Survival in the Aftermath of the Fall of Biafra | Ekwensi & Ikoku Interviews | August 1970

August 1970.

ITN News footage of the aftermath of the Nigerian Civil War looking at the challenges faced by the Igbo people who formed the predominant group in the defeated secessionist state of Biafra.

There are interviews with Cyprian Ekwensi, the renowned novelist, who had become a plastic bottle salesman and S.G. Ikoku, the son of Alvan Ikoku who served as a Commissioner for Economic Development and of Health in the East-Central State of Nigeria.

Source of footage: Getty Images via ITN News.

Note:

1. The end of the Nigerian Civil War following the collapse of Biafra inaugurated an era in history which was in effect for Igbos the equivalent of what Germans refer to as “Stunde Null” or "Zero Hour": the collective effort of a defeated people to rehabilitate and develop themselves.

2. Cyprian Ekwensi, the author of the classic novels "Jagua Nana" and "The Passport of Mallam Ilia", defected to the Biafran side and became its head of propaganda for Radio Biafra broadcast to foreign countries.

3. S. G. Ikoku was also at one time the Commissioner for Economic Development in the East Central State. Originally a socialist in his political orietation, Ikoku had been a member of the Action Group Party of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and he later joined the People's Redemption Party led by Alhaji Aminu Kano during Nigeria's Second Republic.