ABSTRACT
The Nigeria-Biafra War which is one of the most remarkable events in the history of Nigeria due to the sophisticated weaponry, suffering, death, genocide, starvation and hunger that were perpetrated during the war has continued to receive scholarly attention over the years. However, the war has not received enough visual documentation. Despite the dynamic nature of the war, only few artists have attempted to creatively and conceptually interrogate and interpret the war, with a view to harness the creative potentials which war and crises situations provide. Hence, this research has explored the creative resource which is embedded in the Nigeria-Biafra War. In doing so, it has captured the mood of those historical moments of the war, and has used them as data to confront the present happenings in the nation. Also, the research has added to existing scholarship through text and graphic work. Thus, the creative resource which the Nigeria-Biafra War provides has been captured in the main project work titled Blood, Blood… in Biafra.
Chapter One covers the background study of the research, while Chapter Two reviewed various literature and art works that are related to the Nigeria-Biafra War. Chapter Three embodies the pre-studio research and studio experiences, processes and techniques employed by the artist. The creative resource which the Nigeria-Biafra War provides has been captured in Chapter Four, while Chapter Five discusses the main studio project in detail. Chapter Six concludes the research.
Chapter One
Introduction
As long as human beings continue to coexist, there is bound to be identity clashes, temperamental outbursts and selfish interests which explain the divergent nature of the human psyche. It is hard for two individuals even those from the same parents to stay together over a long period of time without any disagreement. Hence, it explains why a group of persons will agree to disagree with another group of persons. It is natural for humans to protect their interest, and when that interest is being threatened it can result in irrational behaviour that can generate
violence, chaos or even war. Thus, war can become a tool that is employed to protect ones interest or the interest of a group of people.
Nevertheless, war has been defined in several ways. The definition by Jill Long is quite apt for the purpose of this research
War is the coherent execution of all means to bring about sufficient adherence to a nation’s will in the international (global) arena; resulting in armed conflict only when all other means fail…”. A state of armed conflict between different countries or different groups within a country is seen as war (Jill, 2012).
Therefore, war is a state of chaos, disunity, violence, and other inhumane acts perpetrated by a people to others by any means possible. There are records of various wars that have taken place all over the world; for instance, the Eighty Years War (1568-1648), The Dutch-Portuguese War (1602-1663), The Nine Years War (1688-1697), also called the War of the Grand Alliance. Also there is the World War I (1914-1918) and the World War II (1939-1945) (Mitchell 2011).
Most of the wars listed above happened in Europe, and they were highly tribalistic in nature. However, The World Wars I and II as the names imply did not happen in every continent of the world. For instance, Africa was not among the warring parties, although soldiers were conscripted from some former colonies in Africa to fight in the World Wars. That does not mean that Africa has not experienced its own share of wars. Some of the wars that have taken place in Africa include The Ugandan Civil War (1981-1986), the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970), Angolan Civil War (1975-2005), the Rwandan Civil War (1990-1993), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Congo War (1998-2003), and many others (Sharon, 2014). However, the Nigerian Civil War was the first most sophisticated war in Africa that was fought by
indigenes. This was due to the highly sophisticated weapons that were used to prosecute the war (Forsyth, 1969).
This research, therefore, is interested in the Nigerian Civil War also known as the
‘Nigeria-Biafra War’, to explore the causes, character and effects of the war as possible resources for painting. The Nigeria-Biafra War broke out in 1967. The causes of the Nigerian civil war were exceedingly complex. More than fifty years before the war, Great Britain carved an area out of West Africa containing hundreds of different groups and unified it, calling it Nigeria (Achebe 2012). As time went on, it became obvious that it would take ages to unite these different groups of people or a short period of time to return to status quo. According to Madiebo (1980) “the Federation of Nigeria, for its widely differing peoples and tribes are yet to find any basis for true unity”. Forsyth (1969) supports the above, when he observes that the cause of the Nigeria-Biafra War was as a result of “the tribal hostility embedded in this enormous and artificial nation”. This unfortunate and obvious fact manifested itself as various clashes began to spring up: the Kano Riot of 1953, The Jos Riot and finally the 1966 Coup d’état. Unfortunately, the Northern and Southern protectorates were the key actors in the clashes that finally resulted in the war.
