BIAFRA: The Untold Story in Pictures

(wrong original caption) Major-General J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi head of Nigeria's new Federal Military Government and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, in Lagos, Nigeria, Jan. 25, 1966.

1000_demonstrators_protest at 48th Street and Park Avenue in New York, Aug. 18, 1968. The marchers came from an interfaith service at St. Thomas Episcopal Church at 53rd St. and F street


A Biafran doctor hands out cups containing the daily ration of powdered milk to a line of children at a refugee camp in Anwa, Biafra, Aug. 5, 1968

A federal Nigerian soldier holding an anti-tank bazooka is seen covering the end of the Aba-Umuahia road where Biafran troops hold positions, Sept. 21, 1968.

Original Caption: An Ibo soldier captured by Nigerian troops near Owerri in Biafra throws up his hands in anguish as his captors tell him he will die as a traitor, Sept. 1968.

Biafra Declaration 30th may 1967

Biafran women and children outside White House in an effort to see first lady Lady Bird Johnson Oct 5 1968 about starving countrymen back home in war-torn Biafra

Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu at Nigerian-Biafran peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where the Emperor Haile Selassie is chairman of the committte Aug 5 1968

Company of Biafran soldiers leave their positions to advance on a Nigerian position 100 yards away during the Aba offensive, Aug. 1968.

Federal Nigerian police push back crowds of demonstrators outside the French Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria, Sept. 16, 1968 - They were demonstrating against French assistance to Biafra

John Lennon & Yoko Ono displaying letter from Lennon to British PM Harold Wilson, Nov. 25, 1969. The letter explains John Lennon's reasons for returning his Order of the British Empire, OBE medal - British support of America in Vietnam & involvement/support of Nigeria against Biafra

Jubilant Nigerians in the capital city of Lagos cheer as they read of the surrender of the rebel Biafran forces, Jan. 12, 1970.

Major General Yakubu Gowon at Dodan barracks, stands before a map of Nigeria as he tells reporters at a press conference that the war will be over in 4-8 weeks - Sept 13 1968

New head of state Lt. Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu in Enugu shortly after the declaration of independence and formation of the new state of Biafra, June 10 1967 takes the oath of office.

Wounded soldier attended by Igbo medic Biafra Nigeria 1968

9 yr old Igbo albino clutching an empty corned beef tin Biafra, Nigeria. April 1968
Why has there been an outcry against brutalities committed in Rwanda, Darfur, Liberia, South Africa, etc....and yet no one has been held accountable for the atrocities deliberately committed against these innocent children?

A young mother breast feeds her five-month-old baby boy while holding her starving four-year-old daughter, near Anwa, Biafra, Aug. 5, 1968.The daughter died a few hours later

Belgian Mercenary Marc Goosens Killed during a Nigerian attack on Onitsa, Biafra Nigeria Nov 1968

Catholic Mission Food Distribution Biafra Nigeria April 1968
It breaks my heart to recall the huge sacrifices that these young men made for a cause that they believed in. The lame leading the blind.

Cinematographer Raymond Depardon Biafra, Nigeria August 1968 by Gilles Caron

Igbo officer addressing one of his dead soldiers Biafra Nigeria April 1968
When you look at these photos you will realize that the Biafra story is yet to be fully told

Igbo Soldier Biafra Nigeria Nov 1968 by Gilles Caron
He is probably a teenager or in his early 20s. How greed and raw wickedness deprived so many of their youthful innocence.

Igbo 'soldier' carrying a wounded comrade Biafra Nigeria April 1968
These are boys...and yet when we talk about African child soldiers no one ever seems to refer to the first...Biafran boys!

Igbo Soldiers, Biafra Nigeria April 1968

Igbo Soldiers, Biafra Nigeria April 1968

Igbo Soldiers retreating, Biafra, Nigeria April 1968

Igbo Soldiers, Biafra Nigeria April 1968

Igbo Victim of the civil war, Biafra, Nigeria, July 1968

Makeshift Ambulance on the frontline Biafra Nigeria April 1968
 

Sixteen-year-old Ibo boy, Biafra, Nigeria, 1968
 

Starving Igbos, Biafra, Nigeria July 1968

Wife of a Nigerian Officer burned alive Biafra Nigeria April 1968

The Biafran Cabinet at a Church service, on the extreme right is the late Sir Louis Mbanefo- former Supreme Court Judge and Judge of the World Court

1968 - A Biafran soldier in the bush on alert before the invasion of Abagana


1969, at parade to celebrate the Second Independence Anniversary of Biafra; General Effiong is fourth from left; General Ojukwu, Head of State, is fifth from left

1969, Major General Philip Efiong returning from a visit to a refugee camp in Nto Edino in present-day Akwa Ibom State

August 29, 1968 - Folk singer Joan Baez and rock singer Jimi Hendrix chat between acts at a Biafran Relief Benefit show at a place in Manhattan called Steve Paul's Scene.

Biafran child soldier said to be about 13, and one of the Onumonus, and former French Legionnaire Rolf Steiner awaiting orders

End of the Nigerian civil war. Major-General Gowon (left) shakes hands with Lt-Colonel Phillip Effiong (right).

End of the War; In the true spirit of African reconciliation, kola nut is shared; General Efiong, extreme right, takes a piece

Owerri, Biafra -Lt. Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu, leader of secessionist Biafra, announces introduction of new currency and postage stamps, officially issued on January 29th 1968

Nigerian Troops firing artillery gun in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, during the Nigerian Civil War. Col Benjamin Adekunle is seen here with left hand on the artillery gun.

