and tradition, yet retained many common links baffling to the foreigner in search of simple explanations and classifications. Inclined towards generalisations, the Europeans who penetrated into and later ruled Africa, found common names for groups of people with the greatest obvious similarities and labeled they as "tribes", "sub-tribes", "clans" etc. In place of the ever continuing cultural diffusion a process was set in motion which not only labeled groups but compartmentalised and isolated them. Thus groups of people became more self-conscious than they had ever been and learned to identify themselves with such "tribal" names as Ibo, Ibibio, Ijaw etc. This tendency grew with the consolidation of British rule and the introduction of "native" administration which emphasized the separateness of "tribes".

It could thus be seen that, comparatively, the current tribal labels are of very recent origin. Nevertheless, as a result of the spread of Western education, the names have gained wide acceptance. Furthermore, with the advent of self-government and the emergence of political parties, the skilful and often unscrupulous exploitation of the emotions associated with these labels has served as a useful tactic for securing electoral victories. The result has been to deepen the impression of distinctiveness already created by the universal acceptance of the labels.

However, while British rule and its immediate aftermath on the one hand, has tended to emphasize the "tribe", Western technology, on the other, has introduced new links which have contributed towards the political, social and economic integration of Biafra. The use of modern and fast means of transport, the growth of new cosmopolitan towns and the spread of Western education have had the effect of further blurring the differences between and enhancing the interdependence of the various communities. Differences in language have been largely overcome by the use of English, and any one with a smattering of that language can easily move from one corner of the nation to another without fear of being unable to communicate with the people he would meet. Furthermore, since Biafra never came under the influence of Islam the spread of Christianity has not caused such complications in religious belief as are often found in places where two vigorous foreign religions and cultures are superimposed on the indigenous religion. Finally, it should be pointed out that for nearly three-quarters of a century Biafra has been ruled as a single political unit and the vast majority of the population have grown accustomed to the fact of their political uniqueness as Biafrans.