Adichie (2012), remarks that,
The events leading to the Nigeria-Biafra war are so often eclipsed by the war itself, so little remembered, it seems an apt word for the thousands of Igbo civilians in the north who were killed between May and September 1966, their homes ransacked and set on fire.
The aftermath of the 1966 massacre was the secession of the eastern part of Nigeria and the declaration of the Sovereign State of Biafra. The secession was not welcomed by the Nigerian leader Lt. Col. Gowon who led out the Nigerian Army in a bid to reclaim her departed
compatriots. The war saw the killing and maiming of Biafrans (the secessionists) and Nigerians alike. Children were seen suffering from starvation, hunger and health-related issues. Obogo (2012) recollects that, Awolowo did not deny the fact that starvation was used as a weapon of war, as Biafrans were encircled for extermination.
Obogo’s recollection above implied that, the decision he was referring to, was the decision by Gowon and Awolowo to close all borders that led to the Biafrans so as to inflict hunger and starvation on the people.
Recently, Chinua Achebe, a legendary Nigerian writer, expressed his views on the events that took place during the Civil War. The book There was a Country marries history and memoir with the author’s sense of literary creativity woven throughout. Achebe alleged genocide and the deployment of starvation as Achuzia has stated above. Forsyth (1969) in agreement with Achuzia, recounts that the war “pits 14 million Biafrans against 34 million Nigerians…”. He goes on to note that at the end of the “thirty months, one and a half million people had died”. Therefore, from the insight that Forsyth provides, it becomes evident that the war was genocidal.
The Nigeria-Biafra War was a significant war because it featured the first most sophisticated use of weaponry in Africa, and it also saw the greatest number of mass killing in the history of the Nation (Forsyth, 1969). Little wonder it received a lot of international attention, as well as artistic representations. In this regard, some artists were inspired and influenced by the events of the war as they created works of art to draw the attention of the international community to the plight of the Biafran people. Obiora Udechukwu and Uche Okeke had their works exhibited in Germany (Chukueggu & Chiedu, 2010). The exhibition was titled Kunst and Kunsthendweraus Biafra (Arts and Craft from Biafra). Also the catalogue titled So Far and What
the Mad Man Said are collections of drawings and paintings by Obiora Udechukwu, most of his works alludes to the Nigeria-Biafra War. Triumph of Asele: The Works of Uche Okeke is a commemorative exhibition in honour of Uche Okeke; it contains paintings and drawings that
were inspired by the war. Some of the images can be seen below.
It is, therefore, evident that all the catastrophic events that transpired during the war can provide creative resources for the artist and give rise to more visual representations of the war: For instance, loss and gain, genocide, starvation, and identity clashes. Thus, the events that took place during the Nigeria-Biafra War can become a visual vocabulary; through the instrumentality of art, they can seek to define a new collective memory, and create a visual historical identity. These events can also serve as a perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war, an anti-war symbol, and an embodiment of peace.
Aims of the Research
This research is motivated by the insufficiency of visual documentation of the calamity and genocide that took place during the Nigeria-Biafra War. It is obvious that enough literary data is available with regards to the events that happened during the war. Therefore, it is important that artists use the existing data to draw the attention to what has happened before and what may likely happen again. Thus, this study has used the events that happened during the Nigeria-Biafra War as a creative suite to enrich the research. For instance, the imageries for the studio work were idealized from the experiences of the war. Hence, the studio paintings captured the mood of those historical moments. It has also discovered how the historical moments of the war can be used as data to confront the chaos happening presently in the nation, and learn a lesson from it. The research shows how crisis can create motivation for the artist. The research also adds to existing scholarship, through text and graphic work.