Biafra The will for Independence

Biafran soldiers at the frontline during the Nigerian Civil War

From FFSA
Federation of the Free States of Africa
Contact 
Secretary General
Mangovo Ngoyo

Email: africa.federation@gmail.com 
www.africafederation.net

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ON THE TRUE STORY OF BIAFRA.

 
From the legendary author of Things Fall Apart—a long-awaited memoir of coming of age in a fragile new nation, and its destruction in a tragic civil war

For more than forty years, Chinua Achebe has maintained a considered silence on the events of the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War, of 1967–1970, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. Now, decades in the making, comes a towering account of one of modern Africa’s most disastrous events, from a writer whose words and courage have left an enduring stamp on world literature. A marriage of history and memoir, vivid firsthand observation and decades of research and reflection, There Was a Country is a work whose wisdom and compassion remind us of Chinua Achebe’s place as one of the great literary and moral voices of our age.

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Lancelot Imasuen Makes History with Epic Movie and "ABCs of Death" Series

Lancelot Imasuen Makes History with Epic Movie and "ABCs of Death" Series 

Lancelot Imasuen.

Lancelot Imasuen, one of the most ambitious filmmakers in Nigeria’s Nollywood is breaking new grounds with his historical epic movie Invasion 1897 and for being the only African director among the 26 selected directors making the short horror thrillers of The ABCs of Death series. He is one of the most prolific producers in Africa and his movies have focused on the unexplored aspects of the African experience including tribalism, witchcraft, crime, poverty, religion, and folk beliefs.

Lancelot has just concluded his own segment for the Alphabet P with “Prince Venom” in the 26 segments of the horrors of death anthology in Benin. Then he will be in London for the British locations of Invasion 1897, featuring Nigerian born Charles "Chucky" Venn who is famous for his roles as Curtis Alexander in Sky's "One's Dream Team", Tremaine Gidigbi in "Footballers' Wives" and as Ray Dixon in "EastEnders", and also starring the St. Lucian-born English actor Joseph Marcell, who has acted in over 34 films and 3 TV shows, including "The Santa Trap", "Brothers And Sisters" and "The Bill" and popularly known for his role as Geoffrey, the English butler on the NBC sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". The top Nigerian stars in the epic include Segun Arinze Paul Obazele, Mike Omoregbe who played the lead role as Oba Ovoramwen, Charles Inojie and the late Justus Esiri. Invasion 1897 has been endorsed by the Benin monarch, Oba Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolopolo and by the Edo state government. The film production is co-financed by Senator Daisy Danjuma and South Atlantic Petroleum Limited, supported by Capt (Dr.) Hosa Okunbor, the Chairman of FEVA TV in Toronto, Canada and J2konsult in the UK are marketing the film in Europe and planning the London unit of the movie.

 Lancelot at a recent international event.

 

Lancelot Imasuen, High Chief Edem Duke, Minister for Culture, Tourism and National Orientation and actor Emeka Enyiocha.

 Invasion 1897 (Nogbaisi Ovonramwen) is perhaps the most daring film project in the history of the Nigerian film industry, because no previous movie can be compared to it, both in scope and perspective of the historical context. The epic is based on the invasion of the Benin Kingdom by the British Empire in 1897 and looting the priceless ancient artifacts of the Benin kingdom, including the famous commemorative head and pendant of ivory mask representing Queen Idia (from court of Benin, 16th century) who was the mother of Esigie, the Oba of Benin who ruled from 1504 to 1550. The commemorative head is at the British Museum, while the pendant is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA.

The commemorative head and ivory mask pendant of Queen Mother Idia carted away by British soldiers during the invasion of the Benin Kingdom in 1897..

 “It will coincide with the country’s centenary celebration and which marks 100 years Oba Ovonramen N’ogbaisi (the then sitting Oba) died in exile in Calabar, on the 14th of January, 1914, where he was banished by the British,” Lancelot said and will also “kick start our call for reparations by the return of all the looted Benin Artworks from all the museums around the world”.

Lancelot on locations of "Invasion 1897".

Lancelot Imasuen’s inclusion in the second part of The ABCs of Death has shot him to global limelight as millions of movie lovers await the next 26 segments of the horror series.

The first part of The ABCs of Death 2012 American anthology horror comedy film was produced by Ant Timpson and Tim League; a thriller of 26 different shorts, each by different directors spanning fifteen countries. The 26 chapters assigned a letter of the alphabet and the directors were free to choose a word to create a story involving death. The varieties of death range from accidents to murders. The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and was released on VOD on January 31 and in theaters March 8, 2013, with end credits featuring the music of Australian band Skyhooks' 1974 song "Horror Movie".


For The ABCs of Death 2, a contest was held for the role of the 26th director. The winner was UK-based director Lee Hardcastle, who submitted the claymation short for T. The horror anthology runs with the tagline, “26 directors, 26 ways to die.” For the first 25 segments, a group of 25 directors were engaged and each was given a letter of the alphabet and then tasked with creating a short film about death inspired by that letter. The result was a string of shorts including “D is for Dogfight,” “F is for Fart,” “M is for Miscarriage,” and more twisted titles to get your head spinning.
With 26 directors and 26 ways to die, "Viewer Discretion Is Advised"!

Like Invasion 1897 on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Invasion1897Movie
See the YouTube teaser trailer, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YljETHmfD34
See Official Trailer of The ABCs of Death on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU2NHb_pKso Follow The ABCs of Death 2 on Twitter, https://twitter.com/ABCsofDeath  


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima.  
 © International Digital Post Network Limited. 2013. No reproduction in any format of media without the authorization and permission of the copyright owners.


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