Word: nigeria
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...well-paid Western pilots who flew into Uli for relief agencies did so at night to avoid marauding MIG-17s and Ilyushin-28 bombers, supplied to Nigeria by the Russians and flown by Egyptian pilots. Food planes from the Portuguese island of Sao Tome, Red Cross flights and gunrunners from Libreville in Gabon circled over the airstrip only briefly, then dropped swiftly through the African darkness for bumpy landings during the ten seconds in which the runway lights were flipped on by a camouflaged control tower. A Nigerian night fighter nicknamed "Genocide" tried to pick them off as they landed...
...lesser threat than the strangling knot of slow starvation. Some Biafrans, according to relief workers, had not eaten for eight days before the capitulation. Afterward, they fled into the bush, where there was nothing to chew on but butterflies. Even so, Gowon allowed no aid without approval from Lagos. "Nigeria will do this itself," he said firmly...
...prepared to behave as a generous victor in other respects. To the Ibos in general, he said: "We know that most of you were dragged into this. May I welcome you back into the fold?" The general called for three days of prayer and pleaded with the remainder of Nigeria's 53 million people not to reject the Ibo rebels. "Let us join hands to build a truly united and great nation," he said...
...countercoup restored power to the Hausas, their choice to lead the government was Yakubu Gowon, who is both a Christian and a member of a minority tribe (see box following page). Gowon tried to stop the pogroms. At the same time, he firmly limited Ibo power by regrouping Nigeria's four regions (North, East, West and Midwest) into twelve smaller units. The Ibo East was gerrymandered into three states, two of which had non-Ibo majorities. The move also deprived the Ibos of control over much of the oil that was making Nigeria rich. Ojukwu, who at the time...
...indication that he foresaw the debacle approaching. He followed a schedule that began at 8 a.m. and often continued until 3:30 a.m. -"I have not been much of a sleeper since I was a child." He pinned his hopes for Biafra's survival on domestic disorders in Nigeria. "Nigeria is a free-for-all," he said. "Gowon's only asset is that he can get British support." Bitterly, Ojukwu described the battles around him as "Mr. Wilson's war for African...