Statement of the Problem
The Nigeria-Biafra War has continued to be among the roots on which many existing crisis in the nation thrive. The causes of the Nigeria-Biafra War are numerous. They include; the multi-ethnic societies that co-exist within the nation yearning for their individual voices and autonomy, the riots of 1953 and 1954, the elections of 1957 and ultimately the 1966 crisis which was the major incident that fueled the war.
In spite of all these, the Nigeria-Biafra War has not received enough visual documentation. Also the Nigerian educational curriculum has not fully accommodated the study of the events that transpired during the war in order to enlighten the masses on the causes and experiences of the war with a view to averting future reoccurrence. This explains why similar events that lead to war can be seen hanging precariously over the nation.
There is also the challenge of artists finding it difficult to derive conceptual imageries from events that were chaotic. For some, it is difficult to undergo the creative process in order to appropriate those images that most suitably embody the philosophy behind the event they intend to capture.
In light of the above, this research has visually highlighted some of the events that happened during the war, including hunger, starvation, death, genocide, and kwashiorkor with the view to add visual data to existing efforts made at studying the Nigeria-Biafra War. Also, this research has interrogated how the painter can be inspired by war, crisis, violence and death; it has shown how the artist can appropriate imageries and develop philosophical content from chaotic events.
Significance of the study
The Nigeria-Biafra war has not received adequate visual representation. Therefore, this research has brought to light the deleterious route in which the nation is towing with regards to the activities of the restless youths, and the speechless elderly ones who may have forgotten the anguish of war. It has visually documented the war and used it as a creative resource in painting. This research is also significant because it has drawn attention to the inability of Nigeria to react to calamitous situations that may lead to war. Furthermore, the research and the studio project have brought to light the similarities between what is happening now and what has happened before. For instance, the events that happened during the 1966 pogroms that finally led to the civil war can be likened to the current inter-ethnic clashes, fundamentalist insurgencies, and pre and post-election violence.
Subsequently, the works that have been ideated from the Nigeria-Biafra War experience will provide a comparative analysis that will expose the actions of the hibernating Niger Delta Militants, the silent but highly mobilized OPC and the standby non-violent but willing MASSOB as constant reminders of the apocalypse that dangles precariously over this nation. The research will also document the events that happened during the Nigeria-Biafra War (literarily and visually) as referential data which will add to the body of knowledge.
Methodology
In completing this research, the artist has used a historical approach, critical and analytical approach and studio approach. In using the historical approach, there was a review of primary and secondary data.
Primary data include books, literature, journals, catalogues and interviews. Secondary data include movies and documentaries.
The primary data was collected from literary archives such as libraries, book stores and the internet. Also interviews were conducted with eyewitnesses to get firsthand information on the events that took place during the war. Secondary data such as films and documentaries were previewed to deduce necessary knowledge which was added to the bunch of information pertaining to the war.
Thus, after the relevant data were gathered, the critical and analytical approaches were employed in order to analyze and condense the data for the project report and the studio work. The analytical approach involved ideating of imageries, themes and titles.
Subsequently, the data collected from the research informed the themes, form and content that was used in producing sketches, colour roughs and finally paintings that have conceptualized the Nigeria-Biafra War experience.
Scope of the study
The scope of this study is restricted to the events that took place from 1967 to 1970 during the Nigeria-Biafra War. It covers events such as, genocide, starvation, hunger, kwashiorkor and killings. It also looks at the cause of the war and the effects of war on the people and the nation.
Limitation
The researcher encountered several challenges that included the enormous volumes of literature that has been dedicated to the Nigeria-Biafra War; it was difficult to peruse the entire collection in order to account for every author’s perspective. This is due to the amount of time
and finances that were expended in visiting archives (Internet and libraries), and in producing the studio paintings.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
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